Patent Publication Number: US-2012026971-A1

Title: Wireless network system, a mobile device, an information server and a method of providing information in a wireless network system

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a Application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 12, 2011 and assigned Serial No. 10-2011-0069150 and an Application filed in the Great Britain Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 30, 2010 and assigned Serial No. GB 1012838.7, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     1. TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to a wireless network system, and in particular, to a wireless network system including a mobile device, an information server and a method of providing information in the wireless network system. 
     2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     Several different wireless networks may coexist in one particular location. For example several networks may be offered by different providers and different wireless network technologies may overlap. In such a heterogeneous wireless network system, mobile devices may have a choice of available access points a particular location, and such options may frequently change as the mobile devices move around to different locations with different network systems. 
     Protocols such as Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.21, as well as other protocols, have been developed in order to provide handover services that assist HandOver (HO) from one access point to another access point, and from one type of network to another type of network, while maintaining services over the wireless networks to the mobile devices. These protocols provide additional services such as predictive handovers, wherein a handover to another access point is initiated before a signal from a current access point is lost, in order to minimize downtime between access points. However, some mobile devices (e.g. non-MIH devices) are unable to participate in these additional services for media independent handovers. For example, WO2006/052,805 describes a Media Independent Handover (MIH) method featuring a simplified beacon for MIH services. 
     Many mobile devices are able to generate location information that corresponds to a geographical location of the mobile device. The location information allows the mobile device to obtain location based services that are relevant to that specific geographical location. For example, location information may be provided in order to access additional services for media independent handovers, such as the predictive handovers based on the current geographical location of the mobile device. However, obtaining the location information tends to increase the power consumption of the mobile device and shortens battery life. The wireless network also carries additional network traffic in order to provide the location information and support the location based services of the mobile device. Meanwhile, devices that are not equipped to generate the location information (e.g., devices without a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator) are unable to take advantage of these location based services. 
     Accordingly, there is a desire to achieve a wireless network system wherein information is provided efficiently. For example, there is a desire to achieve a wireless network system wherein network traffic is reduced, to conserve battery power of the mobile devices, and to achieve a method of providing information in a wireless network system wherein the information is efficiently provided. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and provides a wireless network system including a mobile device and an information server, and a method for providing information in the wireless network system. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a wireless network system including a plurality of wireless networks. The wireless network system includes a plurality of mobile devices coupled to the plurality of wireless networks, the plurality of mobile devices including at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device; and an information server coupled to each of the plurality of wireless networks, wherein the information server provides handover messages to the plurality of mobile devices to assist the mobile devices in performing a handover from one of the wireless networks to another one of the wireless networks, wherein the first mobile device negotiates information sharing rules with the information server, and wherein the first mobile device provides, to the second mobile device, shared information according to the information sharing rules. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of providing information in a wireless network system having a plurality of wireless networks is provided. The method includes sending, by an information server, handover messages to a first mobile device in the wireless network system; performing, by the first mobile device, a handover from one of the plurality of wireless networks to another one of the wireless networks using the handover messages; negotiating, by the first mobile device, information sharing rules with the information server; and providing, by the first mobile device, shared information to a second mobile device according to the information sharing rules. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions which, when executed, cause a computer to perform a method that includes sending, from an information server, handover messages to a first mobile device in a wireless network system having a plurality of wireless networks; performing a handover of the first mobile device from one of the wireless networks to another of the wireless networks using the handover messages; negotiating information sharing rules between the information server and the first mobile device; and sending shared information from the first mobile device to a second mobile device according to the information sharing rules. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a detailed schematic diagram illustrating the wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing information in a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating another method of providing information in a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating an example wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same elements will be designated by the same reference numerals although they are shown in different drawings. Further, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted for the sake of clarity and conciseness. 
     Embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to independent handover in a heterogeneous network system. The following examples relate in particular to media independent handover using the IEEE802.21 protocol as described, for example, at www.ieee802.org. However, the principles and teachings herein are also applicable to other convergence technologies for heterogeneous networks, as will be appreciated from the following description and discussion. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an example heterogeneous wireless network system. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a wireless network system  10  includes one or more wireless networks  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c  each with an associated set of the access points  14 , so that many individual mobile devices  20  can access the wireless networks from diverse locations. The network  10  will typically span entire cities, regions or countries. The many access points  14  often have overlapping coverage at specific locations (such as in an airport or on a particular street), where the mobile devices  20  may choose between the available access points  14 . This set of available access points  14  changes frequently as the mobile devices  20  move around the region covered by the wireless network system  10 . 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, the wireless networks  12   a - 12   c  use a plurality of wireless network technologies. The wireless networks  12   a - 12   c  may include cellular telephony networks using technologies such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or wireless local area networks such as IEEE802.11 (Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)) or IEEE802.16 (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), amongst others, as will be familiar to those skilled in the art. More recently, protocols and standards such as IEEE802.21 have been developed to aid media independent handovers from one access point  14  to another and from one network  12  to another, while maintaining services to the mobile devices  20 . Most wireless networks  12  provide homogeneous (horizontal) handovers within the same network. However, IEEE802.21 is an example of convergence for MIH, which also supports vertical handovers in a heterogeneous network system. Other examples include Unlicensed Mobile Access/Generic Access Network (UMA/GAN) as part of European Telecommunications Standards Institute 3rd Generation Partnership Project (ETSI 3GPP), and Access Network Discovery And Selection Function (ANDSF). 
     The access points  14  include any suitable equipment or station used to provide a network connection or point of access to communicate wirelessly with the mobile devices  20 . For example, the access points include base stations or base transceivers for routing network traffic to the mobile devices  20 . 
     The mobile devices  20  (also referred to as “Mobile Nodes” (MNs)) are capable of connecting to one or more of the wireless networks  12 . Typically, the mobile devices  20  are smartphones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), notebooks, webbooks or other suitable portable communication devices. These mobile devices  20  suitably have multi-radio capabilities and are capable of connecting to several different types of the wireless networks  12 . 
     One or more wired backbone networks  16  may be provided coupled to the wireless networks  12 . These backbone networks allow services to be provided across each of the wireless networks  16 . The backbone may be based on Internet Protocol (IP), or other protocols. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a plurality of servers are coupled to the wireless networks  12 . In this simplified example, an information server  30  and another network server  31  are provided. These servers  30 ,  31  provide services to the mobile devices  20  over the networks  12 . For example, the information server  30  may be an information server for handover services, such as a Media Independent Information Server (MIIS) for MIH. The information server  30  may be compatible with a protocol for media independent handover, such as 802.21, UMA/GAN, or ANDSF. 
     The information server  30  suitably includes a list of available networks (802.11/16/22, GSM, UMTS, etc), link layer information, and neighbor maps that plot the geographical location or coverage area of particular access points  14 . The information server  30  may also provide higher layer services (e.g. internet service provider ISP, multimedia server MMS, etc). In particular, the information server  30  provides an information service that assists network discovery and selection, which leads to more effective handover decisions by the mobile devices  20 . 
     In one example according to an embodiment of the present invention, the mobile devices  20  provide cell information based on their current access point  14 . The information server  30  is suitably arranged to respond with events or notifications that assist handovers from one access point  14  to another. The handover may be initiated by the mobile device  20  and is assisted by the information server  30  based on information generated by the mobile device (such as the cell information). In another example, the handover is initiated by the current serving network  12   a  and is assisted by information server  30  based on the provided information. Suitably, the information server  30  provides handover data that allows the mobile device  20  or the network  12   a , as appropriate, to decide whether a handover is required and to select the target access point  14  that will be used next. The handover can then be performed quickly and efficiently with minimal loss of service for the applications or services that are being executed on the mobile device  20 . 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network system  10  in more detail according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the wireless network system  10  includes the information server  30 , a first mobile device  20   a , a second mobile device  20   b , and a third mobile device  20   c . The information server  30  includes an information sharing rule database  32  and a handover information services unit  33 . The first mobile device  20   a  and the second mobile device  20   b  each include their own handover unit  210 , peer communication unit  220 , information sharing unit  230 , and rule setting unit  240 . 
     As discussed above, the handover unit  210  communicates with the networks  12  to perform efficient handovers between the access points  14 . As one example, the handover unit  210  is arranged to communicate with the information server  30  according to a handover protocol, such as 802.21, etc., as discussed above. 
     Handover messages may be exchanged between the networks  12  and the mobile device  20  performing the handover. These messages may include event notifications such as “wireless link going down”, commands such as “Initiate Handover” which may also include a list of alternative access points, or an information service such as performance information (e.g., delay from the wireless layer), network information (e.g. a request for the current Internet Service Provider (ISP) Name), or the availability of location-based services. 
