Use of out of band signaling to facilitate wi-fi aware communication

Abstract

A method and system for use of out-of-band signaling to facilitate Wi-Fi Aware ("Neighbor Awareness Networking" (NAN)) communication between a first device and the second device. The second device may wirelessly receive from the first device a non-NAN signaling message, such as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signaling message for instance, that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member. In response, the second device may then automatically configure itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having that NAN cluster ID. Further, upon so configuring itself, the second device may then use the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device, such as to find that a NAN Subscribe keyed to that cluster ID matches a NAN Publish message from the first device also keyed to that cluster ID.

Description

Use of Out of Band Signaling to Facilitate Wi-Fi Aware CommunicationBACKGROUND

[0001] Wi-Fi Aware, also referred to as “Neighbor Awareness Networking” (NAN), is a new technology introduced by the Wi-Fi Alliance, to allow devices to discover nearby devices, applications, and information before making an associated Wi-Fi connection. With Wi-Fi Aware, users can configure their devices to publish availability of information and subscribe to receive information. Further, the Wi-Fi Aware service can run continuously in the background on users’ devices, to make the devices neighbor aware, looking for other devices with similar interests. Once a user’s device thereby becomes aware of a nearby device with a similar interest, the devices may then establish a direct Wi-Fi connection with each other, and the devices may exchange information through that Wi-Fi connection.

[0002] Wi-Fi Aware may thereby facilitate numerous useful operations.

[0003] By way of example, if devices are nearby each other and have Wi-Fi-Aware service configured to support sharing of photos, a user of a first device may cause the first device to publish availability of a photo to share, the second device may detect that published availability and may responsively prompt a user of the second device to approve receiving the photo, and, upon user approval, the devices may then establish a Wi-Fi direct connection with each other and the first device may then send the photo through that connection to the second device.

[0004] As another example, if devices are nearby each other and have Wi-Fi-Aware service configured to support multi-party gaming interaction, a user of the first device may cause the first device to publish availability to play a multi-party game, the second device may detect that published availability and may responsively prompt a user of the second device to participate in the game, and, upon user approval, the devices may then establish a direct Wi-Fi connection with each other and the devices may then engage in gaming interaction with each other.

[0005] Other examples are possible as well.SUMMARY

[0006] The disclosure provides for using out-of-band signaling, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signaling or other non-Wi-Fi signaling, between a first device and a seconddevice as a basis to provision the second device with a Wi-Fi Aware cluster ID that will facilitate Wi-Fi Aware communication between the first device and the second device. Without this process, when it becomes necessary for the second device to engage in Wi-Fi Aware communication with the first device in a scenario where the second device is not provisioned with a Wi-Fi Aware cluster ID (and / or is not currently in the same Wi-Fi Aware cluster as the first device), there may be undue latency, power consumption, signaling, and / or errors in the second device scanning for broadcast of that cluster ID. Having the first device share the cluster ID with the second device through BLE or other out-of-band signaling can help avoid such technical issues, to help facilitate prompt, efficient, and successful Wi-Fi Aware communication between the devices.

[0007] Accordingly, in one respect, disclosed is a method to facilitate NAN communication between a first device and a second device. The method may include the second device wirelessly receiving from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member. Further, the method may include, responsive to the second device wirelessly receiving from the first device the non- NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, the second device configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID. Still further, the method may include, upon configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, the second device using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

[0008] In another respect, disclosed is a system to facilitate NAN communication between a first device and a second device. The system may include at the second device at least one processor, at least one non-transitory data storage, and program instructions stored in the at least one non-transitory data storage and executable by the at least one processor to cause the second device to carry out operations. The operations may include receiving from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member. Further, the operations may include, responsive to receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID. Still further, the operations may include, upon configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

[0009] In yet another respect, disclosed is at least one non-transitory computer- readable medium that may have stored thereon instructions executable by at least one processor of a second device to cause the second device to carry out operations to facilitate NAN communication between a first device and the second device. The operations may include receiving from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member. Further, the operations may include, responsive to receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID. Still further, the operations may include, upon configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

[0010] These and other aspects, advantages, and alternatives, will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description, with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that the disclosure provided here and elsewhere in this document is provided by way of example only and that numerous variations and other examples may be possible as well.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example arrangement in which NAN-based communication could occur.

[0012] Figure 2 illustrates a process flow that could be involved with example use of NAN for communication in an example arrangement.

[0013] Figure 3 is a variation of the illustration of Figure 1, showing components that could be involved with use of BLE as a basis to trigger enabling of NAN service.

[0014] Figure 4A illustrates a process flow that could be involved with example use of BLE to trigger enabling of NAN service.

[0015] Figure 4B is a continuation of the process flow of Figure 4A.

[0016] Figure 5 A is a variation of a portion of the process flow of Figure 4, illustrating an example use of out-of-band signaling as a basis to configure a NAN cluster ID at a device.

[0017] Figure 5B is a continuation of the process flow of Figure 5 A.

[0018] Figure 5C is a continuation of the process flow of Figure 5B.

[0019] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method.

[0020] Figure 7 is a simplified block diagram of an example device.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] For simplicity and consistency with the Wi-Fi Alliance definition of Wi-Fi Aware service in an example implementation, the present disclosure will primarily use the term “NAN” in place of the term “Wi-Fi Aware”.1. NAN Service

[0022] NAN defines a “cluster” construct, according to which devices that are nearby each other and can engage in NAN communication with each other will store a common NAN cluster ID that identifies a NAN cluster of which the devices are members and that serves as a basis to support the devices’ NAN communication with each other.

