Mobile Mesh Packet Forwarding Through Intermediate Relay Nodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
In situations where cellular, satellite, and Internet connections are unavailable, existing systems fail to provide reliable wireless communication between devices, leading to a need for alternative methods to enable communication between unattached mobile devices.
Innovation Solution
A local mesh network system where mobile devices can communicate by forwarding packets through a network of interconnected devices, using a messaging module and connectivity module to establish connections and manage packet forwarding, even without a cellular or satellite connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a local mesh network is established to enable communication between unattached devices, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the communication function by introducing intermediate relay devices that divide the communication path into multiple segments. Each device independently manages its own communication state and routing decisions, allowing unattached devices to communicate through a mesh of attached devices without requiring complex end-to-end management at each device.
Solution Approach 2:
Attached devices serve as intermediary relay nodes between unattached devices. These intermediaries manage the complexity of mesh routing, connection establishment, and packet forwarding, allowing unattached devices to communicate reliably without directly implementing complex mesh network logic.
2Length of moving object
If packet forwarding is implemented through multiple relay devices, then communication range is extended, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing connections with nearby devices and pre-calculating routing paths through the mesh network. Connection state information is maintained in advance, allowing packets to be forwarded along pre-determined paths without requiring extensive real-time discovery and connection establishment, thereby reducing energy consumption during actual communication.
3Productivity
If mesh network routing is optimized for efficiency, then data transmission speed is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where devices report connection state information, packet delivery status, and routing metrics back to the network. This feedback enables dynamic route optimization and load balancing without requiring complex centralized control, as each device can adjust its forwarding decisions based on received feedback from neighbors.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are presented in this disclosure that enable mobile devices without access to an active network connection (e.g. cellular, satellite or Internet network) to communicate between each other by sending and receiving data packets (e.g. text, location, or image) through a mesh of connected devices. A mobile device receives a request to send a packet having an identifier of a recipient device. Based on the identifier, the mobile device determines whether the recipient device is in a list of mobile devices within a wireless range of the mobile device. Based on the determination, the mobile device includes the packet into an outgoing queue having packets for forwarding. The mobile device establishes one or more connections with one or more mobile devices in the list, and forwards one or more packets from the outgoing queue to the one or more mobile devices using the one or more connections.