     In a typical handover procedure, the handover unit  210  in the mobile device  20   a  receives a “link going down” indication relating to a cellular network  12   a  that the mobile device is currently using (also termed the “serving network”). The handover unit  210  may determine from policy configuration parameters whether the link has become less than a threshold value for a specified period of time. If the link has become less than the threshold value, the handover unit  210  triggers a “Get Information Request” to the information server  30 . The serving network  12   a  then responds with information about neighboring networks  12   b ,  12   c , which includes a list of the networks, their cost of connection, security parameters, quality of service, operator identity, etc. Suitably, this neighbor information is based on cell identity information provided by the mobile device  20   a  relevant to the current access point  14 . The handover unit  210  then evaluates the list of networks based on its policy configuration parameters and decides one or more candidate networks. The handover unit  210  then sends the selected candidate networks  12   b ,  12   c  a query request such as a “candidate query request”. This query request is typically passed to a mobility management server (not shown) in that candidate network  12   b ,  12   c.    
     After a candidate query response from the candidate network, the handover unit  210  sends a “commit request” to the mobility management server in the respective candidate network. After a commit response, the handover unit  210  starts preparing a selected link adaptor, by opening up the link adapter for the new network  12   b ,  12   c  or new access point  14 . When the adaptor opening is successful, the handover unit  210  sends a “complete request” to the new candidate network  12   b  or  12   c . After the “complete request” is transmitted, the handover unit  210  informs relevant applications executing on the mobile device  20   a  (e.g., Voice Call Continuity (VCC), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Mobile Internet Protocol (MIP), etc) to handover to the selected candidate network  12   b  or  12   c.    
     A change from one of the access points  14  to another access point  14  in the same network  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c , is usually supported by the relevant wireless technology of that network. For example, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call from a WiFi handset to a WiFi access point can be handed over to another WiFi access point within the same network, e.g. within a corporate network. However, if the handover is from a WiFi access point in a corporate network to a public WiFi hotspot, then a vertical handover is required, because the two access points cannot communicate with each other at a link layer, and are in general on different IP subnets. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the peer communication unit  220  is arranged to communicate directly with other mobile devices, such as with the second mobile device  20   b  and/or the third mobile device  20   c , which are in the locality of the first mobile device  20   a . As one example, the peer communication unit  220  performs personal area networking, such as using Bluetooth. As another example, the peer communication unit  220  may use Near Field Communication (NFC). Thus, the peer communication unit  220  is able to communicate directly with the other nearby devices  20   b ,  20   c.    
     The information sharing unit  230  shares information from the first mobile device  20   a  with the other devices  20   b ,  20   c  using the peer communication unit  220 . More specifically, the information sharing unit  230  suitably broadcasts the information to the nearby devices  20   b ,  20   c , according to information sharing rules. 
     The rule setting unit  240  negotiates the information sharing rules with the information server  30  and sets the sharing rules in the mobile device  20   a . The information sharing unit  230  then applies these sharing rules to determine the information sharing with the other nearby devices  20   b ,  20   c.    
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the information sharing rule database  32  suitably holds the information sharing rules relevant to each of the capable mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b . In the present example, these rules are negotiated by the handover information services unit  33  during a “capability exchange” message between the relevant mobile device  20   a ,  20   b  and the information server  30 . The rules can be updated, such as by using a “get_information_indication” service. The information sharing rules may be negotiated for the first mobile device  20   a  according to “Information sharing allowed when battery is above 50%”. Thus, the information sharing rules are based on a device status of the mobile devices. This device status relates to a hardware component of the mobile devices, such as the battery. As an alternative, the sharing rules may be based on a location of the mobile devices (e.g., by sharing information when “away from home”, but not when “at home”, or vice versa). 
     As one example, the first mobile device  20   a  further includes a location unit  250  such as a GPS location unit that calculates location information (e.g., location coordinates) based on satellite signals. Positioning devices other than a GPS device may also be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The mobile device  20  transmits the calculated location information to the information server  30  using the handover unit  210 . The location information may further include direction information and/or speed information, which may be obtained from speed sensors and/or direction sensors within the mobile device  20   a , or by plotting successive locations over time. 
     In the present example, the second mobile device  20   b  also communicates with the information server  30 . The handover unit  210  within the second mobile device  20   b  informs the information server  30  of information sharing request information relevant to the second mobile device  20   b , such as location information, device status information and device requirements. 
     The second mobile device  20   b  requests the information server  30  to provide assistance from other devices for obtaining GPS-type location information. Therefore, the second mobile device  20   b  seeks to receive a function or feature that can be fulfilled by sharing information. 
     The second mobile device  20   b  may informs the information server  30  of its location, thereby enabling the information server  30  to identify other nearby devices that are suitable for sharing information. 
