Geofence-Based Serverless Warming for Elevator APIs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elevator APIs using serverless functions experience significant performance degradation due to cold starts, leading to increased serving times and costs, as these functions are turned off after inactivity and take longer to warm up when needed again.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a mobile user device detects geographical triggering events to generate preparation requests, keeping serverless functions warm in building system APIs, such as elevator call APIs, thereby reducing serving times and costs by ensuring functions are already running when needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If serverless functions are kept warm with periodic artificial requests or redesigned to always run, then the serving time is reduced, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting when a user enters a predefined geographical area (geofence) and proactively triggering the serverless functions to warm up before any actual elevator call request is made. This anticipatory approach ensures the functions are already running and ready to serve requests immediately, reducing serving time without requiring continuous operation or periodic artificial requests that would increase costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by using the mobile device's own location data and trigger events to automatically initiate the warming up process. The mobile device itself provides the trigger (geofence entry) that activates the serverless functions, eliminating the need for external periodic requests or manual intervention, thereby reducing costs while ensuring readiness when needed.
2Loss of energy
If serverless functions are turned off after inactivity to save costs, then the cost decreases, but the serving time increases due to cold starts
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dynamics by making the serverless function state adaptive rather than static. Instead of always running or always shutting down, the functions dynamically transition between cold and warm states based on real-time triggers. When a user enters the geofenced area, the system dynamically warms up the functions, ensuring they are ready when needed while maintaining cost efficiency by shutting down when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of the serverless functions from a fixed state (always on or always off) to a variable state controlled by geofence trigger events. The functions' runtime status is adjusted based on the presence of users in the predefined area, optimizing the balance between cost and performance by aligning function availability with actual usage patterns.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for preparing a building system related application programming interface (API) for operation includes detecting, by a mobile user device, a geographical triggering event representing an entry of the mobile user device into a predefined area; and generating, by the mobile user device, to the building system related API, in response to detecting the geographical triggering event, a preparation request to run serverless functions in the building system related API. A system, a computer program, and a computer-readable medium for preparing a building system related API for operation are also disclosed.