WO2024069872A1 - Control of terminal device that moves between clouds - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to continuously provide a service in which quality is ensured, an application control device has one or more processors. The one or more processors execute a process in which a notification is issued to indicate that communication between a moving control subject and a first edge cloud that activates a control application for controlling the control subject has been cut off, and in which the control application is started up in the control subject or in a second edge cloud that is the movement destination of the control subject.

Description

Controlling terminal devices moving between clouds

This disclosure relates to controlling terminal devices that move between clouds.

In recent years, wireless communication systems have become widespread that distribute clouds in specific areas of a wireless communication network and execute application processing close to users' terminal devices, thereby reducing delays in data processing. The clouds deployed in each area are also called edge clouds, and are connected to, for example, base station devices within the area, enabling communication with terminal devices via the base station devices.

In such wireless communication systems, there are an increasing number of use cases in which terminal devices, such as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and robots, are controlled using wireless communication. Specifically, a control application that controls the terminal device is placed in the edge cloud, and control commands from the control application are sent to the terminal device via a wireless communication network. The terminal device receives the control commands and operates in accordance with the control commands.

In such a use case, the terminal device does not need to perform advanced control or data processing, but only simple processing, making it possible to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

JP 2022-134583 A

However, because edge clouds are deployed in specific areas, there is a problem in that it can be difficult to control a terminal device when the terminal device moves across areas. In other words, when a terminal device moves between areas covered by different edge clouds, if a control application is not deployed in the edge cloud in the area after the move, the terminal device cannot be controlled.

As a result, it becomes difficult to continue providing services by controlling the terminal devices, and the quality of the services cannot be guaranteed.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide control of terminal devices moving between clouds that can continuously provide quality-guaranteed services.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the application control device has one or more processors. The processor executes a process to detect that communication between a moving control target and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control target has been cut off. The processor also executes a process to start a control application in the control target or in a second edge cloud to which the control target has been moved.

Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the application control method includes detecting that communication between a moving control object and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control object has been cut off. The application control method also includes starting a control application in the control object or in a second edge cloud to which the control object is moved.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the operation of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a control method according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the control device.

Below, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiment described below is an example, and should not be construed as being limited by this description.

(Embodiment 1)
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system includes a control device 100, edge clouds 200a and 200b, and a terminal device 300.

The control device 100 is connected to multiple edge clouds including edge clouds 200a and 200b, and deploys applications in each edge cloud and manages the applications in each edge cloud. The control device 100 may be, for example, deployed in a center cloud, and may be an orchestrator that deploys the control application of the terminal device 300 to each edge cloud.

The edge clouds 200a and 200b are clouds that are deployed in each specified area, and are each connected to a base station device within the area. The edge clouds 200a and 200b each run an application deployed by the control device 100, and communicate with the terminal device 300 via the base station device as necessary. Here, it is assumed that a control application that controls the terminal device 300 is deployed in the edge cloud 200a, and that the edge cloud 200a controls the terminal device 300 by communicating with the terminal device 300 via the base station device.

The terminal device 300 is a mobile terminal device such as a UAV, and is capable of wireless communication with a base station device. The terminal device 300 receives control commands from a control application in the edge cloud 200a via the base station device, and performs operations such as moving according to the control commands. In other words, the terminal device 300 is an object to be controlled by the control application. The terminal device 300 also monitors the communication status with the edge cloud 200a, and when it detects that communication with the edge cloud 200a has been cut off, it launches the control application stored in the device itself. This allows the terminal device 300 to continue operating even when it moves from an area covered by the edge cloud 200a to an area covered by, for example, the edge cloud 200b.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device 300 according to the first embodiment. The terminal device 300 shown in FIG. 2 has a wireless communication unit 310, a communication monitoring unit 320, a container control unit 330, and an operation control unit 340.

The wireless communication unit 310 performs wireless communication with the base station device that forms the cell in which the terminal device 300 is located. That is, the wireless communication unit 310 wirelessly transmits a signal including data addressed to the edge cloud 200a to the base station device, and wirelessly receives a signal including data transmitted from the edge cloud 200a from the base station device. The signals received by the wireless communication unit 310 include, for example, a control command for the terminal device 300 transmitted from a control application of the edge cloud 200a.

