Automatic resource balancing for multi-device location-based applications

• US 9,124,591 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2014
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Razer (Asia-Pacific) Pte. Ltd. (Razer Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Nextbit Systems, Inc. (Razer Incorporated)
• Inventors: Chan, Michael A., Quan, Justin, Bornstein, Daniel R., Moss, Tom, Tong, Linda
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUOC H
• Application Number:
  US14/268,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

At least one embodiment of this disclosure includes a method of resource balancing execution of a location-based application involving multiple devices. The method can include: identifying an application executing on an operating system of a first computing device; identifying a resource type to facilitate the executing of the location-based application; identifying computing devices each having at least an available resource instance of the identified resource type, wherein the computing devices are reachable by a communication protocol of the first computing device; and selecting a target computing device to offer up a target resource instance of the resource type to the location-based application based at least partly on a comparable limitation of each available resource instance of the computing devices.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to broker computing device resources between computing devices, comprising:

identifying a location-based application executing on an operating system of a first computing device, wherein executing of the location-based application is associated with a first user profile;

identifying a resource type to facilitate the executing of the location-based application, the resource type being navigation related;

maintaining a list of computing devices each having at least an available application service of the identified resource type by identifying the computing devices through a communication protocol available to the first computing device and identifying the computing devices that are associated with and at least partially controllable by the first user profile via an ownership credential of the first user profile, the list including the first computing device;

comparing a comparable limitation of each available application service instance from the list against each other in the list to select a target computing device from the computing devices to offer up a target application service instance of the resource type to the location-based application; and

commanding the target computing device to utilize the target application service instance on behalf of the location-based application that is executing on the operating system of the first computing device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resource type is an audio speaker service or a video display service from one of the computing devices to deliver navigational instructions to a user for the location-based application.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resource type is a global positioning system (GPS) service from one of the computing devices to deliver a current location of a user to the location-based application.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resource type is a locality information cache service from one of the computing devices that provides cached locality information for the location-based application.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resource type is a personal locality information service from one of the computing devices to provide personalized or bookmarked locality information to the location-based application.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resource type is a web-based locality information service from one of the computing devices to extract locality information over a network for the location-based application.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the comparable limitation is proximity of a corresponding computing device to a user.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the proximity to the user is calculated relative to a location of a mobile device associated with the first user profile or a location of the first computing device executing the location-based application.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the comparable limitation is an available usage capacity of a consumable secondary resource of a corresponding computing device, the consumable secondary resource consumed when the each available application service instance is utilized to serve the location-based application.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the consumable secondary resource is a battery in one of the multiple computing devices and the comparable limitation is an available battery power left in the battery.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the consumable secondary resource is a network data plan accessible to one of the computing devices and the comparable limitation is available data usage size left in the network data plan to run the available application service instance.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the consumable secondary resource is a processor in one of the computing devices and the comparable limitation is available processing capacity of the processor to run the available application service instance.

13. A computer-implemented method to broker computing device resources between computing devices, comprising:

identifying a location-based application executing on an operating system of a first computing device, wherein executing of the location-based application is associated with a first user profile;

identifying a resource type to facilitate the executing of the location-based application;

maintaining a list of computing devices each having at least an available resource instance of the identified resource type by identifying the computing devices through a communication protocol available to the first computing device and identifying the computing devices that are associated with and at least partially controllable by the first user profile via an ownership credential of the first user profile;

comparing a comparable limitation of each available resource instance from the list against each other to select a target computing device from the list to offer up a target resource instance of the resource type to the location-based application;

notifying the first computing device with an offer for the target resource instance to be utilized by the location-based application; and

in response to receiving an acceptance of the offer, commanding the target computing device to utilize the target resource instance on behalf of the location-based application.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the communication protocol includes Bluetooth, WiFi, WiFi Direct, or Near Field Communication (NFC).

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a resource request from the location-based application using the communication protocol, the resource request indicating the resource type; and

wherein identifying the location-based application and the resource type is based on the resource request.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

intercepting a resource request from the location-based application to the operating system, the resource request indicating the resource type; and

wherein identifying the location-based application and the resource type is based on the resource request.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the comparable limitation of a corresponding computing device is quantified by a measurable availability of one or more resource instances of the resource type in the corresponding computing device.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the resource type is a device service, wherein the comparable limitation of a corresponding computing device is quantified by a device specification of the corresponding computing device associated with the device service.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the device service is a sensor data service, wherein the comparable limitation is quantified by the device specification of a sensor associated with the sensor data service in the corresponding computing device.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the comparable limitation is quantified by an accuracy of the sensor according to the device specification.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein comparing to select the target computing device is further based on comparing an available duration to utilize the available resource instance in each of the computing devices to a timing restriction of when the location-based application requires to utilize the target resource instance.

22. A device comprising:

a memory storing executable instructions;

a processor configured by the executable instructions to;

identify a location-based application executing on an operating system of a first computing device, wherein executing of the location-based application is associated with a first user profile;

identify a resource type to facilitate the executing of the location-based application;

maintain a list of computing devices each having at least an available resource instance of the identified resource type by identifying the computing devices through a communication protocol available to the first computing device and identifying the computing devices that are associated with and at least partially controllable by the first user profile via an ownership credential of the first user profile;

compare a comparable limitation of each available resource instance from the list against each other to select a target computing device from the list to offer up a target resource instance of the resource type to the location-based application;

notify the first computing device with an offer for the target resource instance to be utilized by the location-based application; and

in response to receiving an acceptance of the offer, command the target computing device to utilize the target resource instance on behalf of the location-based application.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the first computing device is the device and wherein the processor is configured to identify the location-based application executing on the operating system implemented by the processor.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein the first computing device is external to the device and wherein the processor is configured to identify the location-based application executing on the operating system implemented on the first computing device.