Mobile Coverage Route Computation for Dropped Call Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile communication systems face issues with dropped calls due to network holes caused by obstructions and adverse weather, and there is a lack of methods to ensure maximum mobile phone coverage when communicating between two devices, especially across different service providers' coverage areas.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that computes an optimal mobile device coverage route using provider-specific coverage information, historical data, and user feedback, which is then provided to the user through a mobile device, website, SMS, or voice feed, to ensure the highest signal strength and lowest number of dropped calls between a starting and ending point.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual routing attempts are made to ensure mobile phone coverage, then communication reliability may improve, but the difficulty of operation increases due to different coverage areas of different providers
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically computes and provides optimal mobile coverage routes without requiring manual user configuration. The utility within the mobile device autonomously downloads coverage information, accesses historical data, obtains user feedback, and computes the optimal route, eliminating the need for users to manually attempt routing configuration while different providers' coverage areas
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates user feedback from actual communication experiences to continuously improve route recommendations. By collecting and analyzing feedback data about dropped calls and coverage quality, the system refines its routing algorithms to provide more reliable communication paths while maintaining ease of use
2Reliability
If optimal coverage routing is computed using multiple data sources, then mobile coverage reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary utility component within the mobile device that manages the complexity of integrating multiple data sources. This utility acts as a mediator that automatically downloads provider coverage information, accesses historical data, obtains user feedback, and computes optimal routes, shielding users from the underlying complexity while improving coverage reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for determining measures of cell phone coverage along a travel route. Received are: a specification of a travel destination by a road vehicle, a projected starting time for a user to begin travel along the travel route from a starting location of the vehicle to the travel destination, and a telephone carrier service for the cell phone. Measures of cell phone coverage along the travel route are determined and include: (i) amounts of dropped calls by the telephone carrier service in areas along the travel route in which the telephone carrier service provides cell phone coverage, (ii) a quality of cell phone service by the telephone carrier service, correlated to time of day, along the travel route, or (iii) both the amounts of dropped calls and the quality of cell phone service. The measures of cell phone coverage along the travel route are displayed.