Wireless Data Offload Using Passenger Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public transportation vehicles face challenges in reliable wireless data transfer due to reduced data rates with increasing speed, and the accumulation of CCTV data exceeds storage capacity during short stops, especially at long-distance travels with sparse stations, making efficient wireless data offload difficult.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using passenger wireless terminals as offload nodes to divide data into pieces, which are offloaded to these terminals for subsequent upload to a data center when a suitable network connection is found, with passengers being rewarded for completing the process, thereby alleviating storage capacity issues and ensuring continuous offload even in areas with insufficient network connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wireless data offload is performed during vehicle stops, then data can be transferred to data center, but the amount of data to be offloaded grows and may exceed storage capacity of network recorder
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the data offload process into multiple segments: (1) data is segmented into smaller packets for transmission, (2) the offload process is segmented across multiple time periods (during stops and movement phases), and (3) data is segmented and stored temporarily in passenger devices before final upload to data center. This segmentation allows continuous offload operation without overwhelming the vehicle's storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary actions by pre-configuring passenger devices as potential offload nodes before actual data transmission is needed. The system identifies and registers passenger devices in advance, establishing communication protocols and storage allocation before the vehicle reaches locations where offload operations are required, ensuring ready-to-execute data transfer capability.
2Ease of operation
If wireless data connection is used for passenger data transfer, then passengers can access data services, but the data rate reduces as vehicle speed increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces passenger wireless terminals as intermediary nodes between the vehicle's data storage system and the external data center. These intermediaries receive data during vehicle movement at reduced speeds, store it temporarily, and then upload it when conditions are favorable, thereby mediating the speed discrepancy between vehicle motion and data transmission requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts data transfer operations based on real-time vehicle speed and network conditions. When vehicle speed is high, the system prioritizes data collection and stores it in passenger devices. When vehicle speed decreases or network conditions improve, the system dynamically switches to data transmission mode, optimizing the balance between ease of operation and transfer rate.
3Reliability
If CCTV data is stored onboard for extended periods, then regulatory requirements are met, but storage capacity of network recorder is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts data from the vehicle's primary storage system (network recorder) and relocates it to passenger devices for temporary storage. This extraction process reduces the data volume on the vehicle's storage system while maintaining compliance with retention requirements, as the data remains accessible and retained during the extraction period before final upload to the data center.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to the storage architecture by utilizing passenger devices as distributed storage nodes. Instead of concentrating all data retention functionality in the vehicle's network recorder, the system distributes storage across multiple dimensions: vehicle storage for active data, passenger device storage for temporary retention, and data center storage for long-term archiving, thereby expanding total storage capacity without increasing the vehicle's physical storage volume.
4Productivity
If data is offloaded during short stops, then continuous offload is achieved, but the amount of non-offloaded data grows when stops are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent ensures continuity of useful action by enabling data offload operations to continue during vehicle movement phases, not just during stops. The system maintains continuous data transfer capability through multiple parallel channels including wireless terminals, ensuring that the useful action of data offloading never stops, thereby eliminating gaps where non-offloaded data would accumulate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary data collection and preparation during vehicle movement phases, so that when stops occur, data is already organized and ready for immediate transmission. This preliminary action reduces the effective offload time during stops and ensures continuous progress toward complete data transfer without requiring extended stop periods.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and related apparatus for performing wireless data offload in a public transportation vehicle comprising at least one access point and at least one data storage comprising a plurality of pieces of data, the method comprising: searching for available offload nodes in the vehicle; sending a request for wireless offload of the data at least to a first offload node, the request including one or more offload parameters; offloading, upon an acknowledgement from the first offload node, a first piece of data to the first offload node; and registering the first piece of data as offloaded to the first offload node.