Beacon Sensor Data Encoding via Protocol Frame Nesting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional beacon technologies are limited in their ability to report contextual data without disrupting the existing communication protocol, especially in resource-constrained environments, and lack efficient methods for transmitting sensor data over low bandwidth channels.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a sensor module within beacons that encodes contextual data into the existing beacon communication protocol, specifically overloading certain frames with sensor data, allowing for dynamic measurement and transmission of environmental parameters like temperature, light, and motion without altering the protocol's structure, enabling compatible receivers to extract and act upon this data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If beacon transmission protocol is overloaded with sensor data, then contextual information transmission capability is improved, but protocol compatibility and transmission reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds sensor data within the existing beacon protocol frame structure by nesting contextual information inside the standard iBeacon packet format. The sensor measurements are encoded into the Major and Minor value fields, which are normally used for location identification. This nesting approach allows contextual data transmission without disrupting the outer protocol structure, maintaining compatibility with standard beacon receivers while adding functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the interpretation and encoding parameters of existing beacon fields to accommodate sensor data. Instead of using the Major and Minor values solely for static location identifiers, the system dynamically encodes sensor measurements (temperature, humidity, light, motion) into these fields. The receiving device decodes these parameter changes to extract contextual information, transforming the protocol's existing parameters into multi-purpose carriers.
2Loss of energy
If sensor data is transmitted through existing beacon frames, then bandwidth usage is minimized, but data transmission capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses only a portion of the available beacon frame fields (Major and Minor values) to carry sensor data, rather than attempting to transmit all possible sensor information. This partial action approach selects the most critical contextual parameters (temperature, humidity, light, motion) for transmission, fitting them into the limited space without requiring protocol expansion. The selective encoding of essential data maintains energy efficiency while providing meaningful contextual information.
3Loss of information
If beacon protocol structure is altered to include sensor data, then data transmission capability is improved, but device complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the beacon protocol fields serve multiple functions: the Major and Minor values simultaneously provide location identification (traditional function) and sensor data transmission (new function). The receiving device implements universal decoding logic that can interpret these fields as either location data or sensor data based on context. This multi-functionality approach avoids creating separate dedicated sensor fields, reducing overall system complexity while achieving dual purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
Architectures, devices, systems and methods incorporating beacon transmissions that comply with a defined communications protocol having frames corresponding to a universally unique identifier (UUID) value, a major value, and a minor value, in which the transmissions incorporate sensor data encoded on the fly into one or more of the values or frames of the protocol. Sensor data may include temperature, light intensity, smoke, voltage, sound, motion, displacement, acceleration, humidity, pressure, radiation, button-press stimulus event, compass direction, proximity, or other stimuli or sensor data, for example, and is more generally termed “contextual content”. According to relationships and permissions established by a receiving device and/or system, look-up results are processed to configure notifications tied to the contextual content of the broadcast. Notifications to a receiving device and/or system are configured according to contextual data broadcast by the beacon. Beacons having the improved communications protocol may be deployed individually or in networks. The beacon broadcast may be accessed by naïve devices, but bit overloading may also be used to prevent unauthorized systems from correctly interpreting the data. Thus the architectures, devices, systems and methods of the invention enable a beacon having nested levels of interaction dependent on context established by the beacon and the relationship established with a compatible receiver.