[0023] For instance, each device that supports NAN service may store a NAN cluster ID that identifies a NAN cluster of which the device is a member, and each other device that is a member of that same NAN cluster may store the same NAN cluster ID. Each such device may then transmit (e.g., multicast) NAN communications to each other device of the same cluster by including the cluster ID in a header of each transmitted Wi-Fi packet, signifying to each other cluster member that the Wi-Fi packet is a cluster-specific packet.

[0024] According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, each device that supports NAN service may include a NAN Engine to manage the service. The NAN Engine, which may be defined on and / or interact with a Wi-Fi chipset of the device, may encompass various components, such as a NAN Discovery Engine responsible for handling service queries and responses, a NAN Medium Access Control (MAC) layer responsible for handling NAN beacon frames and NAN service discovery frames, a NAN Data Engine responsible for providing NAN data-link capability for setting up data links between NAN devices, and NAN application programming interfaces (APIs) for interaction with services / applications running on the device.

[0025] In a given NAN cluster, one device may function as a Master (or “Anchor Master”) of the cluster, possibly based on the device having a highest “Master Rank” in the cluster, and each other device may function as a “Non-Master” of the cluster. A device may become the Master of a NAN cluster in various ways, such as upon (i) the device initially starting the cluster, (ii) occurrence of a change in Master Rank of one or more devices in the cluster, or (iii) occurrence of absence of beacon broadcasts from a current Master of the cluster.

[0026] The Master of a NAN cluster may periodically transmit on a predetermined Wi-Fi channel one or more messages, as beacon frames, specifying the cluster’s NAN cluster ID and associated timing-synchronization information to help to ensure that the devices in the cluster stay synchronized with each other. For instance, the Master broadcast an indication of the NAN cluster ID and timing-synchronization information in discovery time windows having a periodicity of 512 Wi-Fi timing units (TUs) of 1024 microseconds each, and thus approximately every 0.52 seconds. These transmissions may propagate through multiple hops among devices in the NAN cluster.

[0027] When a device’s NAN service gets initially turned on (e.g., transitioning from a service-off state to a service-on state), the device may not yet be a member of a NAN cluster and may thus not yet have a stored NAN cluster ID. Therefore, the device’ s NAN engine may responsively scan the predetermined Wi-Fi channel in search of a NAN beacon frame that would provide a cluster ID. If the NAN Engine discovers such a NAN beacon frame, the NAN Engine may then read the cluster ID and store the cluster ID as its own, so that the device would thereby join the NAN cluster having that cluster ID. Whereas, if the NAN Engine does not discover such a NAN beacon frame, then the NAN Engine may start its own NAN cluster as Master, generating a new NAN cluster ID and transmitting its own NAN beacon frames, to enable other devices to join the cluster.

[0028] After a period of NAN inactivity, a device may also suspend its NAN service, entering into mode in which the device may not send or receive NAN communications but may maintain its latest stored NAN cluster ID. The device may then wake up or resume its NAN service in response to an application request or other trigger.

[0029] Devices that are members of a common NAN cluster may engage in NAN signaling with each other and may use the NAN signaling as a basis to discover that they share a common interest with each other. That finding of common interest may then serve as a trigger for the devices to establish a direct connection with each other, such as a NAN data-link layer connection, and to then engage in associated application-layer communication with each other through that established connection.2. Example Use of NAN Service

[0030] This description will now discuss example implementations where the common interest relates to sharing of a photo from a first device to a second device.

[0031] It will be understood, however, that the disclosed principles could apply as well to sharing of other information and to numerous other use cases. Without limitation, forinstance, other example use cases include (i) social uses such as connecting with others nearby to play a game, enabling a nearby user to simultaneously hear music being played on a user’s device, finding friends nearby, or pairing an extended reality device with a game console, computer, or phone, (ii) business uses such as sending a document to a printer, viewing a restaurant menu, or making a restaurant reservation, (iii) educational uses such as conveying information to students about objects in a classroom or museum, or automating attendance taking, (iv) transportation uses, such as enabling communication and exchange of information between vehicles, or streamlining airport security procedures, and (v) various Intemet-of- Things interactions, among others.

[0032] Further, it will be understood that various disclosed elements and operations could be re-ordered, distributed, replicated, combined, omitted, added, or otherwise modified, and that elements described as functional entities could be implemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction with other components / modules, and in any suitable combination and location. In addition, it will be understood that various operations described as being carried out by one or more components or other entities could be implemented by and / or on behalf of those entities, through hardware, firmware, and / or software, such as by one or more processing units executing program instructions stored in memory, among other possibilities.

[0033] Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example arrangement in which NAN-based sharing could occur.

[0034] As shown in Figure 1, the example arrangement includes a first device 100 operated by a user 102, the first device 100 having a photos application 104 that stores an example photo 106, and having a NAN Engine 108 with an associated Wi-Fi communication interface 110. Further, the example arrangement also includes a second device 112 operated by a user 114, the second device 112 having a photos application 116 and having a NAN Engine 118 with an associated Wi-Fi communication interface 120.