The communication monitoring unit 320 monitors the wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 310. That is, the communication monitoring unit 320 monitors whether the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 is being performed normally via the base station device. The communication monitoring unit 320 determines that the communication is not being performed normally when, for example, there is more packet loss than a predetermined standard in the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300, or when the communication speed drops below a predetermined standard. Then, when the communication monitoring unit 320 detects that the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 is not being performed normally, it notifies the container control unit 330 that the communication is not being performed normally.

The container control unit 330 controls containers corresponding to applications provided in the terminal device 300. Specifically, the container control unit 330 starts containers each including various applications, and suspends the containers. When the container control unit 330 starts a container, it connects the container to a virtual switch and enables the applications included in the container to operate. The container control unit 330 controls the containers, and the terminal device 300 according to this embodiment functions as an application control device.

The containers controlled by the container control unit 330 include a container of a control application that controls the terminal device 300. The container control unit 330 normally suspends the container of the control application to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device 300. On the other hand, when the container control unit 330 is notified by the communication monitoring unit 320 that the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 is not being performed normally, the container control unit 330 starts the container of the control application. The container control unit 330 then connects the container of the control application to a virtual switch and runs the control application.

The operation control unit 340 controls the operation of the terminal device 300. Specifically, the operation control unit 340 controls the operation of the terminal device 300 in accordance with a control command received by the wireless communication unit 310. Furthermore, when a container including a control application is started by the container control unit 330, the operation control unit 340 controls the operation of the terminal device 300 in accordance with control from this control application.

Next, the operation of the terminal device 300 configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flow diagram shown in FIG. 3. Here, the operation will be explained when the terminal device 300, which is communicating with the edge cloud 200a via the base station device, moves from the area covered by the edge cloud 200a to the area covered by the edge cloud 200b.

When the terminal device 300 communicates with the edge cloud 200a, a control command is sent from the control application of the edge cloud 200a, and the control command is received by the wireless communication unit 310 via the base station device. Then, the operation control unit 340 controls the operation of the terminal device 300 in accordance with the received control command (step S101).

While the terminal device 300 operates according to the control command, the communication monitoring unit 320 monitors the wireless communication in the wireless communication unit 310. That is, the communication monitoring unit 320 monitors whether the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 is being performed normally (step S102). If the result of the monitoring shows that the communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 has not been disconnected (step S102 No), the operation of the terminal device 300 continues to be controlled according to the control command received from the edge cloud 200a.

On the other hand, if the monitoring result detects that communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 has been disconnected (Yes in step S102), the container control unit 330 is notified of this fact. The container control unit 330 then starts the container of the control application (step S103). That is, the container of the control application that was paused while receiving a control command from the edge cloud 200a is started when communication with the edge cloud 200a is disconnected.

The container control unit 330 also connects the started container to the virtual switch (step S104). This enables the container of the control application to operate, including communicating with other containers. When the container is started and connected to the virtual switch, the control application starts processing. In other words, the operation control unit 340 controls the operation of the terminal device 300 according to the control from the control application (step S105).

In this way, the terminal device 300 operates according to the control application held by the terminal device 300. Therefore, even after communication with the edge cloud 200a is cut off, it is possible to control the terminal device 300, and services using the terminal device 300 can be continuously provided while ensuring quality.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when a terminal device detects that communication with the edge cloud has been disconnected, the terminal device launches a control application stored in the terminal device and controls the operation of the terminal device using this control application. Therefore, even if a terminal device controlled by the edge cloud's control application moves to an area of a different edge cloud, it is possible to continue to provide quality-guaranteed services.

(Embodiment 2)
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to embodiment 2. In Fig. 4, the same components as those in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The wireless communication system shown in Fig. 4 includes a core network device (hereinafter abbreviated as "CN device") 150 in addition to the wireless communication system shown in Fig. 1.

