Efficient communication in limited resource environments

Abstract

To provide a mobile device and a method for performing efficient communication in limited resource environments.SOLUTION: In a communication system, an electronic device detects a message request to send one or more redundant messages to a response network. The one or more messages contain information previously sent from the electronic device to the response network. The electronic device determines an entropy factor corresponding to the relatedness of the one or more messages to previously sent messages, and the electronic device sends one or more redundant bits in the place of the one or more messages if the entropy factor is below a threshold value corresponding to network resources.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 245,099, entitled “EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION IN LIMITED RESOUCE ENVIRONMENTS,” filed September 16, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to optimizing or improving wireless communications in device and / or network resource-constrained environments.

[0003] Mobile communication devices can transmit and / or receive data using networks such as cellular networks, Wi-Fi networks, satellite networks, etc. During high priority communications, such as communications to an incident response network in an emergency (e.g., injury, earthquake, hurricane), a mobile device user may transmit one or more redundant messages from the user's mobile device to the response network. The redundant messages may cause delays in the communication of important information to the response network. Furthermore, the redundant messages may cause network congestion, which may reduce or delay information transmitted and received by the response network during the emergency. Furthermore, mobile device transmissions may be affected by the device's location and / or environmental conditions at the device's location. This may further result in incomplete data transmissions and latency in communications transmitted over the network. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In one embodiment, the mobile device includes a transmitter configured to transmit a first message having a first message segment to the responding network, and a processing circuit configured to receive a request to transmit a second message having a second message segment to the responding network, and further configured to transmit the second message as redundant bits based on an entropy factor indicative of a similarity of the second message to the first message.

[0005] In another embodiment, a method of communication using a mobile device includes receiving, at a processing circuit of the mobile device, a request to transmit a first message and splitting the first message into a plurality of information segments. The method further includes transmitting, via a transmitter of the mobile device, the first message and receiving, at the processing circuit, a request to transmit a second message. The method further includes determining, via the processing circuit, that the second message includes one or more information segments of the plurality of information segments of the first message, and transmitting, via the transmitter, the one or more information segments of the second message as one or more redundant bits indicating that the one or more information segments of the second message repeat one or more information segments of the first message.

[0006] In yet another embodiment, a mobile device includes a transmitter configured to transmit one or more messages to a network and a processing circuit configured to receive a request to transmit a message to a responding network, the message having a first message segment and a second message segment, and further configured to determine that the first message segment corresponds to a previously transmitted message segment, transmit the first message segment to the responding network as a redundant bit, and transmit the second message segment to the responding network.

[0007] Various refinements of the above-mentioned features may exist in relation to the various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated alone or in any combination in any of the above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure. The summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of the embodiments of the present disclosure without limiting the claimed subject matter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] The various aspects of the disclosure can be better understood by reading the following Detailed Description and by reference to the following drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts, and in which:

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] [Diagram 2] 2 is a functional diagram of the electronic device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] [Diagram 3] 2 is a general diagram of a communication system including the electronic device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] [Figure 4] 2 is a first set of redundant messages displayed on an interface of the electronic device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] [Diagram 5] 2 is a second set of redundant messages displayed on the interface of the electronic device of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] [Figure 6] 6 is a schematic diagram of the characteristics of the redundant messages of FIG. 5 based on network resources, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Figure 7] 7 is a flow diagram of a method for efficient communication based on the characteristics of the redundant messages of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for efficient communication based on electronic device requirements, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 9] 1 is a flow diagram of a method for efficient communication based on environmental conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The present disclosure is directed to optimizing or improving wireless communications over a mobile device based on network conditions and message content. As an example, a mobile device may communicate high priority information to an incident response provider (e.g., a public-safety answering point (PSAP), a call center, an emergency service provider) during an emergency event (e.g., injury, flood, earthquake, fire). During the emergency event, a user of the mobile device may utilize a communication system (e.g., including a base station, a ground station, a satellite or satellite network (e.g., low Earth orbit satellites, medium Earth orbit satellites, geostationary earth orbit satellites, high Earth orbit satellites, etc.), a cellular network, a wireless carrier, a Wi-Fi network, etc.) to send multiple redundant messages to the response provider. For example, a mobile device, which may be implemented as a user equipment, may transmit a signal to one or more components of a communication system, which may be implemented as one or more satellites. Multiple redundant messages sent by the mobile device to the response provider may cause network congestion. Furthermore, the communication system may operate with limited resources, such as limited link budget, battery capacity, bandwidth, data rate, etc. Limited resources of a communication system can cause delays in the response provider receiving and / or transmitting important information for emergency services. For example, a mobile device user may transmit one or more redundant messages followed by one or more related information messages. The communication system may forward or transmit the initially transmitted redundant message(s) while the initial redundant message(s) are transmitted to the response provider, and may delay forwarding or transmitting further messages that may contain new or related information. This can result in delays in responding to the mobile device user during an emergency.

[0019] In some situations, during an environmental event (e.g., earthquake, hurricane, tornado), multiple mobile device users in a geographic area may send multiple redundant messages using the same communication system. This can cause further network congestion because redundant messages containing the same or similar information sent from multiple mobile devices may be received by the response provider. The influx of redundant messages can also cause delays in the response provider receiving new or important information messages, such as to provide incident response services. For example, during an environmental event, multiple users may report the environmental event to the response provider but may not request resources or assistance. However, a user attempting to send a request for assistance from his or her mobile device may have his or her request delayed by the response provider receiving these other reporting messages first.

[0020] Furthermore, mobile device conditions may result in messages intended to be transmitted during an emergency event being delayed or prevented from being transmitted altogether. For example, if the mobile device is prone to overheating and / or is on the verge of exceeding a low battery level, the mobile device may shut off or become inactive and the communication system may be unable to provide resources for the mobile device messages. Furthermore, environmental factors such as foliage levels and weather may affect the mobile device's network connection. These environmental factors may result in an unreliable connection to the network and the mobile device's transmissions may not be received by the response provider as a result of the unreliable network connection.