[0035] The first device 100 and second device 112 could take any of a variety of forms, and may vary in form from each other. For instance, the devices may be mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets, portable computers, wearable devices, or the like, and / or stationary devices such as desktop computers, televisions, or appliances, among other possibilities.

[0036] In the example arrangement of Figure 1, the user 102 of the first device 100 may wish to share the photo 106 with the user 114 of the second device 112. In particular, theuser 102 may wish to have the photos application 104 on the first device 100 transmit the photo to the photos application 116 on the second device 112. The first device 100 and second device 112 may make use of NAN to facilitate this. This assumes that the first device 100 and second device 112 are members of a common NAN cluster as noted above, so their respective NAN Engines would store the same NAN cluster ID as each other.

[0037] Figure 2 illustrates a process flow that could be involved with example use of NAN for sharing of the photo 106 from the first device 100 to the second device 112. Note that the sequence of steps illustrated in this and other figures may vary in practice.

[0038] As shown in Figure 2, at step 200, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may receive from the user 102 of the first device 100 a request to make the photo 106 on the first device 100 available for sharing. For example, the user 102 may select the photo 106 and engage a “share” function in the photos application 104. In response, the photos application 104 may then interact with the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 to trigger this photo-sharing process.

[0039] In particular, at step 202, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may call a NAN API to trigger a NAN Publish function by the NAN Engine 108. According to this NAN Publish function, at step 204, the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100, interworking with the physical Wi-Fi layer on the first device 100, may then transmit (e.g., multicast) on a predetermined Wi-Fi channel a NAN Publish message that specifies and is thus keyed to parameters such as (i) the NAN cluster ID, (ii) a name of the service / application, e.g., “photo sharing,” and (iii) filter information that may limit a scope and applicability of the Publish message. The NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 may repeatedly transmit this Publish message until either receiving a response or encountering a timeout condition.

[0040] In parallel with this, at step 206, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 in the same NAN cluster may receive from the user 114 of the second device 112 a request to receive one or more photos shared in the NAN cluster (e.g., a general request to receive any photo from a nearby device, presumably in the same NAN cluster). In response, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then interact with the NAN Engine 118 on the second device to facilitate this photo-sharing process.

[0041] In particular, at step 208, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may call a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger a corresponding NAN Subscribe function and, at step 210, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may thus invoke a NAN Subscribe function. According to this NAN Subscribe function, the NAN Engine 118 onthe second device 112, interworking with the physical Wi-Fi layer on the second device, may scan the predetermined Wi-Fi channel for presence of an applicable NAN Publish message. For instance, the Subscribe function may be keyed to similar parameters such as the same NAN cluster ID, the same service / application name, and consistent filter information, so the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may scan for presence of a NAN Publish message consistent with or matching those parameters. At step 212, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may thereby discover the NAN Publish message from the first device 100, having matching parameters, i.e., a NAN Publish that matches the NAN Subscribe.

[0042] Once the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 accordingly discovers the NAN Publish message from the first device 100, at step 214, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may then signal back to the photos application 116 on the second device 112 to indicate that (per the NAN Publish message) a photo is available for sharing to the second device 112.

[0043] Possibly after further user interaction, at step 216, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then call a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger establishment of a data link layer connection between the first device 100 and the second device 112 and to trigger notification to the photos application 104 on the first device, and, at step 218, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may accordingly work to establish the data link. For instance, this NAN API call may cause the NAN Data Engine on the second device 112 to engage in a 4-way Wi-Fi handshake with the NAN Data Engine on the first device 100, so as to establish a unicast data link between the first device 100 and second device 112. Further, this may also cause the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 to alert the photos application 104 on the first device 100. At step 218, through this unicast data link, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then transmit the photo 106 to the photos application 116 on the second device 112, thus completing the photo sharing process.3. Use of Out-of-Band Signaling to Enable NAN Service

[0044] NAN as a specific form of Wi-Fi communication technology may also support use of an out of band communication technology as a trigger for enabling a device’s NAN service, such as powering on or waking up the device’ s NAN service, in order to facilitate NAN discovery such as the Publish and Subscribe functions described above. For instance, NAN may support use of BLE as a trigger for enabling a device’s NAN service. Further, NAN may also support use of Near Field Communication (NFC) and / or other non-Wi-Fi communication technology to likewise trigger enabling of a device’s NAN service. Stillfurther, NAN may even support use of more generic Wi-Fi communications (e.g., Wi-Fi Direct) as a basis to trigger enabling of a device’s NAN service.

[0045] Figure 3 illustrates a variation of the arrangement in Figure 1, additionally showing components that could be involved in use of BLE as a basis to trigger enabling of NAN service. In particular, Figure 3 additionally shows that the first device 100 may include a Bluetooth communication interface 122, and that the second device 112 may include a Bluetooth communication interface 124. These Bluetooth communication interfaces may support BLE communication with each other and particularly BLE communication, which could serve as a basis to trigger use of NAN service, in an example scenario where the NAN service on the second device 112 is either turned off or in suspend mode.

[0046] Figure 4 (Figures 4A and 4B) illustrates a process flow that could be involved with example use of BLE to trigger enabling of NAN service on the second device 112, to facilitate use of NAN service to share the photo 106 from the first device 100 to the second device 112.

