Co-located SOCs Resource Sharing for In-flight Entertainment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current in-flight entertainment and communication systems on transportation vehicles suffer from inefficient resource utilization, as individual SOCs operate in isolation, leading to wasted hardware investment and power consumption when idle, despite nearby SOCs performing resource-intensive tasks.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a novel architecture with co-located SOCs in a seat box, connected via a cache coherent PCI-e link, allowing for resource sharing and dynamic allocation based on load thresholds, enabling improved task execution and power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual SOCs operate in isolation in current IFE systems, then each SOC can independently process tasks, but resource utilization becomes inefficient and power consumption increases when SOCs are idle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple SOCs into a shared pool within the seat box, connecting them via PCI-e links to enable resource sharing. Instead of each SOC operating independently, they are combined into a collaborative system where idle SOCs can be allocated to active tasks, reducing wasted power consumption while maintaining processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes SOCs universal by enabling any SOC in the pool to perform any task required by any seat device. The system allocates SOCs dynamically based on workload rather than dedicating specific SOCs to specific seats, allowing idle SOCs to be repurposed for other tasks and reducing overall power consumption.
2Productivity
If multiple SOCs are deployed in seat boxes, then processing power and computing ability are enhanced, but hardware cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a resource manager as an intermediary component that handles the complex task of allocating and managing multiple SOCs. This mediator abstracts the complexity from the seat devices, automatically managing SOC assignment, load balancing, and resource coordination, thereby enabling enhanced processing power without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the SOC pool into manageable units that can be dynamically allocated to different seat devices based on demand. Each SOC remains a discrete, independently manageable component, but they are organized into a structured pool with defined allocation protocols, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high processing capability.
3Loss of energy
If SOCs are shared across multiple seat devices, then resource utilization improves and hardware investment is optimized, but system complexity and allocation management become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the resource manager continuously monitors SOC workload, power consumption, and seat device demands. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts SOC allocation to optimize power efficiency while managing complexity through automated decision-making rather than manual configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a dynamic SOC allocation system where resource assignment changes in real-time based on workload demands and power consumption patterns. Instead of static allocation, the system adaptively reassigns SOCs between seat devices as needed, optimizing power efficiency while using automated algorithms to manage the complexity of dynamic resource sharing.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes detecting, by a first system on chip (“SOC”) of a seat box on a transportation vehicle that a first seat device is operational and usage of a second SOC of the seat box by a second seat device is below a first threshold level, the first SOC operationally coupled to the second SOC by a peripheral link, the seat box providing a network connection to the first seat device and the second device; allocating resources of the first SOC and the second SOC to the first seat device; and modifying usage of the second SOC by the first seat device, in response to a change in resource usage of the second SOC.