Ad Hoc Network Content Distribution via User Device Relay
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high bandwidth requirements of video streaming strain the capacity of cellular network links, particularly in radio access networks, leading to potential network congestion and inefficiencies in content delivery.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an ad hoc network using short-range local wireless connections (such as Bluetooth or WiFi) between user devices to share content, allowing devices to bypass the cellular network's radio resources and reduce bandwidth demand, while adjusting billing to incentivize content sharing and alleviate network strain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If video content is streamed through cellular network links, then content delivery service is provided, but network capacity is strained and bandwidth is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces user devices as intermediary nodes in the content delivery path. Instead of direct cellular network-to-device delivery, content flows through intermediate user devices via ad hoc wireless connections, distributing the bandwidth load across multiple devices rather than concentrating it on cellular network links.
Solution Approach 2:
The content delivery process is segmented into multiple hops through different user devices. The video stream is divided and transmitted through a sequence of devices in the ad hoc network, with each device handling only a portion of the total bandwidth requirement, thereby reducing the burden on any single cellular network connection.
2Quantity of substance
If ad hoc network is used for content sharing, then bandwidth demand on cellular network is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages existing multi-functional capabilities of modern user devices, which already possess multiple wireless interfaces (cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth) and networking capabilities. These universal features are repurposed for ad hoc content sharing, avoiding the need for specialized hardware and minimizing additional device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
User devices automatically discover and connect to form ad hoc networks without requiring complex manual configuration. The system self-organizes by utilizing existing device capabilities and protocols, reducing the operational complexity burden on users while enabling bandwidth reduction benefits.
Data Source
AI summary
Content, such as video content, may be shared by a user device that is participating in an ad hoc network via a short range local wireless connections. In one implementation, a method may include joining, by a user device and via direct wireless communication with other user devices, an ad hoc network including the other user devices; receiving, by the user device, a content stream from a cellular wireless network; transmitting, by the user device, an indication of the received content stream to the other user devices in the ad hoc network; receiving, by the user device and from one or more of the other user devices in the ad hoc network, a request for the content stream; forwarding, by the user device and based on the received request, the content stream to the one or more of the other user devices in the ad hoc network; and presenting, by the user device, the content stream to a user of the user device.