[0047] In the example process shown in Figure 4, at step 400, the photos application 104 on the first device may receive from the user 102 a request to share the photo 106. In response, at step 402, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then call a BLE API on the first device 100 to trigger a BLE Transport Discovery Service (TDS) function related to NAN photo sharing. According to this BLE TDS function, at step 404, the Bluetooth communication interface 122 of the first device 100 may broadcast a BLE advertising packet, which may carry header parameters indicating that the packet is a TDS packet for Wi-Fi service discovery, and which may carry transport data (such as a Bloom filter) indicating the service / application information at issue, e.g., that the service / application is photo sharing.

[0048] This broadcast BLE advertising packet may serve to facilitate discovery and selection of a nearby photo sharing target. For instance, the Bluetooth communication interface respectively of each of one or more BLE-capable devices within range of the first device may receive and respond to this BLE advertising packet by transmitting a respective BLE advertising packet in response to the first device 100. This includes, at step 406, the Bluetooth communication interface 124 of the second device 112 receiving and responding to the BLE advertising packet by transmitting a responsive BLE advertising packet to the first device 100.

[0049] At step 408, the Bluetooth communication interface 122 of the first device 100 may responsively notify the photos application 104 on the first device 100 about each such responding device. Further, at step 410, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 mayresolve each responding device’s BLE address to a corresponding username if possible and may display an icon / name for each such device, to inform the user 102 of the first device 100 of the nearby candidate photo-sharing recipient(s). Given this information, at step 412, the user 102 of the first device 100 may then select a target user / device to be the second device 112 or sharing target for the photo sharing.

[0050] In response to this user selection of the second device as sharing target, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then take various actions to facilitate sharing of the photo with the second device.

[0051] By way of example, at step 414, in response to this user selection of sharing target, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may call a BLE API on the first device 100, which, at step 416, may trigger unicast BLE signaling from the first device 100 specifically to the second device 112 (e.g., targeted BLE advertisement signaling, or perhaps a communication over a BLE connection established between the first device 100 and the second device 112). This unicast BLE signaling may likewise carry header parameters and transport data as noted above, possibly functioning as a request to share the photo with the second device 112. Further, at step 418, in response to the user selection of sharing target, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may also call a NAN API on the first device to trigger the NAN Publish function as discussed above. Accordingly, at step 420, the first device 100 may repeatedly transmit a NAN Publish message keyed to the first device’s NAN cluster ID, the service / application name (e.g., photo sharing), and associated filter information.

[0052] Upon receipt of the unicast BLE signaling from the first device, at step 422, the Bluetooth communication interface 124 on the second device 112 may notify the photos application 116 on the second device 112, informing the photos application 116 on the second device 112 about the request from the first device 100 to share a photo with the second device 112. At step 424, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then responsively present to the user 114 of the second device 112 a prompt indicating that the first device 100 wishes to share a photo with the second device 112, and the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may receive user acceptance in response to that prompt.

[0053] At that point, at step 426, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then call a NAN API on the second device to trigger enabling of NAN service on the second device 112, such as turning on of the NAN service if it is not on already, or waking up of the NAN service if it was in a suspend mode. Thus, the BLE signaling between the firstdevice 100 and second device 112 will have resulted in enabling the NAN service on the second device 112.

[0054] If the BLE signaling between the devices thereby results in turning on of the NAN service on the second device 112, then the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may responsively work to have the second device 112 join an existing NAN cluster as discussed above. For instance, at step 428, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may scan a predetermined Wi-Fi channel in search of a transmitted NAN beacon frame and may discover presence of such a NAN beacon frame - which as noted a Master device of a NAN cluster may transmit on the channel approximately every 0.52 seconds. At step 430, upon discovering presence of such a NAN beacon frame, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may then read the NAN cluster ID from the beacon frame and store that NAN cluster ID as its own, so the second device 112 would thereby join the NAN cluster having that cluster ID. In a likely scenario, assuming the first device 100 and second device 112 are located close to each other, the NAN cluster ID in this NAN beacon frame may be the same cluster ID stored by the first device 100.

[0055] Alternatively, if the BLE signaling between the devices results in waking up of the NAN service on the second device from a suspend mode, then the second device 112 may already be a member of a NAN cluster, and the NAN Engine 118 on the second device may already have a stored NAN cluster ID of that NAN cluster.

[0056] At step 432, once the NAN service on the second device 112 is so enabled, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may notify the photos application 116 on the second device 112. Further, at step 434, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then call a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger use of NAN to receive the photo share. In particular, in response to this API call, at step 436, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may then invoke the NAN Subscribe function as discussed above, which would be keyed to the second device’s NAN cluster ID, the service / application name (e.g., photo sharing), and filter information.

[0057] At this point, at step 438, assuming that the NAN cluster ID of the second device 112 is the same as the NAN cluster ID of the first device 100, and assuming that other aspects of the second device’s NAN Subscribe match the first device’s NAN Publish, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may detect that the Publish matches the Subscribe (i.e., that the Publish satisfies applicable parameters of the Subscribe). Thus, at step 440, upon detecting this match, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may notify the photosapplication 116 on the second device 112, indicating (per the NAN Publish message) that a photo is available for sharing to the second device 112.