     The second mobile device  20   b  may scan for other nearby mobile devices to obtain identity information of the nearby devices. For example, the second mobile device  20   b  may scan for nearby devices using the peer communication unit  220  and obtains the peer communication identity (e.g. Bluetooth identity) of, in this case, the first mobile device  20   a . The second mobile device  20   b  then transfers the gathered identity to the information server  30  to identify the first mobile device  20   a  as a candidate for providing information. 
     The information server  30  then refers to the rule setting database  32  and issues a command to one or more of the mobile devices near to the second mobile device  20   b  based on the negotiated rules. In one example, the information server  30  may contact the identified first mobile device  20   a  to perform the rules negotiation or update the negotiated rules, triggered by this request for information sharing made by the proximal second device  20   b.    
     The first mobile device may contain an identifier with a tag that identifies the first mobile device  20   a  to the information server  30  (e.g. a Bluetooth identifier). Further, this tag suitably indicates whether the device is capable of performing the information sharing. For example, the tag may contain “MIH” to identify that this device is MIH compatible. When the second mobile device  20   b  has a functionality or information requirement, the second mobile device  20   b  scans the nearby devices to identify compatible devices. After the first mobile device  20   a  is identified as a potentially compatible device, the information sharing rules are negotiated and then implemented with the information server  30 . 
     The information server  30  issues an information sharing command, which is received via the handover unit  210  of the first mobile device  20   a  and is passed to the information sharing unit  230 . In response, the peer communication unit  220  transmits the location information generated by the location information unit  210  over the peer communication network, such as Network File System (NFS) or Bluetooth, to be received by the nearby second mobile device  20   b.    
     As noted above, the first mobile device  20   a  is arranged to negotiate the information sharing rules with the information server  30  during a capability exchange message between the first mobile device  20   a  and the information server  30 . During the capability exchange message, the first mobile device  20   a  may include shared information embedded in one of the messages. For example, within the message ‘get info request (location)’, the first mobile device  20   a  may include its location. This message is normally used for identifying nearby access points  14  for handover procedures. 
     The information server  30  extracts the shared information from the first mobile device  20   a  during the capability exchange message, and then transmits the shared information to the second mobile device  20   b.    
     After the information server  30  receives the capability exchange message, such as ‘get info request (location)’, the information sever  30  may extract the location information of the first mobile device  20   a  and transmit the extracted location information to the second mobile device  20   b , if the information sharing rules have already been negotiated. 
     Table 1 is an example of the message structure used to establish the information sharing rules with the mobile devices  20 . In the example of Table 1, the information sharing rules are exchanged using structured information such as XML. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 MIH Header 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Source Identifier = sending MIHF ID (Source MIHF ID TLV) 
               
               
                 Destination Identifier = receiving MIHF ID (Destination MIHF ID TLV) 
               
               
                 InfoResponseBinaryDataList (optional) 
               
               
                 InfoResponseRDFDataList (optional) 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Table 2 is an example of an information response provided from the information server  30  to the mobile device  20 . In the example of Table 2, the information server  30  sets an information sharing rule in which the first mobile device  20   a  is expected to share GPS location information with the mobile device having the client identity “Client MIHF_ID 1” for the next 10 minutes, provided that the battery level of the first mobile device  20   a  remains above “70%”. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Sample Info response RDF Data List from information server: 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 0: 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 &lt;?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“utf-8”?&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;sparql xmlns=“http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#”&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;head&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;variable name=“rule startup”/&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/head&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“rule start up”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;config rule&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“GPS sharing”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;ON&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Client ID”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;Client MIHF_ID 1&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Accept Clients”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;ON&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Time interval”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;10 min&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Battery Level”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;70 %&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 &lt;/sparql&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  transmit a “get_information_client” request message and a corresponding “get_information_client” response message for this peer-to-peer communication between the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b , thereby using the close community communication interface (such as Bluetooth interface) to share information directly between the devices. 
     The information sharing is performed by the first mobile device  20   a , which has a relatively high battery power in order to assist the second mobile device  20   b , which has a relatively low battery power. The second mobile device  20   b  does not itself have a GPS function (i.e., the second mobile device  20   b  is a non-GPS device), but the second mobile device  20   b  is now able to take advantage of the GPS location provided by the first mobile device  20   a  in an efficient manner. In another example, the second mobile device  20   b  may be provided with a corresponding GPS unit  250 , but the GPS unit  250  of the second mobile device  20   b  can be temporarily switched off at to conserve power. Further, since the first and second devices  20   a  and  20   b  share information directly by the peer communication, overall traffic on the wireless networks  12  can be reduced. 
