Adaptive Video Streaming via Content Steering for Fluctuating Vehicle Links

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing streaming systems in vehicles face challenges with fluctuating communication links, leading to saturation of upstream communication links and inadequate access to a wide range of media content qualities due to limited storage capacity and synchronization difficulties, particularly in collective transport environments.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a dynamic control mechanism using the Content Steering mechanism to manage track selection and quality adaptation, allowing for real-time adjustment of accessible qualities based on network conditions and user demand, prioritizing lower quality tracks to reduce bandwidth load and optimize storage usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the on-board CDN stores a large portion of the catalog in all qualities, then users can access a wide range of content qualities, but the storage capacity is exceeded and synchronization becomes technically infeasible

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccess to content qualitiesVSAvoidstorage capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by storing different qualities of the same content in different locations: lower-quality tracks are stored locally on the on-board CDN for immediate access, while higher-quality tracks remain on external CDNs. This allows the system to provide varied quality levels without requiring all qualities to be stored locally, thus resolving the contradiction between providing quality variety and maintaining storage feasibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a nested structure where the on-board CDN is embedded within the vehicle and contains a cache, while external CDNs provide additional content. The on-board CDN stores essential lower-quality content, and external CDNs store supplementary higher-quality content. This nested arrangement allows the system to access both local and external resources, providing wide quality access without exceeding local storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple users simultaneously request high-quality tracks, then user experience is improved, but the upstream communication link to external CDNs becomes saturated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent quality accessVSAvoidcommunication link capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-storing lower-quality tracks of popular content on the on-board CDN before users request them. When users request content, the system can immediately serve these pre-cached lower-quality tracks from local storage, avoiding the need to retrieve them from external CDNs during peak usage periods. This preemptive caching strategy prevents communication link saturation while still providing acceptable content quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If the on-board CDN retrieves missing segments from external CDNs, then complete content access is maintained, but the fluctuating communication link causes retrieval delays and playback interruptions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent availabilityVSAvoidstreaming continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies beforehand cushioning by maintaining a local cache on the on-board CDN that stores content segments in advance. When the communication link to external CDNs is reliable, the system proactively caches additional content segments locally. This creates a buffer that cushions against future link fluctuations, ensuring that even when external CDN access becomes unreliable, the player can continue streaming from local cache without interruptions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

4Manufacturing precision

If the system prioritizes storing high-quality tracks locally, then content quality is improved, but the limited storage capacity is consumed faster and synchronization becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent qualityVSAvoidstorage capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by strategically storing lower-quality tracks locally on the on-board CDN rather than high-quality tracks. This deliberate quality differentiation allows the system to maximize the use of limited local storage capacity for content that can be delivered at acceptable quality levels, while higher-quality content remains on external CDNs where storage is not constrained. This resolves the contradiction by intentionally choosing lower local quality to preserve storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4611374A1Adaptive video streaming in a shared transport environment

Publication Date: 2025.09.03 GRP CANAL

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AI summary

To centrally control the quality of media content played by onboard players (199) in a vehicle (150), an adaptive streaming system comprises a steering server (120, 153) configured to modify, as a function of a current target quality (Q'), the ordered list of path identifiers (PATHWAY-ID) of the Steering Manifest file (126) between several identifiers respectively associated with sets of tracks of the same media content, the sets having different maximum qualities. When the conditions do not allow the recovery of the media segments of a high quality track, the Steering Manifest file is modified to prioritize a PATHWAY-ID corresponding to lower quality tracks. The player is thus forced to switch to one of these tracks.