The CN device 150 is disposed in a core network formed above a RAN (Radio Access Network) in which base station devices are disposed, and controls wireless communication in a wireless communication system. Specifically, the CN device 150 controls the routing of communication by the terminal device 300, for example, when the terminal device 300 moves from an area covered by edge cloud 200a to an area covered by edge cloud 200b. That is, the CN device 150 controls the edge cloud with which the terminal device 300 communicates to be switched from edge cloud 200a to edge cloud 200b. At this time, the CN device 150 controls the routing of communication by the terminal device 300 according to instructions from the control device 100. An example of such a CN device 150 is a UPF (User Plane Function) disposed in a 5GC (5th Generation Core network).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control device 100 according to the second embodiment. The control device 100 shown in FIG. 5 has a fault notification receiving unit 110, a routing control unit 120, and a deployment unit 130.

The fault notification receiver 110 receives a fault notification from the edge clouds 200a, 200b indicating that a communication fault has occurred. That is, the edge cloud 200a according to this embodiment determines that a fault has occurred when, for example, communication with the terminal device 300 that is currently communicating is cut off, and sends a fault notification to the control device 100. Therefore, by receiving a fault notification from the edge cloud 200a, the fault notification receiver 110 detects that communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 has been cut off.

When the fault notification receiving unit 110 receives a fault notification, the routing control unit 120 identifies the edge cloud that covers the area to which the terminal device 300 has moved. In other words, when communication with the edge cloud 200a is cut off due to the terminal device 300 moving, the routing control unit 120 identifies the destination edge cloud 200b. The destination of the terminal device 300 can be identified, for example, by obtaining information about the terminal device 300 managed in the core network from the CN device 150.

When the routing control unit 120 identifies the edge cloud 200b to which the terminal device 300 is to be moved, it generates routing information that causes the terminal device 300 to communicate with edge cloud 200b and transmits it to the CN device 150. As a result, the CN device 150 controls the edge cloud with which the terminal device 300 communicates to be switched from edge cloud 200a to edge cloud 200b. The routing control unit 120 also notifies the deployment unit 130 that the edge cloud to which the terminal device 300 is to be moved is edge cloud 200b.

When the deployment unit 130 is notified by the routing control unit 120 of the edge cloud 200b to which the terminal device 300 is to be moved, the deployment unit 130 deploys and starts a container including a control application for the terminal device 300 in the edge cloud 200b. The deployment unit 130 deploys and starts the container, so that the control device 100 according to this embodiment functions as an application control device.

Next, a method for controlling the terminal device 300 in the wireless communication system configured as described above will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 6.

When the terminal device 300 communicates with the edge cloud 200a, a control command is sent from the control application of the edge cloud 200a, and the terminal device 300 operates according to the received control command. For example, when the terminal device 300 moves out of the area covered by the edge cloud 200a, communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 is cut off (step S201). When communication with the terminal device 300 is cut off, the edge cloud 200a sends a fault notification to the control device 100 (step S202).

The control device 100 detects that communication between the edge cloud 200a and the terminal device 300 has been cut off by receiving a failure notification from the edge cloud 200a. The control device 100 then identifies the edge cloud 200b that covers the destination of the terminal device 300, and generates routing information for allowing the terminal device 300 to communicate with the edge cloud 200b. The control device 100 transmits the generated routing information to the CN device 150 (step S203). The control device 100 also deploys and starts the control application of the terminal device 300 in the edge cloud 200b, the destination of the terminal device 300 (step S204). This allows the edge cloud 200b to control the terminal device 300 in the same way as the edge cloud 200a when communicating with the terminal device 300.

When the CN device 150 receives the routing information from the control device 100, it controls the edge cloud with which the terminal device 300 communicates to be switched from edge cloud 200a to edge cloud 200b (step S205). This routing control causes the terminal device 300 to communicate with edge cloud 200b via the base station device (step S206). As described above, since the control application for the terminal device 300 is deployed in edge cloud 200b, the terminal device 300 receives a control command from the control application of edge cloud 200b and operates according to the control command.

In this way, after the terminal device 300 has been moved, the terminal device 300 operates using the control application deployed in the destination edge cloud 200b. Therefore, even after communication with the edge cloud 200a is cut off, it is possible to control the terminal device 300, and services using the terminal device 300 can be continuously provided while ensuring quality.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the control device detects that communication between the edge cloud and the terminal device has been disconnected, the control device deploys and starts a control application in the edge cloud to which the terminal device has moved, and changes the communication path of the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device communicates with the edge cloud to which the terminal device has moved, and controls its operation in accordance with the control application of this edge cloud. As a result, it is possible to continue providing quality-guaranteed services even when the terminal device moves to an area of a different edge cloud.

