Method and system for performing tasks on collaborating wireless devices

• US 8,553,625 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2008
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Shao, Huai-Rong, Ngo, Chiu
• Primary Examiner(s): Oveissi, David
• Application Number:
  US12/263,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20100110995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method and system for performing functions on multiple physical devices, is provided. One implementation involves connecting the physical devices via wireless links, discovering function capabilities of each physical device, wherein a function capability of a physical device comprises a local resource and a virtual resource, and collaborating among the physical devices by wireless communication to provide a set of functions including discovered function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices, wherein each function of the function base can be mapped to one or more of said resources for execution.

Claims

1. A method of performing functions on multiple physical devices, comprising:

connecting the physical devices via wireless links;

discovering function capabilities of each physical device, wherein a function capability of a physical device comprises one or more local physical resources and one or more virtual resources; and

collaborating among the physical devices by wireless communication to provide a set of functions including discovered function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices, wherein collaborating comprises performing channel time coordination for using a wireless virtual link that includes timing transmission for different types of information over the wireless virtual link, wherein each function can be mapped to one or more of said resources for execution, wherein a virtual resource for a physical device includes resources of one or more other physical devices accessible via wireless virtual links, wherein virtual wireless links comprise logical wireless connections, and wherein physical resources comprise individual resource components of physical devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each available function is mapped to one or more of the local physical resources and the one or more virtual resources of the physical devices.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein collaborating among the physical devices by wireless communication comprises performing virtual link scheduling that includes utilizing a signaling protocol for device discovery, virtual link set up and tear down.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein connecting the physical devices includes:

a physical device setting up virtual links substantially simultaneously with multiple other physical devices within its transmission range.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the physical devices include wireless consumer electronics devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein collaborating among the physical devices includes:

multiple devices automatically collaborating with each other to provide a virtual device having function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each virtual resource has a dynamic associated cost factor according to wireless link bandwidth conditions.

9. The method of claim 8 further including classifying the virtual resources according to physical device capabilities.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein mapping a user task further includes dynamically selecting physical devices for collaboration such that the overall cost of executing the task by the collaborating devices meets desired performance criteria.

11. The method of claim 9 further including performing resource control utilizing application layer function capabilities to accommodate low-layer resource control and optimization.

12. The method of claim 8 further including:

classifying the resources according to capability parameters of associated functions, such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices and performing a user task by minimizing the overall cost factor while meeting quality of service (QoS) requirements.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes substantially automatically mapping a user task to one or more physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein collaborating among the physical devices further includes substantially automatically performing resource borrowing among one or more of said physical devices for execution of a task.

15. The method of claim 3, wherein performing virtual link scheduling further includes performing collaborative virtual link scheduling by time division multiplexing when a same wireless channel is utilized by multiple devices for avoiding interference on the same wireless channel.

45. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically selecting physical devices based on power consumption.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein dynamically selecting physical devices is based on dynamically changed channel bandwidth.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein overall power consumption and bandwidth capacity are minimized for meeting quality of service requirements.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein dynamically selecting physical devices is based on battery capacity.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein dynamically selecting physical devices is based on minimizing power consumption of the physical devices.

50. The method of claim 3, wherein virtual link scheduling is based on channel bandwidth capacity and power consumption cost.

53. The method of claim 1, wherein collaboration further comprises coordinating multiple devices for performing complex user tasks involving multiple functions.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein particular user tasks are assigned to physical devices for maximizing battery life among the physical devices.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein a user task comprises capturing and displaying multimedia using plural physical devices.

56. The method of claim 1, wherein a virtual link comprises one or more wireless links.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein virtual wireless links further comprise multiple relay nodes between at least two physical devices.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein a virtual link further comprises one or more of:

a radio link, a 60 GHz link, or combination of a radio link and 60 GHz link.

59. The method of claim 1, wherein each function of the set of functions is mapped to one or more resources in the physical devices.

60. The method of claim 1, wherein the different types of information comprises video information and audio information.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the video information and the audio information are scheduled in separate time blocks within a same scheduling frame for wireless transmission.

