Method and apparatus for synchronization of devices

• US 9,386,434 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2012
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Leppnen, Tapani Antero, Aaltonen, Timo Tapani
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hua
• Application Number:
  US13/363,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20130198276A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided to enable the provision of a mechanism by which a device participating in a collaborative application may synchronize with other participating devices. A method may include providing for operation of a collaboration application, receiving a signal from a sensor, establishing a reference time in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, and synchronizing the collaboration application using the reference time. The sensor may include an accelerometer and the signal may include a sampling of information from the sensor. The sampling may be conducted during a pre-defined time interval or possibly until a bump is detected. Establishing the reference time may include detecting a maximum value of the signal and/or detecting the signal exceeding a pre-defined threshold. Establishing the reference time may not require wireless communication.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing for operation of a collaboration application on a first device and a second device, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of a computationally intensive application configured to distribute computational requirements among collaborating devices, or a game wherein each collaborating device corresponds to a player in the game;

receiving at the first device a signal from a sensor, wherein the sensor comprises a sensor to detect movement of the first device;

establishing a reference time in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, wherein the signal is indicative of a movement of the first device; and

synchronizing the collaboration application between the first device and the second device using the reference time, wherein synchronizing the collaboration application between the first device and the second device comprises synchronizing a clock within the first device and the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises a sampling of information from the sensor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sampling is conducted during a time interval.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the reference time comprises establishing the reference time at a maximum detected value of the signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the reference time comprises detecting the signal exceeding a pre-defined threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the reference time does not require wireless communication.

8. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

provide for operation of a collaboration application on a first device, wherein the collaboration application is operating on a second device, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of a computationally intensive application configured to distribute computational requirements among collaborating devices, or a game wherein each collaborating device corresponds to a player in the game;

receive a signal from a sensor, wherein the sensor comprises a sensor to detect movement of the first device;

establish a reference time in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, wherein the signal is indicative of a movement of the first device; and

synchronize the collaboration application between the first device and the second device using the reference time, wherein synchronizing the collaboration application between the first device and the second device comprises synchronizing a clock within the first device and the second device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the signal comprises a sampling of information from the sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the sampling is conducted during a time interval.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein establishing the reference time comprises establishing the reference time at a maximum detected value of the signal.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein establishing the reference time comprises detecting the signal exceeding a pre-defined threshold.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein establishing the reference time does not require wireless communication.

15. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising:

program code instructions to provide for operation of a collaboration application on a first device and a second device, wherein the collaboration application comprises at least one of a computationally intensive application configured to distribute computational requirements among collaborating devices, or a game wherein each collaborating device corresponds to a player in the game;

program code instructions to receive at the first device a signal from a sensor, wherein the sensor comprises a sensor to detect movement of the first device;

program code instructions to establish a reference time in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, wherein the signal is indicative of a movement of the first device; and

program code instructions to synchronize the collaboration application between the first device and the second device using the reference time, wherein synchronizing the collaboration application between the first device and the second device comprises synchronizing a clock within the first device and the second device.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the signal comprises a sampling of information from the sensor.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the sampling is conducted during a time interval.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program code instructions for establishing the reference time comprises program code instructions for establishing the reference time at a maximum detected value of the signal.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program code instructions for establishing the reference time comprises program code instructions for detecting the signal exceeding a pre-defined threshold.