[0021] Embodiments herein provide various apparatus and techniques for enabling a mobile communication device to optimize or improve wireless communications under limited resource conditions. For example, a mobile device may prioritize new information messages (e.g., messages with new information as opposed to redundant information) to minimize or reduce the number of redundant messages transmitted by the mobile device. This may enable the mobile device to conserve device and network resources. In effect, a mobile communication device may determine that a particular message contains the same or similar content (e.g., has the same or similar meaning as a previous message) as a previous message or content. The mobile device may then transmit redundant bits and information corresponding to one or more segments of the previous message transmitted. The mobile device may also determine an entropy factor, which indicates the relevance or similarity of messages transmitted by the mobile device, and evaluate the determined entropy factor against a resource factor associated with network resources. This may enable the mobile device to prioritize transmission of new information messages over redundant messages based on network conditions.

[0022] Furthermore, in some environments (e.g., when hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, etc.), obstacles such as a forest canopy or foliage can degrade signal quality (e.g., attenuate signals transmitted and / or received by the mobile communication device) and may impair the link budget of the mobile communication device to the point of blocking the signal. This can be particularly critical in emergency situations, such as when someone is injured in a remote and / or forested area. In these environments, the mobile device can break down its message into one or more smaller segments to attempt to transmit the message over a reduced network connection. The mobile device can also notify the network if it detects a low battery or thermal trend that may result in the device shutting off. The network can then prioritize resources (e.g., prioritize the mobile device's uplink scheduling, provide additional resources for large or increased message transmission) to allow the mobile device to transmit the message quickly and / or transmit a larger or increased message, so that the mobile device can transmit the message before the device shuts off.

[0023] In light of the above, Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 10 or mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 may include, among other things, one or more processors 12 (collectively referred to herein for convenience as a single processor, which may be implemented as any suitable form of processing circuitry), memory 14, non-volatile storage 16, display 18, input structures 22, input / output (I / O) interfaces 24, network interfaces 26, and power sources 29. The various functional blocks illustrated in Figure 1 may include hardware elements (including circuits), software elements (including machine-executable instructions), or a combination of both hardware and software elements (which may be referred to as logic). The processor 12, memory 14, non-volatile storage 16, display 18, input structures 22, input / output (I / O) interfaces 24, network interfaces 26, and / or power sources 29 may be communicatively coupled to each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via another component, a communication bus, a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other. It should be noted that FIG. 1 is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device 10.

[0024] By way of example, electronic device 10 may include any suitable computing device, including a desktop or notebook computer (e.g., in the form of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc., Cupertino, California), a portable or handheld electronic device, such as a wireless electronic device or a smartphone (e.g., in the form of an iPhone® model available from Apple Inc., Cupertino, California), a tablet (in the form of an iPad® model available from Apple Inc., Cupertino, California), a wearable electronic device (e.g., in the form of an Apple Watch® available from Apple Inc., Cupertino, California), and other similar devices. Note that processor 12 and other related items of FIG. 1 may be generally referred to herein as "data processing circuitry." Such data processing circuitry may be embodied in whole or in part as software, hardware, or both. Moreover, processor 12 and other related items of FIG. 1 may be a single self-contained processing module, or may be incorporated in whole or in part within any of the other elements in electronic device 10. Processor 12 may be implemented with any combination of general purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entity capable of performing calculations or other manipulations of information.The processor 12 is capable of performing various functions described herein.

[0025] In the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1, the processor 12 is operatively coupled to the memory 14 and the non-volatile storage 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture, including one or more tangible computer-readable media. The tangible computer-readable media may include the memory 14 and / or the non-volatile storage 16, individually or collectively, for storing instructions or routines. The memory 14 and the non-volatile storage 16 may include any suitable article of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and optical disks. Furthermore, the programs (e.g., operating systems) encoded on such computer program products may also include instructions executable by the processor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0026] In certain embodiments, display 18 may facilitate a user viewing of images generated on electronic device 10. In some embodiments, display 18 may include a touch screen, which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of electronic device 10. It should further be appreciated that in some embodiments, display 18 may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or any combination of these and / or other display technologies.

[0027] An input structure 22 of electronic device 10 may allow a user to interact with electronic device 10 (e.g., increasing or decreasing a volume level by pressing a button). An I / O interface 24, as well as a network interface 26, may allow electronic device 10 to interface with various other electronic devices. In some embodiments, I / O interface 24 may include an I / O port for a wired connection for charging and / or content manipulation using standard connectors and protocols, such as the Lightning connector offered by Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California), universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols.

[0028] Network interface 26 may be configured to support, for example, a satellite connection (e.g., via a satellite network), a peer-to-peer connection, a personal area network (PAN) such as an ultra-wideband (UWB) or BLUETOOTH® network, a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a network employing one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g., WI-FI®), and / or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as a third generation (3G) cellular network, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a fourth generation (4G) cellular network, a long term evolution (LTE®) cellular network, a long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, a fifth generation (5G) cellular network, and / or a third generation (3G) cellular network, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a fourth generation (4G) cellular network, a long term evolution (LTE) cellular network, a long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, a fifth generation (5G) cellular network, and / or a third generation (3G) cellular network, a Network interface 26 may include one or more interfaces for a wide area network (WAN), such as any standards associated with the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including LTE-NR cellular networks, etc. In particular, network interface 26 may include one or more interfaces for using the Release-15 cellular communications standard of the 5G specifications, including, for example, the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25-300 gigahertz (GHz)). Network interface 26 of electronic device 10 may enable communication over such networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, etc.).The network interface 26 may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, a broadband fixed wireless access network (e.g., WIMAX®), a mobile broadband wireless network (Mobile WIMAX®), an asynchronous digital subscriber line (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), a digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T®) network and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H®) network, an UWB network, an alternating current (AC) power line, etc. The network interface 26 may include a transceiver 30, for example, for communicating data using one of the aforementioned networks. The power source 29 of the electronic device 10 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter.

[0029] Figure 2 is a functional diagram of the electronic device 10 of Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the processor 12, memory 14, transceiver 30, transmitter 52, receiver 54, and / or antenna 55 (shown as 55A-55N, collectively referred to as antenna 55) may be communicatively coupled to each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via another component, a communication bus, or a network) to transmit and / or receive data between each other.

