Distributed Data Management for Mobile Device Groups
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for sharing data among multiple entities rely on centralized databases, which incur additional hardware and administrative overhead, raise privacy concerns, and are susceptible to latency and consistency issues, especially in wireless environments.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where shared data is stored and managed by each group member individually, using a peer-to-peer message exchange service to multicast updates, allowing for atomic changes and collision resolution, and tolerating out-of-coverage situations by caching messages until devices reconnect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a centralized database on a server is used to share data among multiple entities, then data sharing capability is improved, but hardware overhead and administrative burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the centralized database dependency by implementing local data storage on each mobile device. Each device maintains its own copy of the data and uses peer-to-peer communication to share updates, eliminating the need for a centralized server infrastructure while preserving data sharing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of data storage and data sharing into each individual mobile device. Each device simultaneously acts as a data repository and a communication node, combining what were previously separate centralized functions into distributed local units.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a centralized database on a server is used to share data among multiple entities, then data sharing capability is improved, but privacy concerns and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts data from centralized server storage and places it locally on each user's mobile device. This gives users direct control over their own data copies, reducing exposure to centralized security breaches and enabling users to manage their own privacy settings without relying on server-side security measures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a centralized database on a server is used to share data among multiple entities, then data sharing capability is improved, but latency and consistency issues increase in wireless environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having each mobile device maintain a local copy of the data beforehand. When data needs to be accessed or shared, the device can immediately use its local copy without waiting for server retrieval, significantly reducing access latency. Updates are then propagated peer-to-peer to maintain consistency.
4Stability of the object's composition
If version control is strictly monitored on a central server to manage data edits, then data consistency is improved, but administrative overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling each mobile device to autonomously track and manage its own data versions through local timestamps and version markers. When devices communicate peer-to-peer, they automatically exchange version information and resolve conflicts without requiring centralized version control administration.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system are provided for sharing data amongst a group of a plurality of mobile devices without requiring a database or server to centrally store the shared data. The shared data is instead stored by each group member individually while controlling the manner in which the shared data is updated. The shared data can be used to manage tasks in a group project. To manage updates, the shared data is atomized such that individual databases in the shared data are separated or otherwise delineated into one or more records, each record having associated therewith, a value. To maintain a common copy of the shared data at each device, any update is sent to all group members using an intermediate message exchange service that is capable of transmitting a sent message to more than one recipient if necessary. In this way, the updates are multicast to the group.