16. A system for performing functions on multiple physical devices, comprising:

multiple physical devices configured for connection via wireless links; and

a controller configured for performing functions on multiple physical devices, the controller including;

a discovery module configured for discovering function capabilities of each physical device, wherein a function capability of a physical device comprises one or more local physical resources and one or more virtual resources; and

a scheduling module configured for enabling collaboration among the physical devices by wireless communication to provide a set of functions including discovered function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices, wherein collaboration comprises performing channel time coordination for using a wireless virtual link that includes timing transmission for different types of information over the wireless virtual link, wherein each function can be mapped to one or more of said resources for execution, wherein a virtual resource for a physical device includes resources of one or more other physical devices accessible via wireless virtual links, wherein virtual wireless links comprise logical wireless connections, and wherein physical resources comprise individual resource components of physical devices.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein each available function is mapped to the one or more local physical resources and the one or more virtual resources of the physical devices.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the scheduling module is further configured for enabling collaboration among the physical devices by wireless communication including virtual link scheduling utilizing a signaling protocol for device discovery, virtual link set up and tear down.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein each device is configured for setting up virtual links substantially simultaneously with multiple other physical devices within its transmission range.

20. The system of claim 18 further including a mapping module configured for mapping a function of the function set into one or more of said resources, wherein multiple devices automatically collaborate with each other to provide a virtual device having function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, and the mapping module is further configured for mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by collaborating the physical devices.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein each virtual resource has a dynamic associated cost factor according to wireless link conditions.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the mapping module if further configured for classifying the virtual resources according to physical device capabilities.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the mapping module is further configured for mapping a user task by dynamically selecting physical devices for collaboration that is performed such that the overall power consumption cost of executing the task by the collaborating devices dynamically meets desired performance criteria.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the mapping module is further configured for performing resource control utilizing application layer function capabilities to accommodate low-layer resource control and optimization.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the mapping module is further configured for classifying the resources according to capability parameters of associated functions, such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices and performing a user task by minimizing the overall cost factor while meeting quality of service (QoS) requirements.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, and the mapping module is further configured such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes substantially automatically mapping a user task to one or more physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the mapping module is configured for automatically performing resource borrowing among one or more of said physical devices for execution of a task.

29. The system of claim 18, wherein the scheduler is further configured for performing collaborative virtual link scheduling utilizing time division multiplexing when a same wireless channel is utilized by multiple devices for avoiding interference on the same wireless channel.

51. The system of claim 20, wherein the mapping module is further configured for mapping a user task by dynamically selecting physical devices for collaboration based on power consumption.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein collaboration based on power consumption comprises adjusting physical resource usage for balancing power consumption among multiple physical devices.

30. An apparatus for performing functions on multiple physical devices, comprising:

a discovery module configured for discovering function capabilities of each physical device, wherein a function capability of a physical device comprises one or more local physical resources and one or more virtual resources; and

a scheduling module configured for enabling collaboration among the physical devices by wireless communication to provide a set of functions including discovered function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices, wherein collaboration comprises performing channel time coordination for using a wireless virtual link that includes timing transmission for different types of information over the wireless virtual link, wherein each function of the set of functions can be mapped to one or more of said resources for execution, wherein a virtual resource for a physical device includes resources of one or more other physical devices accessible via wireless virtual links, wherein virtual wireless links comprise logical wireless connections, and wherein physical resources comprise individual resource components of physical devices.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein a virtual resource for a physical device includes resources of one or more other physical devices accessible via wireless virtual links.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the scheduling module is further configured for enabling collaboration among the physical devices by wireless communication including virtual link scheduling utilizing a signaling protocol for device discovery, virtual link set up and tear down.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein each device is configured for setting up virtual links substantially simultaneously with multiple other physical devices within its transmission range.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the physical devices include wireless consumer electronic devices.

35. The apparatus of claim 32 further including a mapping module configured for mapping a function of the function set into one or more of said resources, wherein multiple devices automatically collaborate with each other to provide a virtual device having function capabilities of the collaborating physical devices.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, and the mapping module is further configured for mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by collaborating the physical devices.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein each virtual resource has a dynamic associated cost factor according to wireless link bandwidth conditions.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the mapping module is further configured for classifying the virtual resources according to physical device capabilities.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the mapping module is further configured for mapping a user task by dynamically selecting physical devices for collaboration is performed such that the overall power consumption cost of executing the task by the collaborating devices dynamically meets desired performance criteria.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the mapping module is further configured for performing resource control utilizing application layer function capabilities to accommodate low-layer resource control and optimization.

41. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the mapping module is further configured for classifying the resources according to capability parameters of associated functions, such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes mapping different user tasks to different physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices and performing a user task by minimizing the overall cost factor while meeting quality of service (QoS) requirements.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein a user task includes one or more functions in the set of functions, and the mapping module is further configured such that collaborating among the physical devices further includes substantially automatically mapping a user task to one or more physical devices with different resources, for execution by the physical devices.

43. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the mapping module is configured for automatically performing resource borrowing among one or more of said physical devices for execution of a task.

44. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the scheduler is further configured for performing collaborative virtual link scheduling by time division multiplexing when a same wireless channel is utilized by multiple devices for avoiding interference on the same channel.