[0030] The electronic device 10 may include a transmitter 52 and / or a receiver 54 that respectively enable transmission and reception of data between the electronic device 10 and an external device, for example, via a network (e.g., including a base station) or a direct connection. As shown, the transmitter 52 and the receiver 54 may be combined into a transceiver 30. The electronic device 10 may also have one or more antennas 55A-55N electrically coupled to the transceiver 30. The antennas 55A-55N may be configured in omni-directional or directional configurations, single beam, dual beam, or multi-beam arrangements, etc. Each antenna 55 may be associated with one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, multiple antennas of the antennas 55A-55N of a group or module of antennas may be communicatively coupled to a separate transceiver 30, and each antenna may emit radio frequency signals that may combine constructively and / or destructively to form a beam. Electronic device 10 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and / or multiple antennas as appropriate for various communication standards. For example, electronic device 10 may include a first transceiver for transmitting and receiving messages using a first wireless communication network, a second transceiver for transmitting and receiving messages using a second wireless communication network, and a third transceiver for transmitting and receiving messages using a third wireless communication network, although any or all of these transceivers may be combined into a single transceiver. In some embodiments, transmitter 52 and receiver 54 may transmit and receive information via other wired systems or means.

[0031] Electronic device 10 may also include one or more cameras or image or light sensors (e.g., as part of input structure 22). The one or more cameras or image or light sensors (collectively referred to herein as “cameras 56”) may capture images or determine the amount of light surrounding electronic device 10 and may determine the foliage level at the location of electronic device 10. In some embodiments, camera 56 may include a front camera (e.g., located on a display surface of electronic device 10 having display 18) and / or a rear camera (e.g., located on a base or rear surface opposite the display surface of electronic device 10).

[0032] The electronic device 10 may include (e.g., as part of the input structure 22) one or more temperature sensors 58. The one or more temperature sensors (collectively referred to herein as “temperature sensors 58”) may include any suitable temperature sensor capable of determining or facilitating the determination of the temperature of the electronic device 10, the environmental temperature surrounding the electronic device 10, or capable of sensing temperature values ​​of the electronic device 10 or the surrounding environmental temperature values ​​over time.

[0033] As shown, the various components of electronic device 10 may be coupled together by a bus system 60. Bus system 60 may include a data bus, but may also include, for example, a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. The components of electronic device 10 may also be coupled together or accept or provide inputs to each other using some other mechanism.

[0034] As described above, the electronic device 10 may communicate under limited resource conditions (e.g., limited mobile device and network resources). The embodiments herein provide various apparatus and techniques for optimizing or improving communications based on network conditions and message content of mobile device messages. As an example, the electronic device 10 may determine when it is requested to transmit one or more redundant messages. As used herein, the term "redundant" may mean that the requested message includes a repeat of a segment of text from a previously transmitted message and / or includes a segment of text that relays the same information as a previously transmitted message. The electronic device 10 may determine the one or more redundant messages by determining an entropy factor that determines the relative complexity or similarity of each message to previously transmitted messages. The electronic device 10 may then transmit the redundant bits to the network in place of the repeated message segments along with information regarding the segments of the message that include the repeated information. In this manner, the electronic device 10 may prioritize the transmission of new (e.g., non-redundant) information during high priority situations (e.g., emergency situations, environmental events). As a result, the electronic device 10 can communicate prioritized data over the network more reliably and efficiently.

[0035] In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 can communicate to the network that the device is trending toward a low battery or high temperature condition. The network can then prioritize network resources to allow the electronic device 10 to send a message (e.g., a requested or queued message) before the device condition causes the electronic device 10 to shut off or become inactive. The electronic device 10 can also break down or split one or more messages into smaller segments based on the network conditions to efficiently communicate the one or more messages over the network. Furthermore, obstructions such as forest canopy or foliage may reduce signal quality (e.g., attenuate signals transmitted and / or received by the mobile communication device). This may be particularly critical in emergency situations, such as when someone is injured in a remote and / or forested area, but the mobile communication device is unable to communicate to request assistance due to heavy foliage. The electronic device 10 can determine the foliage level and break down or split one or more messages into smaller segments based on the foliage level to send over the network. As a result, the electronic device 10 can more efficiently transmit messages during degraded signal quality conditions.

[0036] In light of the above, FIG. 3 is an overall diagram of a communication system 80 including one or more electronic devices 10, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 80 includes one or more electronic devices 10, a first communication hub 82, a second communication hub 84, and a response network 86. Each of the first communication hub 82 and the second communication hub 84 can be part of a separate network for communicating data (e.g., a cellular network, a local network, the Internet, a non-terrestrial network, a satellite network, another electronic device, etc.). As shown, one or more electronic devices 10 can attempt to communicate (e.g., send and / or receive data) with the first communication hub 82. For example, the first communication hub 82 can establish a communication channel with the electronic device 10 to receive a request for data from the electronic device 10 and send data to the electronic device 10 based on the request. The first and second communications hubs 82 and 84 may include any device or system (e.g., a base station, a router, another electronic device 10, a high altitude base station, a satellite, a ground station, etc.) capable of communicating with one or more electronic devices 10. For example, the electronic device 10, which may be implemented as user equipment, may transmit a signal to the communications hub 82, which may be implemented as a satellite.

[0037] In certain embodiments, the first communication hub 82 can receive signals from one or more electronic devices 10 during an emergency (e.g., flood, earthquake, tornado). The one or more electronic devices 10 can request to transmit information to a response network 86 (e.g., emergency providers) during an emergency. The one or more electronic devices 10 may transmit messages having the same or similar information to the response network 86 during an emergency. One or more messages 88 can be transmitted to the first communication hub 82, which receives messages from the one or more electronic devices 10 via one or more communication channels established with the one or more electronic devices 10. The first communication hub 82 can then transmit the one or more messages 88 to a second communication hub 84, which can communicate with the response network 86. It should be appreciated that any suitable number of communication hubs (e.g., 82, 84) can be used to communicate the one or more messages 88 transmitted by the electronic devices 10 to the response network 86. The number of communication hubs (e.g., 82, 84) used to transmit the message may be based on the geographic location of the electronic device 10 and / or the response network 86, the network connections affected by the emergency event, and any other suitable network considerations.

[0038] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, one or more messages 88 transmitted by the electronic device 10 may include redundant (e.g., repeated or related) information. One or more redundant messages may be transmitted to the first communication hub 82, causing network congestion between the first communication hub 82 and the first communication hub 82 due to a large number of messages being received by the first communication hub 82. This may cause a delay in the first communication hub 82 receiving the one or more messages 88 and transmitting the one or more messages 88 to the second communication hub 84. This may in turn cause a bottleneck effect, delaying the transmission of one or more messages 88 from the second communication hub 84 to the response network 86. For example, one or more electronic devices 10 may transmit one or more messages 88 having information related to a report of a fire in a particular geographic area, but the one or more messages 88 may not include new or relevant information related to the disaster. This can cause network congestion and may prevent the response network 86 from responding to new information messages due to delays caused by receiving one or more redundant messages sent by the electronic device 10 in the communication system 80. This may result in the electronic device 10 receiving delayed responses from the emergency providers associated with the response network 86.

