Vehicle Data Caching via Multicast Groups
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airborne communication systems face issues with data delivery to vehicles when they are outside network coverage, slow, or malfunctioning, leading to inconsistent data services and latency problems due to the reliance on bi-directional communication links.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid communications system that caches data across multiple vehicles, using a modified message with caching indications to store content on onboard storage media, allowing for efficient data delivery and retrieval even when primary links are unavailable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is delivered through bi-directional communication links to vehicles, then data can be transmitted to devices on vehicles, but the service becomes unreliable when vehicles are outside network coverage or when links are slow or malfunctioning
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by caching data content on vehicles before it is actually needed. When a vehicle requests data, the system checks if the content is already cached on that vehicle or other vehicles in the fleet, and if so, delivers it from the cache rather than requiring real-time network connectivity. This preliminary caching action ensures data availability even when communication links are unavailable or unreliable.
2Reliability
If data is cached on multiple vehicles in the fleet, then data delivery reliability improves, but the system complexity and data management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates copies of data content and distributes them across multiple vehicles in the fleet. When data is cached on vehicles, multiple copies may exist on different vehicles simultaneously. This copying approach improves reliability because if one vehicle's cache is unavailable, the data can still be retrieved from other vehicles that have cached copies, thereby reducing the complexity of maintaining a single centralized cache while improving overall system reliability.
3Ease of operation
If all communications traverse the same bi-directional link, then the communication system remains simple, but data delivery appears inconsistent to users with varying latency
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary caching layer between the communication link and the end devices. Instead of all data traversing the same bi-directional link directly to devices, the cache acts as an intermediary that can serve data locally from vehicles that have already received and stored it. This intermediary cache reduces latency for subsequent data requests and provides more consistent data delivery experience to users, as data can be retrieved from the cached copy on the same vehicle rather than requiring repeated trips over the communication link.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of caching communications for devices being transported by vehicles includes receiving, at a vehicle via forward link, a message directed to the vehicle and a plurality of other vehicles. The message includes: content to be delivered to a requesting mobile device being transported by the vehicle or one of the other vehicles, and an indication of at least some of the content to be cached in one or more computer readable storage media disposed on the vehicle. The method further includes determining if the requesting mobile device is being transported by the vehicle, and, if so, forwarding at least some of the content to the requesting mobile device. At least some of the content is then stored on the one or more computer readable storage media disposed in the vehicle based on the indication of the least some of the content to be cached.