[0058] Given this match between the NAN Subscribe and the NAN Publish, at step 442, the photos application 116 may then proceed here as described above, calling a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger establishment of a data link layer connection between the first device 100 and the second device 112 and to trigger notification to the photos application 104 on the first device. For instance, at step 444, as discussed above, this NAN API call may cause the NAN Data Engine on the second device to engage in a 4-way Wi-Fi handshake with the NAN Data Engine on the first device 100, to establish a unicast data link between the first device 100 and second device 112. Further, this may also cause the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 to alert the photos application 104 on the first device 100. At step 446, through this unicast data link, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then transmit the photo 106 to the photos application 116 on the second device 112, thus likewise completing the photo sharing process.4. Example Technical Problems

[0059] While use of BLE or another out-of-band (e.g., non-NAN) communication technology may work well as a mechanism to trigger enabling of NAN service on a device as discussed above for example, one or more technical problems may occur with the process in relation to the NAN cluster membership of the device.

[0060] In particular, in order for a device to engage in NAN communication, the device needs to be a member of the applicable NAN cluster. However, technical issues that can arise in use of out-of-band signaling enable NAN service on a device are (i) there may be undesirable latency in the device joining the applicable NAN cluster, (ii) the process may inefficiently consume power and processing resources, and (iii) the device may be or become a member of the wrong NAN cluster.

[0061] To appreciate these issues, consider the example process shown in Figure 4 and discussed above. In this process, in order for the NAN-based sharing of the photo 106 to work, the second device 112 and first device 100 should be members of the same NAN cluster as each other, having the same NAN cluster ID as each other. If they do not have the same NAN cluster ID as each other, then the second device’s NAN Subscribe that is keyed to the second device’s NAN cluster ID would not match the first device’s NAN Publish message that is keyed to the first device’s NAN cluster ID and the devices will therefore not proceed to establish a NAN data-link connection through which to share the photo 106.

[0062] In a scenario where NAN service on the second device 112 is currently off and where BLE signaling or other out-of-band signaling from the first device 100 would function to trigger turning on of NAN service on the second device 112 as discussed above, the second device 112 may not currently be a member of a NAN cluster and may therefore need to join a NAN cluster. As discussed above, to do so, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may scan a predetermined Wi-Fi channel for presence of a NAN beacon frame that carries a NAN cluster ID, and, upon discovery of such a beacon frame, may read and store the NAN cluster ID, thus joining the NAN cluster having that NAN cluster ID.

[0063] One technical issue with this scenario may be latency in the scanning process. As noted above, the Master of a NAN cluster may periodically transmit into the cluster a NAN beacon frame carrying the cluster ID, but the periodicity of that transmission may be just about every 0.52 seconds. With that periodicity, it is possible that the second device 112 may have to wait up to 0.52 seconds before seeing a next beacon transmission and therefore before reading and storing the cluster ID. Unfortunately, this latency may be undesirable from a user perspective, perhaps further when combined with other delays in the process.

[0064] Further, other technical issues with this scenario may be consumption of power and processing resources at the second device 112. Namely, the act of the second device 112 scanning the predetermined Wi-Fi channel for presence of a NAN beacon frame carrying a NAN cluster ID may consume both battery power of the second device 112 (if the second device 112 is battery powered) and processing resources of the second device 112.

[0065] Still further, another technical issue with this scenario may be that the second device 112 may join the wrong NAN cluster. Although NAN seeks to have all nearby NAN-capable devices dynamically join the same NAN cluster as each other, there is a chance that the NAN beacon frame that the second device 112 discovers may be in a NAN cluster other than that of which the first device 100 is a member. If this happens, then the second device 112 may end up joining a NAN cluster different than the NAN cluster of which the first device 100 is a member, and therefore the second device’s NAN Subscribe would not match the first device’s NAN Publish, and the photo sharing would not work, and / or there may be added latency and consumption of power and processing resources as the second device 112 then works to rectify the situation.

[0066] In addition, in a scenario where the NAN service on the second device 112 is currently in suspend mode and where BLE signaling or other out-of-band signaling from the first device 100 would function to trigger resuming the NAN service on the second device 112as discussed above, the second device 112 may currently be a member of the wrong NAN cluster. Namely, the second device 112 may be a member of a NAN cluster different than the NAN cluster of which the first device 100 is a member, storing a different NAN cluster ID than the first device 100 stores. Here too, the second device’s NAN Subscribe would therefore not match the first device’s NAN Publish, and the photo sharing would not work, and / or there may be added latency and consumption of power and processing resources as the second device 112 works to rectify the situation.

[0067] Further, similar problems with use of NAN service could arise even in a situation where out-of-band signaling is not used as a trigger to enable NAN service on the device at issue. For instance, even without using out-of-band signaling to enable NAN service on the device, the device may still need to scan for a NAN cluster ID in order to join a NAN cluster and / or the device may be a member or may join the wrong NAN cluster.5. Example Technical Solution

[0068] The present disclosure provides for use of out-of-band (e.g., non-NAN) signaling between devices as a basis to provision a second device with the NAN cluster ID of a first device, so as to facilitate NAN communication between the devices. Without limitation, for instance, an example implementation could involve use of the BLE signaling as a basis to provision the second device with the NAN cluster ID of the first device.

[0069] To accomplish this in the example process described above, for instance, the first device 100 could transmit to the second device 112 a BLE signal that carries the first device’s NAN cluster ID, and the second device 112 may then conveniently read that NAN cluster ID from the BLE signal and store the NAN cluster ID, thus joining the same NAN cluster as the first device 100.

