Cross-Protocol IoT Device Discovery Using Auxiliary Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
User devices often cannot discover and connect to internet of things devices due to limited support for communication protocols, leading to inadequate device discovery capabilities and impaired user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that enable a device to discover auxiliary devices supporting additional protocols by querying and utilizing their discovery capabilities, allowing it to display information about devices using different protocols, and establish connections through these auxiliary devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a user equipment camps on a frequency for random access procedure, then the initial uplink synchronization is maintained, but the synchronization may be lost when the frequency is not the uplink-downlink synchronous frequency
Solution Approach 1:
The network device pre-configures multiple frequency resources including at least one uplink-downlink synchronous frequency and other frequencies for random access. The user equipment is prepared with a frequency determination table that maps different scenarios to appropriate frequencies, enabling proactive synchronization maintenance without real-time negotiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The user equipment dynamically determines which frequency to use for random access based on whether it has uplink data to send. When uplink data is present, the UE selects the uplink-downlink synchronous frequency to ensure synchronization; otherwise, it can use other configured frequencies. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between synchronization reliability and frequency flexibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the network device configures multiple frequencies for random access, then the user equipment can camp on appropriate frequencies, but the signaling overhead and configuration complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The user equipment autonomously determines which frequency to use for random access based on its own uplink data status and the pre-configured frequency determination table. The UE self-selects the appropriate frequency without requiring real-time network intervention or complex signaling exchanges, thereby reducing signaling overhead while maintaining multiple frequency options.
3Productivity
If the user equipment sends random access preamble on non-uplink-downlink synchronous frequency, then random access can be initiated, but uplink synchronization may be lost requiring re-synchronization
Solution Approach 1:
The network device pre-configures the user equipment with knowledge of which frequencies are uplink-downlink synchronous and which are not, along with the conditions for selecting each. This preliminary configuration enables the UE to proactively choose the correct frequency for random access based on its current state, preventing synchronization loss before it occurs while maintaining fast random access initiation.
Data Source
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AI summary
This application is applicable to the field of communication technologies, and provides a communication method, an electronic device, and an apparatus. In the communication method provided in this application, when performing device discovery, a first device may perform a discovery operation based on a first protocol supported by the first device, to discover a first candidate device that supports the first protocol. In addition, the first device may determine, from surrounding electronic devices that support the first protocol, an auxiliary device that supports a second protocol. The second protocol is different from the first protocol. Subsequently, the first device may perform device discovery by using a discovery capability of the auxiliary device, to discover a second candidate device that supports the second protocol. This resolves, to some extent, a problem that a device discovery capability of the first device is insufficient because the first device supports a limited quantity of communication protocols or the first device cannot use the second protocol temporarily, and achieves high ease-of-use and practicability.