[0039] The response network 86 may also experience delays in attempting to individually respond to one or more messages 88. To reduce delays, the response network 86 may tag messages containing the same or similar information with a category 90. For example, one or more electronic devices 10 may send one or more messages 88 to the response network 86 related to requests for assistance as a result of an earthquake. The response network 86 may recognize that one or more messages 88 may be related to the category 90, "earthquake, rescue needed." The response network 86 may then send a message in reply to the electronic devices 10 that sent the one or more messages 88 corresponding to the category 90, earthquake, rescue needed. This response message may include response instructions 92 (e.g., move to an open area, medical aid station, shelter) and may be sent to the electronic devices 10 tagged with the category 90, "earthquake, rescue needed," thereby reducing transmission delays and backlogs that would result from the response network 86 individually responding to each electronic device 10's message.

[0040] Additionally, the response network 86 may classify the information segments of each received message to group related information segments based on a determined relevance or entropy factor of the received message (e.g., the similarity and / or relative complexity of the received message to previously received messages). The information segments correspond to portions of text within the message that convey new and / or related information. It should be appreciated that the information segments may contain different or shortened text relative to the previously received message, but may still relay the same information as the text segments of the previously received message. The one or more electronic devices 10 may also reduce the individual transmission of redundant messages to the first communication hub 82. To do this, the electronic device 10 may determine an entropy factor for each message (e.g., that determines the relevance and / or relative complexity of the message being requested to be transmitted to previously transmitted messages). The electronic device 10 may then transmit redundant bits and information corresponding to one or more segments of the previously transmitted message in place of the redundant message to reduce network congestion as a result of transmitting redundant messages during an emergency event.

[0041] In light of the above, Figure 4 is a first set of redundant messages displayed on an interface (e.g., a user interface) of the electronic device of Figure 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 may request to transmit one or more redundant messages over the network during an emergency event. The one or more messages may be redundant to a previously transmitted message (e.g., contain similar information as a previously transmitted message).

[0042] Network communications may be resource limited (e.g., in terms of link budget, battery capacity, bandwidth, and data rate), for example, during an emergency event. During times when network resources are limited, transmission and / or reception of messages over the network may be delayed. In certain emergency events, high priority information may be transmitted over the network to the response provider, and information may be prioritized so that the response provider can respond in a timely manner. High priority information may correspond to data transmissions related to new information that the user has not previously transmitted to the response provider. In an emergency event, the user may end up transmitting the same message to the response provider multiple times, or may transmit a similar message that does not contain new information. This may cause network congestion and delays in communication with the response provider (e.g., via the response network 86). For example, a user may be injured in the woods and may attempt to request help from the response provider. The user may first request to transmit a message 102 via the electronic device 10, including the text "Emergency - injured leg in woods, can't walk, no one around." The user may transmit the same message 102 four or more times. The response provider may only need to receive message 102 once, because the other three or more messages are redundant (e.g., repetitions) of the previous message 102 and contain no new information for the response provider to utilize. The user may then send an additional message 104 containing the text "help." The user may then request that the same message 104 be sent three or more times. The response provider may only need to receive the request for help once, because the other requests for help are redundant and may cause delays in the response provider receiving more appropriate information that the user may attempt to send after the redundant message 104.

[0043] The electronic device 10 may determine that it is requested to transmit a redundant message and may transmit only one of each of the messages 102, 104 associated with the emergency and one of the messages associated with the request for help. For every redundant message request detected by the electronic device 10, the electronic device 10 may transmit one or more redundant bits and information corresponding to a repeated segment of the redundant message. This may allow the network to transmit messages at a faster rate and enable response providers to respond to the electronic device 10 and provide information to the user of the electronic device 10 more efficiently.

[0044] In light of the above, Figure 5 is a second set of redundant messages displayed on the interface of the electronic device of Figure 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A user may request to send one or more messages that may differ in terms of the words or phrases used, but may relate to the same or similar information sent in the previous message. These messages may contribute to redundant messages being sent over the network, which may cause network congestion and delay the sending of new information messages.

[0045] For example, a user may be injured in the woods and may be attempting to request help from an emergency provider. The user may first request to send a message 108 via electronic device 10 that includes the text "Emergency - injured leg in woods, can't walk, no one around." The user may then request to send multiple redundant messages 110 that include redundant (e.g., repeated or related) information sent in previous messages 110.

[0046] Although the additional redundant messages 110 may not be exact repeats of the previous messages 108, the redundant messages 110 may correspond to repeated information segments of the previous messages 108. For example, one of the redundant messages 110 may provide information including the text "forest" provided in the previous message 108. The electronic device 10 may determine that the redundant messages 110 contain the same or similar meaning or repeated information segments of the previous message 108 and therefore may transmit redundant bits for the additional redundant messages 110, because the additional redundant messages do not provide new or related information to the response provider. This process may reduce network congestion and aid in the transmission and / or receipt of related information to the response provider.

[0047] In light of the above, Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the characteristics of the redundant message of Fig. 5 based on network resources, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 can determine an entropy factor 120, which corresponds to the relative complexity or similarity of a message requested to be sent by a user of the electronic device 10 to previously sent messages from the electronic device 10, and determine whether the message is redundant based on the entropy factor 120. The electronic device 10 can then determine whether the requested message should be sent as an actual message, a complete message, or a whole message, or should be sent as redundant bits along with information related to a repeated segment of the message (e.g., a compressed version of the requested message) based on the determined entropy factor 120 of the requested message and a resource factor 122, which corresponds to the network and electronic device resources.