[0070] For instance, the first device 100 could include its NAN cluster ID in the BLE TDS packet (e.g., as added transport data in the BLE TDS packet) that the first device 100 broadcasts at step 404, and the second device 112 could thus obtain that NAN cluster ID from that BLE TDS packet and store the obtained NAN cluster ID, to thereby join the same NAN cluster as the first device 100. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 100 could include its NAN cluster ID in a unicast BLE signal that the first device 100 transmits to the second device 112 at step 414, and the second device 112 could obtain that NAN cluster ID from that BLE unicast signal and store the obtained NAN cluster ID, to likewise join the same NAN cluster as the first device.

[0071] Figure 5 (Figures 5 A, 5B, and 5C) illustrates a process flow of the latter example, as a variation of a portion of the process flow shown in Figure 4, starting from when the user 102 of the first device 100 selects a sharing target (as at step 412 of Figure 4).

[0072] As shown in Figure 5, at step 500, in response to the selection of the second device 112 as the sharing target, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may call a NAN API on the first device 100 to determine the first device’s NAN cluster ID. Further, at step 502, also in response to the user selection of the second device 112 as the sharing target, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may call a NAN API on the first device to trigger the NAN Publish function discussed above, so that, at step 504, the first device 100 would begin transmitting a NAN Publish message keyed to the first device’s NAN cluster ID. These NAN API calls could be integrated together, e.g., as one NAN API call that requests the first device’s NAN cluster ID and also triggers the NAN Publish function.

[0073] At step 506, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then call a BLE API on the first device 100 to trigger unicast BLE signaling from the first device 100 to the second device 112, as in step 414 discussed above. Further, in this BLE API call, the photos application 104 may include as a parameter of the BLE API call the determined NAN cluster ID of the first device, which may cause the BLE communication interface 122 of the first device to include in its unicast BLE signaling to the second device 112 the first device’s NAN cluster ID. Thus, at step 508, the Bluetooth communication interface 122 of the first device 100 may transmit to the Bluetooth communication interface 124 of the second device 112 this BLE signaling carrying the first device’s NAN cluster ID. At step 510, the second device 112 may then read and thus determine from this BLE signaling the first device’s NAN cluster ID.

[0074] At step 512, as at step 422, in response to receipt of this unicast BLE signaling from the first device 100, the Bluetooth communication interface 124 on the second device 112 may notify the photos application 116 on the second device 112. Further, in this notification to the photos application 116 on the second device 112, or separately, the Bluetooth communication interface 124 may provide the photos application 116 on the second device 112 with the determined NAN cluster ID of the first device 100. In addition, at step 514, as at step 424, the photos application 116 may responsively present a photo-sharing prompt and receive photo-sharing approval from the user 114 of the second device 112.

[0075] At step 516, as at step 426, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then call a NAN API on the second device to trigger enabling of NAN service on the second device 112. Further, as part of this NAN API call or as a separate NAN API call, thephotos application 116 on the second device 112 may also provide the determined NAN cluster ID of the first device 100.

[0076] At step 518, in response to this NAN API call providing the determined NAN cluster ID of the first device 100, the NAN Engine 118 of the second device 112 may store that NAN cluster ID as its own, thus setting or configuring the second device 112 to be a member of the same NAN cluster as the first device 100.

[0077] If the second device 112 was not yet a member of a NAN cluster at this time, then the second device 112 would thereby initially join a NAN cluster, which would be the same NAN cluster as the first device 100. Whereas, if the second device was a member of a different NAN cluster at this time, then the second device may thereby switch from being a member of that different NAN cluster to instead being a member of the same NAN cluster as the first device 100.

[0078] Optimally this process may help avoid the need for the NAN Engine 118 of the second device 112 to scan (or to fully scan) for broadcast of a NAN beacon frame in order to discover a NAN cluster ID of an existing NAN cluster to join. By receiving the applicable NAN cluster ID provided to the second device 112 in out-of-band signaling, such as in signaling that also triggers enabling of NAN service on the second device 112, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 can readily configure the second device 112 to join the NAN cluster having that NAN cluster ID. Furthermore, by so receiving the NAN cluster ID provided through this out-of-band signaling from the first device 100 in particular, the second device 112 could thereby readily join the same NAN cluster as the first device 100, to quickly and efficiently facilitate NAN communication between the first device 100 and the second device 112.

[0079] Accordingly, at step 520, once the NAN service on the second device 112 is enabled and configured to have the second device 112 be a member of the same NAN cluster as the first device 100, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may notify the photo application 116 on the second device. Further, at step 522, as at step 434, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then call a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger use of NAN to receive the photo share. Accordingly, at step 524, as at step 436, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may then invoke the NAN Subscribe function as discussed above, which would optimally be keyed to same NAN cluster ID as the first device 100 and may otherwise match the NAN Publish message from the first device 100.

[0080] At step 526, as at step 438, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may detect that the second device’s NAN Subscribe matches the first device’s NAN Publish message. Therefore, at step 528, as at step 438, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may notify the photos application 116 on the second device 112, indicating (per the NAN Publish message) that a photo is available for sharing to the second device 112.

