Modem Offloads Voice Streaming to Reduce Host Processor Power
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems for Voice over IP (VoIP) calls cannot conserve power in devices like smartphones and tablets, as the host processor must handle audio streaming, preventing it from entering sleep mode and reducing battery life.
Innovation Solution
A modem with a processing unit that receives parameters from the host processor to handle voice data processing and transmission, allowing the host processor to enter sleep mode during calls, using a first interface for network connection and a second interface for connecting to the host processor, and an audio interface for handling audio processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the host processor handles audio streaming during VoIP calls, then call functionality is maintained, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the audio streaming processing function from the host processor and relocates it to a dedicated modem component. The modem includes an audio interface and processing unit specifically designed to handle voice data encoding, decoding, and streaming, allowing the host processor to enter sleep mode during calls while maintaining full call functionality through the modem's autonomous audio processing capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional modules: the host processor handles high-level call management and application logic, while the modem handles real-time audio processing and network communication. This segmentation allows each component to operate independently at its own optimization level, with the modem managing power-efficient audio streaming while the host processor can transition to low-power states
2Reliability
If the host processor remains active to handle audio streaming, then audio quality is maintained, but talk time is reduced due to increased power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The modem is designed with self-service capabilities to autonomously handle audio processing tasks without requiring continuous host processor intervention. The audio interface and processing unit within the modem independently manage encoding, decoding, and streaming operations, enabling the host processor to enter sleep mode while audio quality is maintained through the modem's dedicated processing resources
Data Source
AI summary
A modem is disclosed. An embodiment thereof includes: a first interface arranged to connect to a network, a second interface arranged to connect to a host processor on the terminal, an audio interface arranged to connect to an audio processing means and a processing unit arranged to receive a plurality of parameters from the terminal via the second interface. The plurality of parameters are associated with a call established by the host processor to at least one further terminal connected to the network; wherein the processing unit is further arranged to receive input voice data from the audio processing means, process the input voice data in dependence on at least one of said parameters; and transmit the processed input voice data via the first interface to the at least one further terminal over said network during the call in dependence on a further at least one of said parameters.