Serverless Presence Management via Peer-to-Peer Acknowledgement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional presence systems in mobile communications rely on dedicated presence servers, which incur high costs, require infrastructure, and raise privacy concerns, and are inefficient due to periodic polling or push mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A serverless presence system where mobile communication devices within a predefined group manage and share presence information peer-to-peer, using data packets and delivery acknowledgements to determine and update presence status without the need for a dedicated presence server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a presence server is used to manage presence information, then presence status can be centrally controlled and updated, but infrastructure costs, hardware requirements, and administrative overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the presence server component from the traditional architecture and removes it entirely. Instead of using a centralized server to manage presence information, the system distributes presence management functionality to individual mobile communication devices themselves, eliminating the need for dedicated server infrastructure while maintaining presence status management capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
Each mobile communication device autonomously manages its own presence status without requiring external server assistance. Devices independently determine their presence state based on network connectivity and communication status, and other devices query this information directly peer-to-peer, enabling self-service presence management
2Loss of information
If periodic polling is used to update presence information, then presence status can be maintained across all devices, but bandwidth consumption and system overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces continuous periodic polling with event-triggered updates. Presence status changes are pushed to other devices only when actually changed, rather than querying at fixed intervals. This maintains presence information accuracy while dramatically reducing unnecessary bandwidth consumption during stable states
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where devices notify others of presence status changes. When a device's presence state changes, this information is pushed to relevant devices, creating an efficient feedback loop that maintains information synchronization without requiring continuous polling overhead
3Reliability
If a presence server is used to control access to presence information, then security can be managed, but privacy concerns arise regarding centralized access control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the centralized access control function from a presence server and distributes it to individual devices. Each device maintains its own presence information locally and controls access decisions autonomously, eliminating the privacy concerns associated with centralized collection and control of presence data
Solution Approach 2:
Access control for presence information is handled locally at each device rather than centrally. Each device independently determines which other devices can access its presence status based on local policies and relationships, providing fine-grained control while keeping data distributed and private
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system and mobile communication device for implementing a serverless presence system are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of sharing presence information between a group of mobile communication devices configured to communicate over a wireless network, the mobile communication devices defining the group members of the group, the method comprising: sending a data packet from a sending group member to at least one of the other group members; determining a presence status in accordance with whether a delivery acknowledgement is received by the sending group member from each of the other group members to which the data packet was sent within a predetermined duration from the sending of the data packet; storing the determined presence status in memory; and sending a presence update comprising the determined presence status of at least some of the group members to all of the group members.