[0081] Further, at step 530, as at step 442, given this Subscribe-Publish match, the photos application 116 on the second device 112 may then proceed here as described above, calling a NAN API on the second device 112 to trigger establishment of a data link layer connection between the first device 100 and the second device 112 and to trigger notification to the photos application 104 on the first device, and at step 532, the NAN Engine 118 on the second device 112 may accordingly work with the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 to establish that data link. For instance, as discussed above, this NAN API call may cause the NAN Data Engine on the second device to engage in a 4-way Wi-Fi handshake with the NAN Data Engine on the first device 100, to establish a unicast data link between the first device 100 and second device 112. Further, this may also cause the NAN Engine 108 on the first device 100 to alert the photos application 104 on the first device 100.

[0082] At step 534, as at step 446, through this unicast data link, the photos application 104 on the first device 100 may then transmit the photo 106 to the photos application 116 on the second device 112, thus successfully completing the photo sharing process.6. Additional Example Implementations

[0083] The process of using out-of-band signaling to provision a NAN cluster ID into a device in order to facilitate NAN communication may have other applications as well. Without limitation, for instance, one other application could be to update a NAN cluster ID in a second device, in a scenario where the NAN cluster ID of a cluster of which the second device is a member changes while the second device in a NAN suspend mode.

[0084] For instance, consider a scenario where the first device and second device are members of a common NAN cluster with a first cluster ID stored by each device. Assume then that the second device enters into the NAN suspend mode (e.g., due to NAN inactivity). Further, assume that at some point while the second device is in that NAN suspend mode, the cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first and second devices are members changes. This change may occur because of a change in Master (e.g., Anchor Master) of the NAN cluster, for instance, where the previous Master turned off and a new Master of the cluster has a new clusterID, among other possibilities. A technical problem in this situation is that the second device may be unaware of the change to the new cluster ID, and there may be latency in the second device learning of that change once the second device wakes up from the suspend mode.

[0085] Using the present process, the first device could respond to a change in one or more NAN cluster parameters such as NAN cluster ID by using out-of-band signaling to notify the second device of the change. For instance, in response to this change, the NAN Engine on the first device could notify a companion application on the first device. In response to this notification, the companion application on the first device could then call a BLE API on the first device to trigger BLE signaling between the first device and the second device, providing in that BLE signaling to the second device the one or more new NAN parameters, such as the new NAN cluster ID. A BLE application on the second device could then notify a companion application on the second device, which could in turn responsively call a NAN API on the second device to provision the NAN Engine on the second device with the provided one or more new NAN parameters, such as the new NAN cluster ID.

[0086] Other examples could be possible as well.7. Example Method

[0087] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method that could be carried out by a second device in line with the above discussion to facilitate NAN communication between a first device and the second device. It will be understood that corresponding operations could also be carried out by the first device.

[0088] As shown in Figure 6, at block 600, the second device could receive (e.g., wirelessly receive) from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member. Further, at block 602, responsive to the receiving by the second device from the first device of the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, the second device could configure itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having that NAN cluster ID. In addition, at block 604, upon (i.e., after) configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, the second device could use the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

[0089] In line with the discussion above, the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member could further define an inter-device request from the first device to trigger NAN service at the second device. For instance, as discussed above, the second device could respond to receipt of thismessage by turning on its NAN service and / or waking up its NAN service, in addition to configuring itself with the provided NAN cluster ID.

[0090] As further discussed above, the non-NAN signaling message could comprise a BLE signaling message, and the act of the second device receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message could involve the second device receiving the BLE signaling message in unicast BLE signaling between the first device and the second device. Alternatively, as discussed above, similar functionality could involve use of other out-of-band signaling, such as other non-Wi-Fi signaling (i.e., signaling that is sent using a communication technology other than Wi-Fi), among other possibilities.

[0091] In addition, as discussed above, the act of the second device configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID could involve the second device storing the NAN cluster ID as a NAN cluster ID of the second device, so that the second device would then use that NAN cluster ID and thus operate as a member of the NAN cluster having that cluster ID.

[0092] As further discussed above, the method could additionally include, responsive to the second device receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message carrying the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, enabling NAN service at the second device. For instance, as discussed above, this may involve turning on NAN service at the second device or waking up NAN service at the second device.

[0093] Still further, as discussed above, the act of the second device using the NAN cluster ID as the basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device could involve the second device processing a NAN Subscribe keyed to that NAN cluster ID, which could include the second device scanning for and receiving a NAN Publish message also keyed to the NAN cluster ID, the NAN Publish message being transmitted from the first device, and based on the NAN Publish message also being keyed to the NAN cluster ID, finding that the NAN Publish message matches the NAN Subscribe.

[0094] Yet further, as discussed above, the NAN communication with the first device could comprise NAN-based photo sharing between the first device and the second device, among other possibilities.8. Example Architecture

[0095] Figure 7 is a simplified block diagram of an example electronic device, which could function as the first device or second device described above for instance. As shown in Figure 7, the example electronic device includes a NAN communication interface700, a non-NAN communication interface 702, at least one processor 704, and at least one non- transitory data storage 706, all of which may be communicatively linked together by a system bus or other connection mechanism 708 and / or may be integrated with each other wholly or partly. As an example integration of these components, for instance, the at least one processor 704 and data storage 706 may be integrated with either communication interface 700, 702. As another example, the communication interfaces 700, 702 may be integrated together, e.g., on a common chipset.

[0096] Depending on context, the example device may also include other components and / or take other forms. For instance, the device may include a user interface to facilitate interaction with a user of the device. Further, the device may take other forms.

