Connectionless IoT Control via BLE Advertising Packets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocols face challenges in managing multiple connections to IoT devices, leading to latency and user experience issues, as most IoT devices can only support one connection at a time, and connection setup times are high, making connection-oriented schemes impractical for large IoT populations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a connectionless communication method using BLE advertising packets that allow multiple controllers to send commands to IoT devices without establishing logical connections, enabling simultaneous control and secure data transmission with acknowledgement mechanisms to ensure message integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If connection-oriented scheme is used for IoT devices, then data security can be maintained through established connections, but latency increases and user experience deteriorates due to connection setup time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing security credentials and encryption keys between controllers and IoT devices before actual communication occurs. This allows connectionless communication to proceed securely without real-time connection setup, eliminating latency while maintaining security through pre-configured authentication mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the connection setup process from the communication flow by implementing connectionless advertising packets. The security and authentication functions are separated from the data transmission path, allowing commands to be sent immediately through advertising channels without waiting for connection establishment, thus resolving the latency-security tradeoff.
2Ease of operation
If multiple mobile devices connect to the same IoT device using BLE protocol, then control accessibility is improved, but the first device blocks subsequent connections causing loss of control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control architecture by allowing multiple controllers to independently connect to the IoT device through separate advertising channels simultaneously. Each controller maintains its own connectionless communication path, eliminating the blocking effect where one device prevents others from connecting. This enables parallel control access from multiple devices without interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension connection model (one controller at a time) to a multi-dimensional advertising packet model where multiple controllers can operate in parallel on different advertising channels. This dimensional expansion allows simultaneous control access from multiple devices without the hierarchical blocking present in traditional connection-oriented approaches.
3Productivity
If connectionless communication is implemented, then latency is reduced and multi-device control is enabled, but data security becomes more challenging to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through acknowledgment packets and sequence number tracking in the connectionless communication stream. The IoT device sends acknowledgments for received commands, and controllers track sequence numbers to detect and prevent replay attacks. This feedback loop maintains security integrity while enabling fast connectionless communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring security credentials, encryption keys, and authentication tokens before connectionless communication begins. This advance preparation allows security verification to occur without blocking the fast advertising packet transmission path, maintaining both speed and security in the connectionless model.
Data Source
AI summary
Communication may be enabled between mobile devices (i.e., controllers) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices by sending connectionless commands from a controller to an IoT device, or sending connectionless commands from a controller to more than one IoT devices, at the same time. One or more commands may be sent from a controller to one or more nodes that form a network, with the nodes relaying messages to each other via connectionless data packets. This may allow for connectionless command relay from the controller to any node within the network. By sending commands through connectionless data packets, one or more controllers may control one or more nodes at the same time. Furthermore, a single controller may directly send one or more commands to a group of nodes at the same time.