Real-Time Communication Availability Proximity Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often maintain multiple accounts across various real-time communication applications, and there is no unified method to determine the availability of these accounts based on proximity, leading to inefficiencies in communication.
Innovation Solution
A system that determines whether a user account for a real-time communication application is installed on an inactive device, calculates the proximity between the device's location and the user's location, and sends a status indicating the user's potential availability for communication to another device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple RTCA accounts are maintained across different devices, then communication coverage is improved, but determining user availability becomes complex and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
A server acts as an intermediary between multiple devices and users. The server receives location information from devices, calculates proximity to the user, and determines availability status centrally. This mediator approach resolves the complexity of direct peer-to-peer availability checking across multiple devices by centralizing the determination logic on the server side.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring device locations, calculating proximity to the user, and updating availability status based on this information. The server sends availability status back to communicating devices, creating a closed-loop feedback system that automatically adjusts communication availability based on real-time location data without requiring manual user input.
2Measurement precision
If real-time location monitoring is implemented to determine proximity, then communication availability accuracy is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous real-time location monitoring, the system uses periodic location updates. Devices send location information at intervals or triggered by significant location changes, rather than continuously transmitting position data. This periodic approach maintains sufficient proximity determination accuracy while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial monitoring by only actively tracking location for devices that are potentially relevant to user communication (e.g., devices in proximity or recently used). Not all devices undergo continuous location monitoring, which reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining accuracy for the subset of devices that matter most for communication availability.
Data Source
AI summary
Conveying potential communication methods for a user of a computing system network, including: determining whether a user account for a real-time communications application (RTCA) is installed on a first inactive user device; if the user account for the RTCA is installed on the first inactive user device: calculating a proximity between a location of the first inactive user device and a user location; determining a status for the RTCA account based on the proximity between the location of the first inactive user device and the user location, wherein the status indicates a user's potential availability to utilize the RTCA account for communications; and sending the status for the RTCA account to another device.