[0097] As shown, the NAN communication interface 700 of the example device may include a Wi-Fi radio 710 and an associated antenna structure 712 and may further include a NAN Engine as discussed above, to facilitate NAN service. The non-NAN communication interface 702, on the other hand, may be a non-Wi-Fi interface, configured to facilitate communication according to a technology other than Wi-Fi, or may be a communication interface that otherwise supports communication that is not NAN communication. For instance, the non-NAN communication interface may include a non-Wi-Fi radio 714, such as a BLE radio, and an associated antenna structure 716 (possibly the same antenna structure 712 used for NAN communication).

[0098] The at least one processor 704 may comprise one or more general purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors, central processing units, application processors, and / or one or more other processors) and / or one or more special purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, etc.) Further, the at least one non-transitory data storage 706 may comprise one or more volatile and / or non-volatile, removable and / or permanently situated storage components (such as magnetic, optical, flash, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.) and may be integrated in whole or in part with the at least one processor 704.

[0099] Further, as shown, the data storage 706 may embody, encode, hold, or otherwise store program instructions 718, which may be executable by the at least one processor 704 to cause the second device to carry out various device operations such as those described above for instance. For instance, these instructions could be executable to cause the second device to (i) receive from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, (ii) responsive toreceiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, configure the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, and (iii) upon configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

[0100] The present disclosure contemplates at least one non-transitory computer- readable medium (e.g., one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage components, such as magnetic, optical, flash, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.) having stored thereon program instructions executable by at least one processor of a device to cause the device to carry out operations such as those discussed above.

[0101] Example embodiments have been described above. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that changes and modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method to facilitate Wi-Fi Aware (“Neighbor Awareness Networking” (NAN)) communication between a first device and a second device, the method comprising: wirelessly receiving by the second device from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member; responsive to wirelessly receiving by the second device from the first device the non- NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, the second device configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID; and upon configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using by the second device the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member further defines an inter-device request from the first device to trigger NAN service at the second device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-NAN signaling message comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signaling message.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein wirelessly receiving by the second device from the first device the non-NAN signaling message comprises receiving by the second device the BLE signaling message in unicast BLE signaling between the first device and the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second device configuring itself to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID comprises the second device storing the NAN cluster ID as a NAN cluster ID of the second device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to wirelessly receiving by the second device from the first device the non-NAN signaling message carrying the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, enabling NAN service at the second device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein using by the second device the NAN cluster ID as the basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device comprises processing by the second device a NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID, wherein processing the NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID comprises (i) scanning for and receiving a NAN Publish message also keyed to the NAN cluster ID, the NAN Publish message being transmitted from the first device, and (ii) based on the NAN Publish message also being keyed to the NAN cluster ID, finding that the NAN Publish message matches the NAN Subscribe.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the NAN communication with the first device comprises NAN-based photo sharing between the first device and the second device.

9. A system to facilitate Wi-Fi Aware (“Neighbor Awareness Networking” (NAN)) communication between a first device and a second device, the system comprising, at the second device: at least one processor; at least one non-transitory data storage; and program instructions stored in the at least one non-transitory data storage and executable by the at least one processor to cause the second device to carry out operations, including: receiving from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, responsive to receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, andupon configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising, at the second device, a Wi-Fi communication interface and a non-Wi-Fi communication interface, wherein the receiving of the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member is via the non-Wi-Fi communication interface, and wherein the NAN communication with the first device is via the Wi-Fi communication interface.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member further defines an inter-device request from the first device to trigger NAN service at the second device.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the non-NAN signaling message comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signaling message.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein receiving by the second device from the first device the non-NAN signaling message comprises receiving by the second device the BLE signaling message in unicast BLE signaling between the first device and the second device.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID comprises storing in the second device the NAN cluster ID as a NAN cluster ID of the second device.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the operations additionally include, responsive to receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message carrying the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, enabling NAN service at the second device.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein using the NAN cluster ID as the basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device comprises processing a NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID,wherein processing the NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID comprises (i) scanning for and receiving a NAN Publish message also keyed to the NAN cluster ID, the NAN Publish message being transmitted from the first device, and (ii) based on the NAN Publish message also being keyed to the NAN cluster ID, finding that the NAN Publish message matches the NAN Subscribe.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein the NAN communication with the first device comprises NAN-based photo sharing between the first device and the second device.

18. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by at least one processor of a second device to cause the second device to carry out operations to facilitate Wi-Fi Aware (“Neighbor Awareness Networking” (NAN)) communication between a first device and the second device, the operations including: receiving from the first device a non-NAN signaling message that carries a NAN cluster ID of a NAN cluster of which the first device is a member; responsive to receiving from the first device the non-NAN signaling message that carries the NAN cluster ID of the NAN cluster of which the first device is a member, configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID; and upon configuring the second device to be a member of the NAN cluster having the NAN cluster ID, using the NAN cluster ID as a basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the non-NAN signaling message comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signaling message.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein using the NAN cluster ID as the basis to facilitate NAN communication with the first device comprises processing a NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID, wherein processing the NAN Subscribe keyed to the NAN cluster ID comprises (i) scanning for and receiving a NAN Publish message also keyed to the NAN cluster ID, the NAN Publish message being transmitted from the first device, and (ii) based on the NAN Publishmessage also being keyed to the NAN cluster ID, finding that the NAN Publish message matches the NAN Subscribe.

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