The terminal device 300 according to the above-mentioned first and second embodiments can be configured using a processor and a memory. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 300 according to the first and second embodiments. As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal device 300 has a processor 301, a memory 302, an input/output unit 303, and a wireless communication unit 304.

The processor 301 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and provides overall control of the terminal device 300.

Memory 302 includes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores information used for control by processor 301.

The input/output unit 303 is an interface through which the user inputs information and through which information is output to the user. The input/output unit 303 may include, for example, a keyboard, a display, a touch panel, a microphone, or a speaker.

The wireless communication unit 304 wirelessly communicates with the base station device via an antenna.

The terminal device 300 may also have other components not shown, such as storage and operation switches.

The control device 100 according to the above-mentioned first and second embodiments can be configured using a processor and a memory. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control device 100 according to the first and second embodiments. As shown in FIG. 8, the control device 100 has a processor 101, a memory 102, an input/output unit 103, and a communication unit 104.

The processor 101 has, for example, a CPU, FPGA, or DSP, and controls the entire control device 100 and executes various types of information processing.

Memory 102 includes, for example, RAM or ROM, and stores information used in the information processing performed by processor 101.

The input/output unit 103 is an interface through which the user inputs information and through which information is output to the user. The input/output unit 103 may include, for example, a keyboard, a display, a touch panel, a microphone, or a speaker.

The communication unit 104 communicates with the edge clouds 200a, 200b and the CN device 150. The communication unit 104 may also communicate with other devices located in the core network or an external network.

The control device 100 may also have other components not shown, such as storage and operation switches.

The processes performed by the control device 100 and the terminal device 300 described in the above embodiment can also be written as programs executable by a computer. In this case, the programs can be stored on a computer-readable, non-transitory recording medium and installed on the computer. Examples of such recording media include portable recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVD disks, and USB memory, as well as semiconductor memories such as flash memories.

Note that this disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but also includes various modifications in which components are added, deleted, or converted from the above-described configuration.

The disclosure described above includes the following [1] to [6].

[1] A system having one or more processors,
The processor,
Detecting that communication between a moving control object and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control object has been disconnected;
An application control device that executes a process of starting a control application in the control target or a second edge cloud to which the control target is moved.

[2] An application control device mounted on the control target,
The process of starting up includes:
The application control device according to [1], which starts a control application in the control target.

[3] The process of starting up is
The application control device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising: starting a container including a control application; and connecting the container to a virtual switch within the control target.

[4] The process of starting up is
Launching a control application on the second edge cloud;
The processor,
The application control device according to [1], further executing a process of changing a communication path so that the control target communicates with the second edge cloud.

[5] The process of starting up is
The application control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a container including a control application that is placed in the second edge cloud; and a start-up of the container.

[6] Detecting that communication between a moving control object and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control object is disconnected;
and starting a control application in the control object or in a second edge cloud to which the control object is moved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Control device 101, 301 Processor 102, 302 Memory 103, 303 Input/output unit 104 Communication unit 110 Fault notification receiving unit 120 Routing control unit 130 Deployment unit 150 CN device 200a, 200b Edge cloud 300 Terminal device 304, 310 Wireless communication unit 320 Communication monitoring unit 330 Container control unit 340 Operation control unit

Claims (6)

One or more processors;
The processor,
Detecting that communication between a moving control object and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control object has been disconnected;
An application control device that executes a process of starting a control application in the control target or a second edge cloud to which the control target is moved. An application control device installed in the control target,
The process of starting up includes:
The application control device according to claim 1 , which starts a control application held in the control target. The process of starting up includes:
The application control device according to claim 2 , further comprising: starting a container including a control application; and connecting the container to a virtual switch within the controlled object. The process of starting up includes:
Launching a control application on the second edge cloud;
The processor,
The application control device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a process of changing a communication path so that the control target communicates with the second edge cloud. The process of starting up includes:
The application control device according to claim 4 , further comprising: placing a container including a control application in the second edge cloud; and starting the container. Detecting that communication between a moving control object and a first edge cloud that runs a control application that controls the control object has been disconnected;
and starting a control application in the control object or in a second edge cloud to which the control object is moved.

Images