[0048] In an emergency (e.g., injury, earthquake, fire, flood), a user of the electronic device 10 may request to send one or more redundant messages containing the same or similar information. This may cause excessive use of the network's communication system resources, resulting in network congestion. This may cause delays in high priority (e.g., new or relevant) information being received by a response provider (e.g., response network 86, 911 call center, emergency provider). To mitigate delays in sending and / or receiving high priority information, the electronic device 10 may assign an entropy factor 120 to each message it is requested to send (e.g., during an emergency session, during a message request to a response provider, etc.). The entropy factor 120 may correspond to the amount of relevance or repeated meaning of successive messages. For example, the initial message 134 may correspond to 100% entropy, and the processor 12 of the electronic device 10 may determine (e.g., using a machine learning algorithm) the entropy of successive messages requested to be sent by the user of the electronic device 10 (e.g., compared to the initial message 134 and / or other previous messages). The electronic device 10 may set a threshold entropy level to determine whether to send the entire message content over the network to the response provider. If the electronic device 10 determines that the entropy factor 120 falls below the threshold level, the electronic device 10 may send redundant bits over the network to the response provider along with information related to the repeated segments of the message. This may result in a reduction in network congestion and the response provider receiving new relevant information about the emergency situation.

[0049] In addition to the determined entropy factor 120, the electronic device 10 may also determine a resource factor 122 for each successive message to determine whether to transmit the actual message to the network or to transmit redundant bits and information associated with repeated segments of the message to the network. The resource factor 122 for each message may be determined based on the congestion level of the network, the battery level of the electronic device 10, the link budget of the network, the thermal level of the network, or any combination thereof. The resource factor 122 may be determined by weighting a particular factor based on the importance of the factor. For example, the battery level may be weighted more highly in determining the resource factor 122 depending on whether the battery level is below a particular threshold. That is, if the battery level is below 50%, the battery level may be weighted more highly in the calculation of the resource factor 122. It should be appreciated that any combination of resource factors related to network resources and electronic device resources may be implemented in determining the resource factor 122 for each message to be transmitted. Furthermore, each factor may vary in the percentage that it contributes to the overall resource factor based on the importance determined for each factor. The resource factor 122 may also vary from message to message due to instantaneous network and electronic device resources. For example, if the network congestion level decreases from one message to another, the resource factor 122 may decrease and therefore may not be weighted as heavily when the electronic device 10 determines whether to send a message based on the resource factor 122 and the entropy factor 120.

[0050] Furthermore, the electronic device 10 can determine whether to transmit a message based on the entropy factor 120 meeting or exceeding the determined resource factor 122 for each message. For example, a first message 134 in a message sequence 126 (e.g., a first message transmitted during an emergency session) can correspond to an initial entropy factor 120 of 100%. The initial resource factor 122 can be 100% due to a high network congestion level and / or a high battery level, or any other resource consideration. Based on the entropy factor 120 meeting or exceeding the determined resource factor 122, the electronic device 10 can transmit the actual message as information 128 transmitted over the air (OTA) to the network.

[0051] Additionally, the electronic device 10 may tag or identify the first message 134 as the first message in the message sequence 126 during the emergency session. The first message 134 may also be decomposed, separated, or split into information segments 130 (e.g., segments of a message relaying new information) that are tagged or identified and sent to the response provider so that the response provider can associate future message segments sent to it with segments of the initial message sent. For example, the first message 134 sent by the electronic device 10 may be "emergency - injured leg in woods, can't walk, no one around." The electronic device 10 may include a processor 12 that determines new or related information segments 124 in the message (e.g., using a machine learning algorithm) to determine the entropy coefficient 120 of the message relative to previous messages sent. The processor 12 may determine that the message has a first information segment 124 corresponding to "emergency", a second information segment 124 corresponding to "injured leg", a third information segment 124 corresponding to "forest", a fourth information segment 124 corresponding to "can't walk", and a fifth information segment 124 corresponding to "orphaned". The processor 12 may store the five information segments 124 in a database accessible by the electronic device 10 (e.g., in the memory 14 and / or storage device 16). The processor 12 may transmit the five information segments 124 to the response provider along with the actual message. Furthermore, by storing the information segments 124 in the database, memory 14, and / or storage device 16, the processor 12 may enable a redundant bit to be transmitted along with the tag of the information segment 124 if a future message is redundant with respect to the meaning of a previous message, in some embodiments, based on the entropy factor 120 determined for the future message being less than the resource factor 122 of the message.

[0052] For example, the second message 136 being requested to be sent may include the text "I hurt my leg," and the processor 12 may determine that the entropy factor 120 for this message is 0% due to the message repeating the second information segment 124 of the first message 134. As described above, the processor 12 may determine the entropy factor 120 based on comparing the words and context of the previous message with the current message request using a machine learning algorithm. The second message 136 may then transmit information over-the-air to the network 128 as redundant bits along with information specifying the message sequence 126 that the second message repeats, which is at least a portion of the first message 134 in the sequence. For example, the electronic device 10 may transmit the redundant bits to the network along with "MS-1, IS-2" to indicate the message sequence and information segment (MS / IS) 130 that the second message 136 repeats from the previously transmitted first message 134. In particular, MS-1 may refer to "Message 1" (e.g., the first message 134) and IS-2 may refer to "Information Segment 2" (e.g., the second information segment of the first message 134, i.e., "Wounded Leg"). The message sequence 126 and information segment 124 information may be utilized by the response provider to analyze significant repeated segments of previously sent messages, which may enable the response provider to categorize multiple messages from different users according to information segments, as described above in FIG. 3.

[0053] The electronic device 10 may continue to determine the entropy factor 120 and the resource factor 122 of successive messages to be transmitted. For example, a third message 138 to be transmitted to the network may include the text "I am in the woods," and the electronic device 10 may determine the entropy factor 120 corresponding to that message as 0% and transmit the redundant bits and the message sequence MS / IS 130 corresponding to the first message 134. For the third message 138, the repeated information segment 124 is "IS-3," i.e., "forest," corresponding to the third information segment of the first message 134. The resource factor 122 corresponding to the second message may increase to 60 due to increasing network congestion, decreasing link budget, a decreasing battery level of the electronic device 10, etc.

[0054] The fourth message 140 being requested to be sent may include the text "help" and may correspond to an entropy factor 120 of 80%, which may be higher than the resource factor 122 of 50 calculated at the time of the fourth message request 140. The actual message may then be the information 128 sent over the air to the responding provider. The fifth through ninth messages 146 being requested to be sent may each correspond to a previous segment of the first message 134 and the fourth message 140. Each of the fifth through ninth messages 146 may have a determined entropy factor 120 of zero due to the repeated segments of the previous messages, so that the messages 146 may be sent as redundant bits, respectively, along with the MS / IS 130 information of each message.

