Wireless Alert Distribution via Coverage Area Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless alert distribution systems, such as CMAS, face inefficiencies due to overalerting as devices outside target areas receive alerts intended for specific geographic regions, leading to resource burdens and processing complexities, especially with geometrically complex target areas.
Innovation Solution
The method involves identifying fully and partially encompassed coverage areas within a target area, broadcasting alerts to fully encompassed areas without location checks, and to partially encompassed areas with simplified, less complex target definitions, allowing devices to determine if they are within the target area for alert output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the wireless carrier network broadcasts the alert in the entirety of each coverage area that falls within the defined target area, then the alert distribution coverage is improved, but devices located outside the target area will still receive and output the alert, resulting in overalerting and degraded accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the coverage areas into two distinct sets: fully-encompassed coverage areas and partially-encompassed coverage areas. This segmentation allows the system to apply different alert broadcasting strategies to each set, thereby achieving both wide coverage and high accuracy. Fully-encompassed areas receive alerts without location checks, while partially-encompassed areas require location verification, thus preventing overalerting while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different parts of the coverage areas. For fully-encompassed coverage areas, the alert is broadcast with a directive to output regardless of device location (simplified mode). For partially-encompassed coverage areas, the alert is broadcast with a directive to check device location before output (verified mode). This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing each region according to its specific geometric relationship with the target area.
2Measurement precision
If the wireless carrier network broadcasts a definition of the target area together with the alert in each coverage area, then the accuracy of alert distribution is improved, but the burden on network resources and device processing increases, particularly when the target area is geometrically complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the alert distribution strategy based on coverage area classification. By dividing coverage areas into fully-encompassed and partially-encompassed sets, the system eliminates the need to broadcast complex target area definitions to devices in fully-encompassed areas, while only providing simplified definitions to devices in partially-encompassed areas. This segmentation significantly reduces overall network resource usage and device processing burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the complex target area definition from the alert message for fully-encompassed coverage areas. Instead of including the complete geometric definition in all alerts, the system selectively omits this information for areas where it is not needed, thereby reducing network bandwidth consumption and device memory requirements while maintaining accuracy where necessary.
3Productivity
If the wireless carrier network identifies each coverage area that falls within the defined target area including those that only partially fall within, then the alert coverage is maximized, but devices located in portions outside the target area receive alerts, resulting in overalerting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments coverage areas based on their geometric relationship with the target area, creating distinct sets for fully-encompassed and partially-encompassed areas. This segmentation enables the system to maintain high alert distribution efficiency for fully-encompassed areas while applying location verification only where necessary in partially-encompassed areas, thus eliminating overalerting without sacrificing overall efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to alerts based on their target coverage area. Alerts for fully-encompassed areas use a simplified directive mode for efficient distribution, while alerts for partially-encompassed areas use a verified directive mode to ensure location accuracy. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between efficiency and precision.
Data Source
AI summary
After receiving a message that defines an initial target area for distribution of an alert, a wireless carrier network may identify a first set of one or more coverage areas that are fully encompassed within the initial target area and a second set of one or more coverage areas that are partially encompassed within the initial target area. For each partially-encompassed coverage area, the network may then define a respective target area that is less geometrically complex than the initial target area. In turn, the network may broadcast the alert (1) in each fully-encompassed coverage area in a manner that directs a recipient device to output the alert regardless of the device's location and (2) in each partially-encompassed coverage area in a manner that directs a recipient device to output the alert only if the device's location is encompassed within the respective target area for the coverage area.