Multicast Group Management via Dynamic Subset Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication techniques for multicast groups face challenges in ensuring consistent quality of service, flexibility, and adaptability to varying device requirements, as they lack acknowledgment mechanisms and are inflexible in responding to changes in content or device conditions.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with an antenna and interface circuit that communicates within a multicast group, capable of generating and broadcasting content to subsets of the group, managing multicast sessions, and transitioning master roles, while using different encoding techniques and quality-of-service policies to adapt to diverse requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If unicast broadcast is used to provide content to multiple electronic devices in a multicast group, then resource sharing is achieved and power consumption is reduced, but quality of service varies considerably among devices and the system lacks flexibility to address different device requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the multicast group into multiple subsets, each receiving content through separate unicast broadcasts. This segmentation allows tailored quality of service for each subset while maintaining the efficiency of unicast transmission, resolving the contradiction between energy efficiency and service reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different subsets of devices receive content with different quality parameters (e.g., bitrate, encoding) according to their specific requirements. This local quality adjustment ensures each device receives appropriate service level while the source maintains overall energy efficiency through selective broadcasting.
2Productivity
If unicast broadcast is used without acknowledgment mechanisms, then resource sharing and power efficiency are improved, but the system becomes inflexible and unable to respond to changes in content or device requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic subset formation where devices can be added to or removed from subsets based on changing requirements. The source can dynamically adjust which subsets receive content and with what parameters, maintaining flexibility while preserving the efficiency of unicast-based resource sharing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows changing content parameters (bitrate, encoding format, resolution) for different subsets based on device capabilities and network conditions. This parameter flexibility enables the system to adapt to varying requirements without sacrificing the resource efficiency of unicast broadcasts.
3Device complexity
If content is broadcast to all devices in a multicast group using a single multicast session, then simplicity is maintained, but the system cannot address different device requirements such as different latencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the multicast group into multiple subsets, each with specific latency or quality requirements. Separate unicast broadcasts are established for each subset, allowing differentiated service levels while keeping the overall system architecture relatively simple through clear subset-based organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The source device performs multiple functions by simultaneously managing multiple unicast broadcasts to different subsets with different parameters. This multi-functionality at the source allows a single device to serve diverse requirements without requiring complex centralized coordination or additional infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
In order to flexibly manage and broadcast content to electronic devices in a multicast group, a multicast group management protocol allows one or more multicast group masters to be specified. In addition to controlling membership in the multicast group, a multicast group master can define or specify a multicast session, in which content from one or more sources is broadcast to at least a subset of the electronic devices or sinks in the multicast group. The multicast group management protocol supports concurrent broadcasts of content to different multicast sessions. Moreover, the broadcasts in the different multicast sessions may have different: priorities, encoding techniques, quality-of-service policies, reliability, and/or number of parity bits. For example, the different encoding techniques may include different layers in H.264 Scalable Video Coding. Alternatively or additionally, the different number of parity bits may be associated with application layer forward error correction.