[0055] In some embodiments, the message request may differ from previously sent messages, but may still not add new or relevant information. For example, the tenth message 144 being requested to be sent may include the text "please respond" and may not add any additional information that would assist the response provider in determining an appropriate response to the user's situation. The processor 12 may determine (e.g., via a machine learning algorithm) that the tenth message 144 does not add any new or relevant information and may assign a low entropy factor 120. This low entropy factor 120 may be lower than the determined resource factor 122, and the message may be sent as redundant bits and information corresponding to repeated segments of the previous message. The message 144 may also be mapped to a "help" message previously sent in the fourth message 4, and the MS / IS 130 sent to the response provider may correspond to this previous message along with the redundant bits sent. It should be appreciated that the entropy factor calculation 120 may depend on various syntax and history factors, as implemented by the machine learning algorithm. The entropy factor 120 and the resource factor 122 may also be applied to successive messages transmitted during an emergency session in which a user of the electronic device 10 is attempting to communicate with a resource provider.

[0056] In light of the above, FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method 160 for efficient data communication based on the characteristics of the redundant messages of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 may transmit one or more redundant messages to the response network 86 during an emergency event. The electronic device 10 may determine when the message it is requested to transmit is a redundant message and may transmit a redundant bit and information related to a repeated segment of a previous message to the response network 86. Any suitable device (e.g., a controller) capable of controlling components of the electronic device 10, such as the processor 12, may perform the method 160. In some embodiments, the method 160 may be implemented by using the processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 14 or the storage device 16. For example, the method 160 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components, such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although method 160 has been described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the steps described may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain steps described may be omitted or not performed at all.

[0057] At process block 162, the processor 12 causes the transmitter 52 to transmit a first message to the response network 86 during an emergency session (e.g., a message session between the electronic device 10 and the response network 86). The first message may include information about the emergency (e.g., a location of the electronic device 10, a request for help, details of the emergency, etc.), or any other information that the electronic device 10 is configured to communicate to the response network 86. The processor 12 may also store, in response to causing the transmitter 52 to transmit the first message to the response network 86, text content of the first message in the memory 14 of the electronic device 10.

[0058] At process block 164, the processor 12 may determine a request to send a second message to the response network 86. The second message may be requested by a user of the electronic device 10, and the request may occur at any time after the first message is sent. The second message content may be similar to the content of the first message and / or may include new information relative to the content of the first message. In response to receiving the request to send the second message, the processor 12 may determine an entropy factor 120 (e.g., using a machine learning algorithm) at process block 166, which is related to the degree of redundant information in the second message relative to the first message. The entropy factor 120 may be determined by determining an amount of text repetition, an amount of text repetition of similar meaning, an amount of text of new information included in the second message relative to the text content of the first message, or any combination thereof, etc.

[0059] After determining the entropy factor 120 for the second message, the processor 12 determines whether the entropy factor 120 of the second message exceeds a threshold at decision block 168. The threshold may be a pre-set threshold or may be a dynamic threshold that is set based on available device resources and / or network conditions (e.g., network congestion, battery level, link budget, bandwidth, data rate). If the processor 12 determines that the entropy factor 120 exceeds the threshold, the processor 12 causes the transmitter 52 to transmit the second message to the reply network 86 at process block 172.

[0060] If the processor 12 determines that the entropy coefficient 120 of the second message is below the threshold, then in process block 174, the processor 12 causes the transmitter 52 to transmit redundant bits in response to the second message content corresponding to the repeated or redundant message content for the first transmitted message. The processor 12 may also transmit information corresponding to the repeated segments of the first message present in the second message text. This information may include a numeric tag corresponding to the segment of the first message text that was repeated in the second message content. In this manner, the response network 86 receives new information and associated information regarding the information that is being repeated without the need to transmit a repeated or redundant message to the response network 86.

[0061] In some emergency situations, the electronic device 10 may be exposed to environmental conditions (e.g., heat, rain, cold temperatures, heavy foliage) that may affect its ability to communicate with the response network 86. In these situations, it may be beneficial for the electronic device 10 to determine the environmental conditions that may affect the network connectivity of the electronic device 10 and implement mitigating measures to ensure that the electronic device 10 can transmit messages to the response network 86 under these conditions.

[0062] In light of the above, FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method 180 of efficient electronic device 10 communication based on the condition of the electronic device 10, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Certain environmental and electronic device 10 conditions may result in degraded or interrupted network connectivity for the electronic device 10. The electronic device 10 may monitor the device condition and may implement measures to optimize data transmission to the response network 86 based on the device condition. Any suitable device (e.g., controller) capable of controlling components of the electronic device 10, such as the processor 12, may perform the method 180. In some embodiments, the method 180 may be implemented by using the processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 14 or the storage device 16. For example, the method 180 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components, such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although method 180 has been described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the steps described may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain steps described may be omitted or not performed at all.

[0063] At process block 182, the processor 12 estimates the thermal trend of the electronic device 10 (e.g., whether the temperature of the device is increasing or decreasing). The processor 12 can estimate the thermal trend using on-device machine learning algorithms. Over the life of the electronic device 10, the machine learning algorithm can develop a thermal trend based on the activity of the electronic device 10, the use of applications on the electronic device 10, the GPS location of the electronic device 10 (e.g., temperature trends at geographical location), and the like. In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 can include a temperature sensor 58 that collects temperature data of the device over time. The machine learning algorithm can then use that temperature data to determine the on-device thermal trend. The processor 12 can use these determined thermal trends to predict or determine conditions that could result in a thermal trap (e.g., a high heat (temperature above 95 degrees Fahrenheit) or low heat (temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) condition that results in the shutoff of the electronic device 10 or a drop in the network connectivity of the electronic device 10).

[0064] At decision block 184, the processor 12 determines whether the thermal trend exceeds a threshold based on the estimated thermal trend of the electronic device 10. The threshold may correspond to a risk of signal loss and / or degradation of signal quality of the electronic device 10 for messages of the electronic device 10 sent to or received from the response network 86. For a low temperature condition, the thermal trend may exceed the low temperature threshold if the temperature of the device tends to fall below a low temperature value (e.g., a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit). Furthermore, for a high temperature condition, the thermal trend may exceed the high temperature threshold if the temperature of the device tends to rise above a high temperature value (e.g., a temperature above 95 degrees Fahrenheit). If the processor 12 determines that the thermal trend associated with the electronic device 10 does not exceed the threshold, the method 180 returns to process block 182, where the processor 12 continues estimating the thermal trend of the electronic device 10.

