Base Station Data Embedded in URLs for User Device Relay
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Solution Overview
Problem
NFC stations lack network connectivity, preventing them from accessing or relaying collected data to other systems, as direct network connectivity is expensive and resource-intensive for small, low-power devices deployed in infrastructure-limited locations.
Innovation Solution
Embedding data into URLs transmitted to user devices, which then relay the encoded information to a front-end server for processing and storage, allowing data to be uploaded without requiring the base station to engage in network connectivity, using mechanisms like NFC, barcodes, or audio signaling to incentivize users to connect to a network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct network connectivity (WiFi or cellular) is provided to the NFC station, then the station can access and relay data to other systems, but the hardware cost and operational expense increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the user's mobile device as an intermediary carrier to transmit data from the NFC station to the remote server. The NFC station embeds data within a URL that the user's device receives via NFC, then transmits over the network, eliminating the need for direct network connectivity at the NFC station.
Solution Approach 2:
The user's mobile device serves multiple functions: it acts as both the information display device for the user and the data transmission carrier for the NFC station. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve data relay capability without adding dedicated network infrastructure to the NFC station.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the NFC station is kept small and low-power for deployment on signage and kiosks, then it reduces hardware cost and power consumption, but it cannot include network connectivity resources
Solution Approach 1:
The user's mobile device with its existing network connectivity acts as a mediator to bridge the gap between the low-power NFC station and the remote server. The station only needs NFC capability, while the power-consuming network communication is performed by the user's device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the user's existing mobile device resources (processor, network connection, battery) to perform the data transmission task, rather than requiring the NFC station to provide these services itself. This allows the station to remain simple and low-power.
3Productivity
If data is embedded within the URL provided to the user, then the user device can communicate the data to a server on behalf of the base station, but the URL must be processed to separate embedded data from content delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The URL is segmented into two distinct parts: the embedded data portion and the content delivery portion. The front-end server separates these components, extracting the embedded data for processing while passing the content delivery URL to the web server, thereby managing complexity through functional separation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described herein for collecting data from a base station. Data may be collected at a base station. The data may be embedding into a URL. The URL may then be wirelessly transferring to a mobile device. The mobile device may transmit the URL to a front-end sever. Upon receiving the URL at a front-end server from the mobile device, the URL may be stripped of the embedded data. The stripped URL can be passed from the front-end server to a web server for content delivery to the user device. The front-end server may decode the data stripped from the URL to be stored as collected base station data.