Dynamic Tile Budget for Map Data Pre-fetching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mapping applications on mobile devices face inefficiencies in data management due to large map data requirements, leading to increased download times and memory usage, particularly when conventional techniques fail to optimize network bandwidth and memory usage effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies map points of interest on a client device, pre-fetches corresponding map data tiles from a remote database, and dynamically determines a tile budget to optimize data storage and retrieval, ensuring efficient use of memory and bandwidth by stopping data reception once the budget is met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all map data tiles are downloaded to the mobile device, then the map display application can buffer map data for display across areas, but the download time and buffer memory usage increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying and downloading map data tiles in advance of when they are actually needed for display. The tile download manager proactively fetches tiles based on predicted user navigation patterns and current location, so that when the user requests map data, it is already available in the buffer, eliminating wait time while avoiding unnecessary downloads of tiles that won't be used.
2Reliability
If all map data tiles are downloaded to the mobile device, then the map display application can buffer map data for display across areas, but the buffer memory usage increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and downloads only the essential map data tiles that are predicted to be needed, separating them from the complete set of all possible tiles. The tile download manager calculates which tiles fall within the predicted navigation area and downloads only those specific tiles, excluding all others. This extraction approach ensures sufficient map data availability while keeping memory usage proportional to actual user needs rather than the total possible map data.
3Productivity
If map data tiles are downloaded conventionally, then map data can be provided to the mobile device, but network bandwidth and memory conditions are not optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic adaptation by continuously monitoring network bandwidth conditions and memory availability, then adjusting the tile download strategy in real-time. When network bandwidth is abundant, the system downloads more tiles proactively; when bandwidth is constrained or memory is full, it reduces download intensity. This dynamic approach optimizes data download efficiency while adapting to changing network and device conditions, preventing waste of network resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A pre-fetching map data system and method identifies a subset of map data to corresponding to one or more points of interest to be displayed on the map. The map data is stored on a remote map database in map data tiles. The pre-fetching map data system identifies those map data tiles that correspond to the one or more points of interest, where the identified pre-fetch map data tiles are sent from the remote database to a client device for cache storage. The number of pre-fetch map data tiles are determined using a tile budget that is dynamically adjusted in response to changing conditions on a client device.