[0065] If the processor 12 determines that the thermal trend exceeds the threshold, then at process block 186, the processor 12 outputs (e.g., via the display 18 or another output device of the electronic device 10) a request to perform a mitigation action based on the thermal trend of the electronic device 10 exceeding the threshold. In some embodiments, the mitigation action may be performed by default based on the thermal trend of the device without the need to output a request to perform a mitigation action. The mitigation action may include battery conservation measures, entering a power saving mode, deactivating power-intensive components or processes, reducing network operation (e.g., performing only emergency or prioritized network operation), sending a notification to the network, or any other suitable mitigation action. At process block 188, the processor 12 sends a notification to the network (e.g., in response to receiving approval to perform the mitigation action) of a possible device shutoff or degradation of signal quality due to the thermal condition of the electronic device 10 exceeding the threshold. This may enable the network to prioritize messages sent from the electronic device 10 such that the messages may be sent before the electronic device 10 shuts down or performance of the device degrades due to the thermal condition. The network and / or electronic device 10 may prioritize those messages by implementing battery conservation measures, entering a power saving mode, deactivating power-intensive components or processes, reducing network operation, prioritizing uplink scheduling of the device, providing additional resources for larger messages or increased message transmission from the electronic device 10, etc.

[0066] As mentioned above, in some emergency situations, the electronic device 10 may be exposed to environmental conditions (e.g., heat, rain, cold temperatures, heavy foliage) that may affect the ability of the electronic device 10 to communicate with the response network 86. In these situations, it may be beneficial for the electronic device 10 to determine the environmental conditions that may affect the network connectivity of the electronic device 10 and implement mitigating measures to ensure that messages can be transmitted to the response network 86.

[0067] In light of the above, FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method 190 for efficient communication based on environmental conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Certain environmental and electronic device 10 conditions may cause the electronic device 10 to degrade or interrupt its network connection to the network. The electronic device 10 may monitor the device conditions, determine certain changes in the environmental conditions, and implement measures to improve transmission to and reception from the response network 86 based on the device and environmental conditions. Any suitable device (e.g., controller) capable of controlling components of the electronic device 10, such as the processor 12, may perform the method 160. In some embodiments, the method 190 may be implemented by using the processor 12 to execute instructions stored in a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 14 or the storage device 16. For example, the method 190 may be performed at least in part by one or more software components, such as an operating system of the electronic device 10, one or more software applications of the electronic device 10, etc. Although method 190 has been described using a particular order of steps, it should be understood that the present disclosure contemplates that the steps described may be performed in an order different from that shown, and that certain steps described may be omitted or not performed at all.

[0068] At process block 192, the processor 12 determines a request to send one or more messages from the electronic device 10 to the response network 86. The one or more messages may contain redundant information (e.g., same or similar meaning, same algorithmic contextual information) or unique information for a subsequent message to be sent. At decision block 194, the processor 12 determines whether the one or more messages contain similar intent as other requested messages or previously sent messages. The processor 12 may determine similar intent messages by using machine learning algorithms to identify similar text or similar meaning text from one or more messages. It should be appreciated that any suitable method may be used to determine similar intent.

[0069] If processor 12 determines that one or more messages contain a similar intent to other or previously transmitted messages, then in process block 196 processor 12 may request to transmit a single message having text and one or more redundant bits corresponding to several messages having the determined similar intent. For example, a first message of the one or more messages may be "help me in the woods" and the next two messages of the one or more messages requested to be transmitted may be "help me" and "in the woods". Processor 12 may recognize (e.g., via a machine learning algorithm) that the three messages requested are of similar intent and may then request to transmit the "help me in the woods" message and two redundant bits corresponding to the other two messages of determined similar intent. It should be appreciated that this process may be repeated with any number of messages.

[0070] If the processor 12 determines that one or more messages are not of a similar intent, then in decision block 198 the processor 12 determines whether the one or more messages are above a threshold size (e.g., greater than 35 bytes), which may be set by the available bandwidth of the electronic device 10 or based on the resources of the electronic device 10 and the network resources. If the processor 12 determines that one or more messages are below the threshold size, then in process block 200 the processor 12 may transmit the one or more messages to the reply network 86.

[0071] If the processor 12 determines that one or more messages exceed the threshold size, then at process block 202, the processor 12 determines the amount of foliage present at the location of the electronic device 10. For example, the electronic device 10 may be located at a lower elevation (e.g., in a valley), the network hub may be located at a higher elevation (e.g., on a cliff) as compared to the electronic device 10, and a forest canopy may be located between the electronic device 10 and the network hub, thereby obstructing the communication link between the electronic device 10 and the network. The greater the amount or percentage of sky that is covered by foliage (e.g., the greater the degree of obstruction), the greater the obstruction to communication signals to and from the electronic device 10. The camera 56 of the electronic device 10 may capture one or more images (e.g., image data) of foliage at the location of the electronic device 10, and the processor 12 may determine the foliage level based on the one or more images captured by the camera 56. The processor 12 may also determine the level of foliage coverage of the electronic device 10 by searching a database of foliage coverage based on the location of the mobile device. The processor 12 may classify the amount of foliage present as "light foliage", "medium foliage", and "heavy foliage". The foliage categories may be relative and may apply to any suitable amount or percentage of foliage. As an example, light foliage may refer to when the foliage covers 0%-33% of the sky when captured in the image, medium foliage may refer to when the foliage covers 34%-66% of the sky when captured in the image, and heavy foliage may refer to when the foliage covers 67%-100% of the sky when captured in the image. More or less coverage categories may be defined (e.g., "medium light foliage", "medium heavy foliage", etc.). It should be appreciated that any suitable foliage categories may be used.

