SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SHARING CONTEXT INFORMATION IN A NEIGHBOR AWARE NETWORK

• US 20140269658A1
• Filed: 03/11/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sadasivam, Shankar, Swaminathan, Ashwin, Lee, Jin Won, Abraham, Santosh Paul, Cherian, George, Ding, Li
• Granted Patent: US 9,674,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods share context information on a neighbor aware network. In one aspect, a context providing device receives a plurality of responses to a discovery query from a context consuming device, and tailors services it offers to the context consuming device based on the responses. In another aspect, a context providing device indicates in its response to a discovery query which services or local context information it can provide to the context consuming device, and also a cost associated with providing the service or the local context information. In some aspects, the cost is in units of monetary currency. In other aspects, the cost is in units of user interface display made available to an entity associated with the context providing device in exchange for the services or local context information offered to the context consuming device.

Claims

1. A method of sharing environmental context information between wireless devices, comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device, a discovery query;

decoding the discovery query to determine one or more requested environmental context parameters;

generating a response to the query indicating the environmental context parameters that can be provided by the receiving device; and

transmitting, by the receiving device, the response to the query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested environmental context parameters include one or more of audio, location, identity, inertial-motion related information, spectral distribution, ambient lighting, ambient atmospheric pressure, and ambient temperature.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the receiving device, one or more responses to the discovery query;

decoding at least one of the one or more responses to determine one or more of the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by at least one responding device transmitting the one or more responses;

determining a set of outstanding environmental context parameters based on the requested environmental context parameters and the environmental context parameters indicated in the one or more responses; and

determining the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by the receiving device based on the receiving device'"'"'s environmental context capabilities and the outstanding environmental context parameters.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the receiving device'"'"'s capabilities based on a power constraint of the receiving device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising decoding the discovery query to determine a requested quality of service of at least one of the requested environmental context parameters.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating the response to the query to indicate a quality of service of an environmental context parameter that can be provided.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the response to the query to indicate one or more costs associated with the environmental context parameters that can be provided.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating at least one of the one or more costs to represent a quantity of advertising that must be displayed on a user interface in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating at least one of the one or more costs to represent an amount of monetary currency to be provided in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating at least one of the one or more costs to represent an electronic service to be provided in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic service provides an environmental context parameter.

12. An apparatus for sharing environmental context information between wireless devices, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a discovery query;

a hardware processor configured to decode the discovery query to determine one or more requested environmental context parameters,

wherein the hardware processor is further configured to determine which of the requested environmental context parameters can be provided by the apparatus,

wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate a response to the query indicating the environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a response to the query, the response indicating the environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the requested environmental context parameters include one or more of audio, location, identity, inertial-motion related information, spectral distribution, ambient lighting, ambient atmospheric pressure, and ambient temperature.

14. The apparatus of claim 12,

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive one or more responses to the discovery query,

wherein the hardware processor is further configured to decode at least one of the one or more responses to determine one or more of the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by at least one responding device transmitting the one or more responses,

wherein the hardware processor is further configured to determine a set of outstanding environmental context parameters based on the requested environmental context parameters and the environmental context parameters indicated in the one or more responses, and

determine the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus based on the apparatus'"'"'s environmental context capabilities and the outstanding environmental context parameters.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus'"'"'s environmental context capabilities are based on a power constraint of the apparatus.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to decode the discovery query to determine a requested quality of service of at least one of the requested environmental context parameters.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate the response to the query to indicate a quality of service of an environmental context parameter that can be provided by the apparatus.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate the response to the query to indicate one or more costs associated with the environmental context parameters indicated in the response to the query.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate at least one of the indicated one or more costs to represent a quantity of advertising that must be displayed on a user interface in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate at least one of the indicated one or more costs to represent an amount of monetary currency to be provided in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate at least one of the one or more costs to represent an electronic service to be provided in exchange for an associated environmental context parameter.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the electronic service provides an environmental context parameter.

23. An apparatus for sharing environmental context information between wireless devices, comprising:

means for receiving a discovery query;

means for decoding the discovery query to determine one or more requested environmental context parameters;

means for determining which of the requested environmental context parameters can be provided by the apparatus based at least in part on the one or more requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus;

means for generating a response to the query indicating the environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus; and

means for transmitting the response to the query.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the requested environmental context parameters include one or more of audio, location, identity, inertial-motion related information, spectral distribution, ambient lighting, ambient atmospheric pressure, and ambient temperature.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising:

means for receiving one or more responses to the discovery query;

means for decoding the one or more responses to determine one or more of the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by at least one responding device transmitting the one or more responses;

means for determining a set of outstanding environmental context parameters based on the requested environmental context parameters and the environmental context parameters indicated in the one or more responses; and

means for determining the requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by the apparatus based on the apparatus'"'"'s environmental context capabilities and the outstanding environmental context parameters.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the apparatus'"'"'s environmental context capabilities are based on a power constraint of the apparatus.

27. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising means for decoding the discovery query to determine a requested quality of service of at least one of the requested environmental context parameters.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for generating the response to indicate in the response to the query a quality of service of an environmental context parameter that can be provided by the apparatus.

29. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising means for generating the response to the query to indicate one or more costs associated with the environmental context parameters that can be provided.

30. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed cause a hardware processor to perform a method of sharing environmental context information between wireless devices, the method comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device, a discovery query;

decoding the discovery query to determine one or more requested environmental context parameters;

determining which of the requested environmental context parameters can be provided by the receiving device based at least in part on the one or more requested environmental context parameters that can be provided by the receiving device;

generating a response to the query indicating the environmental context parameters that can be provided by the receiving device; and

transmitting, by the receiving device, the response to the query.