Geographic Tile Server Selection for Low-Latency Map Delivery

Solution Overview

Problem

Selecting an appropriate tile server from multiple servers to generate a requested map efficiently and reduce latency in map delivery to a client device is challenging due to the distribution of tiles across different servers.

Innovation Solution

A client device determines the required tiles for a map request, initially contacts a local tile server, and if it fails, it sends requests to other tile servers, prioritizing those geographically closer, using a cache mechanism to store frequently requested tiles and a least recently used cache for quick access.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If tiles are distributed across multiple different tile servers, then the system can handle high traffic and provide redundancy, but it becomes difficult to select an appropriate tile server to generate a requested map efficiently

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem redundancyVSAvoidserver selection complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the selection parameter from random or round-robin to geographic proximity-based selection. The mapping application determines the geographic location of the client device and selects the tile server that is geographically closest, optimizing for network latency and delivery speed while maintaining the distributed architecture's reliability benefits

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The mapping application acts as an intermediary between the client device and multiple tile servers. It receives the map request, determines which tiles are needed, selects the appropriate tile server based on geographic proximity, and retrieves the tiles from that server before delivering them to the client, thereby simplifying the overall system coordination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the mapping application requests tiles from multiple different tile servers, then tile availability is improved, but network latency and delivery time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetile availabilityVSAvoidmap delivery latency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the selection parameter from random or round-robin to geographic proximity-based selection. The mapping application determines the geographic location of the client device and selects the tile server that is geographically closest, optimizing for network latency and delivery speed while maintaining the distributed architecture's reliability benefits

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-distributes map tiles across multiple geographic locations before they are requested. When a client device needs map tiles, the mapping application can quickly determine the nearest server that already has the required tiles, avoiding the need to fetch tiles from remote servers and significantly reducing delivery latency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12461950B2Mapping content delivery

Publication Date: 2025.11.04 PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC

AI summary

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to mapping content delivery. A client device provides, to a map management server, a request for a map of a geographic region. The client device receives, from the map management server, an identification of tiles for the map. The client device provides, to a first tile server, a request for the tiles for the map. In response to receiving the tiles from the first tile server: the client device displays the map of the geographic region based on the tiles.