[0072] At decision block 204, processor 12 determines whether the amount of foliage is above a first threshold and whether the battery level is below a threshold (e.g., 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%). The first threshold may correspond to a heavy foliage level or percentage that covers 67% or more of the sky when captured in the image, or any other suitable metric indicative of heavy foliage coverage. If processor 12 determines that the amount of foliage is above the first threshold and the battery level of electronic device 10 is below the battery threshold, processor 12 decomposes, separates, or splits one or more messages into portions having a size of a few datagrams and transmits the one or more messages to response network 86 at process block 206. Processor 12 may cause transmitter 52 to transmit the portions having a size of a few datagrams using a degraded communication signal based on the heavy foliage level and / or the degraded battery level to increase the likelihood that at least a portion of the content of the one or more messages can be received by response network 86.

[0073] If the processor 12 determines that the amount of foliage is below the first threshold and / or the battery is not below the battery threshold, then in decision block 208, the processor 12 determines whether the amount of foliage is above a second threshold that is lower than the first threshold and whether the battery level is below a threshold (e.g., 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%). The second threshold may correspond to a medium foliage level or percentage that covers more than 34% of the sky as captured by the image, or any other suitable metric that indicates medium foliage coverage. If the processor 12 determines that the amount of foliage is above the second threshold and the battery level of the electronic device 10 is below the battery threshold, then in process block 210, the processor 12 breaks down the one or more messages into portions having a size of 4-6 datagrams and transmits the one or more messages to the response network 86. The processor 12 may cause the transmitter 52 to transmit portions of the size of 4-6 datagrams using a degraded communication signal based on moderate foliage levels and / or reduced battery levels to increase the likelihood that at least a portion of the content of one or more messages may be received by the response network 86.

[0074] If the processor 12 determines that the amount of foliage is below the second threshold and / or the battery is not below the battery threshold, then at decision block 212, the processor 12 may determine whether the amount of foliage is below the second threshold and whether the battery level is below a threshold (e.g., 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%). If the processor 12 determines that the amount of foliage is below the second threshold and the battery level of the electronic device 10 is below the battery threshold, then at process block 214, the processor 12 may break the one or more messages into portions having a size of 7-9 datagrams and transmit the one or more messages. The processor 12 may cause the transmitter 52 to transmit the portions having a size of 4-6 datagrams using a degraded communication signal based on a mild foliage level (e.g., less than a moderate foliage level) and / or a degraded battery level to increase the likelihood that at least a portion of the one or more message contents can be received by the response network 86. If the processor 12 determines that the battery is not below the battery threshold, then at process block 200 the processor 12 causes the transmitter 52 to transmit the one or more messages to the response network 86. In this manner, the processor 12 can dynamically decompose, separate, or split the messages that are requested to be transmitted based on the amount of foliage and the connection signal strength as a factor of the battery strength. Although particular ranges of datagrams are listed above, it should be understood that any suitable range of datagrams can be used to transmit one or more messages based on device conditions.

[0075] It will be appreciated that use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0076] It should be understood that the particular embodiments described above are shown by way of example, and that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0077] The technology presented and claimed herein refers to and applies tangible objects and specific examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the art, and is therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. Moreover, to the extent any claim appended at the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] . . . a function" or "steps for [performing] . . . a function," it is intended that such elements be construed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, with respect to any claim that contains elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements not be construed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Claims

1. 1. A mobile device comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit a first message having a first message segment to a reply network; receiving a request to transmit a second message having a second message segment to the response network; configured to transmit the second message as redundant bits based on an entropy coefficient indicative of a similarity of the second message to the first message. A mobile device comprising:

2. 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the entropy coefficient based on a semantic similarity between the first message and the second message, an amount of repeated text of the first message used in the second message, or both.

3. 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to transmit the second message based on the entropy coefficient falling below a threshold, the threshold comprising a resource level value associated with an amount of available resources of the mobile device, the responding network, or both.

4. 4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the resource level value based on a network congestion level associated with the response network, a battery level of the mobile device, a link budget between the response network and the mobile device, a thermal level of the mobile device, or any combination thereof.

5. 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to divide the first message segment into one or more information segments corresponding to one or more subsets of text of the first message segment.

6. The mobile device of claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to tag the one or more information segments with a sequential number.

7. 7. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that one or more of the one or more information segments of the first message correspond to the second message; and to transmit the one or more information segments of the first message that are determined to correspond to the second message.

8. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive a request to transmit a third message to the response network, the third message having a third message segment.

9. 10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine an entropy factor associated with the third message indicative of a similarity of the third message to the first message and the second message, and to transmit the third message as redundant bits based on the entropy factor.

10. 1. A method of communication using a mobile device, comprising: receiving, in a processing circuit of the mobile device, a request to transmit a first message; Segmenting the first message into a plurality of information segments via the processing circuitry of the mobile device; transmitting the first message via a transmitter of the mobile device; receiving, in the processing circuitry, a request to transmit a second message; determining, via the processing circuitry, that the second message includes one or more information segments of the plurality of information segments of the first message; and transmitting, via the transmitter, the one or more information segments of the second message as one or more redundant bits indicating that the one or more information segments of the second message repeat the one or more information segments in the first message.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising determining, via the transmitter, an entropy coefficient indicative of a similarity of the second message to the first message.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the similarity is related to the meaning of the first message and the second message, the amount of repeated text of the first message used in the second message, or both.

13. 11. The method of claim 10, comprising: receiving, in the processing circuitry, an amount of foliage at a location of the mobile device; and splitting the first message and the second message into a plurality of smaller messages based on the amount of foliage at the location of the mobile device exceeding a foliage threshold.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein a size of each message of the plurality of smaller messages is based on an amount of the foliage determined at the location of the mobile device.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the amount of foliage at the location of the mobile device includes receiving, at the processing circuitry, image data captured by an image sensor of the mobile device.

16. 1. A mobile device comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit one or more messages to a network; receiving a request to transmit a message having a first message segment and a second message segment to a response network; determining that the first message segment corresponds to a previously transmitted message segment; configured to transmit the first message segment to the response network as a redundant bit and to transmit the second message segment to the response network; A mobile device comprising:

17. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the redundant bits indicate that the first message segment corresponds to the previously transmitted message segment.

18. 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the first message segment corresponds to the previously transmitted message segment by determining an entropy coefficient indicative of similarity between the first message segment and the previously transmitted message segment.

19. 20. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the entropy factor is based on a semantic similarity between a first message and a second message, an amount of repeated text of the first message used in the second message, or both.

20. 20. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to transmit the first message segment to the response network as the redundant bits based on the entropy factor being below a threshold entropy factor.

Images