     Typically, the location based services are provided at a coarse level based on a cellular location, such as a cell identity of the current access point  14 . However, the location based services are also provided on a fine level when the more accurate and detailed coordinate-based location information is available, such as specific coordinates derived from the GPS location unit  250 . Therefore, using the coordinate based location information, such as GPS location information shared by the first mobile device  20   a , allows for better service to be obtained by the second mobile device  20   b  when it is located near the first mobile device  20   a.    
     The sharing roles as information provider and information receiver may be changed or redistributed periodically. For example, after a predetermined period, the second mobile device  20   b  reactivates its GPS locator unit  250  and shares the GPS location information with the first mobile device  20   a , while the GPS unit  250  of the first mobile device  20   a  is turned off to conserve power. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an embodiment including the same mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c , etc., as discussed above. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the third mobile device  20   c  includes the peer communication unit  220  such as Bluetooth or NFS, and therefore, is also capable of receiving the information being shared by the first mobile device  20   a . The third mobile device  20   c  also includes an information receiving unit  290  that processes and delivers the received shared information to be used by applications within the third mobile device  20   b . The third mobile device  20   a  does not include the handover unit  210 , and therefore, is not capable of communicating directly with the information server  30 . However, the third mobile device  20   a  is still able to benefit from the information sharing that has been triggered using the information server  30 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an example method of providing information in a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method of  FIG. 4  is performed by the information server  30  and the mobile devices  20 , etc, as discussed herein. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , in step  401 , the handover messages are exchanged between the information server  30  and the plurality of mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c . In step  402 , at least one of the mobile devices  20   a  from one of the wireless networks  12   a  performs a handover to another of the wireless networks  12   b  using the handover messages. In one example, the at least one of the mobile devices  20  performs the handover from one of the access points  14  within the first network  12   a  to one of the access points  14  on the second network  12   b  using access point information provided by the information server  30  in the handover messages. In step  403 , the first mobile device  20   a  negotiates the information sharing rules with the information server  30 . For example, the first mobile device  20   a  may allow sharing of GPS location information when the battery level of the first mobile device  20   a  is above 50%. 
     In step  404 , information from the first mobile device  20   a  is directly shared with the second mobile device  20   b  via peer communication (such as Bluetooth) according to the information sharing rules. Here, the second mobile device  20   b  is located close to the first mobile device  20   a . The information sharing continues for a predetermined period. Optionally, the information sharing roles may be reversed, after the predetermined period, with the second mobile device  20   b  now sharing GPS location information with the first mobile device  20   a.    
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating another method of providing information in a wireless network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Steps  401 ,  402  and  403  are the same as described herein with respect to  FIG. 4 . In step  405 , a request for information sharing is sent from the second mobile device  20   b  to the information server  30 . This request is conveniently based on a hardware component of the second mobile device, such as whether a GPS unit is present in the mobile device  20   b , whether the GPS unit is turned off, or whether a power level of a battery is below a preset threshold. 
     In step  406 , a command for information sharing is issued to the first mobile device  20   a  according to the information sharing rules. More specifically, the information server  30  checks the information sharing rule database  32  and determines that the first mobile device  20   a  is willing to share GPS information and is located near to the second mobile device  20   b . The information server  30  then issues the command to the first mobile device  20   a  accordingly. For example, the command requests information sharing of GPS location information for a period of 10 minutes and provides the Bluetooth identity of the second mobile device  20   b . In a manner similar to step  404  above, in step  407 , the shared information is transmitted, via the peer communication, from the first mobile device  20   a  to the second mobile device  20   b  in response to the command and according to the information sharing rules. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example a wireless network system  10  including the same mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c , etc., as discussed above, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the information server  30  aggregates a plurality of the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  into a sharing group  300  based on the location information provided by the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c . In the present example, the information server  30  determines that the first mobile device  20   a  and the second mobile device  20   b  are in the same location and are suitable for sharing information using the peer communication. As a result, the information server  30  allocates the first and second mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  as a sharing group, and triggers the information sharing between the devices as described above. In the present example, the first mobile device  20   a  shares GPS location information, and the GPS unit  250  of the second mobile device  20   b  is temporarily switched off to conserve power. 
     The information server  30  may also form the sharing group based on the speed and direction information received from the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c . For example, if the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  are all on board a train, the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  will travel along the same path at the same speed. In this case, the information server  30  triggers the information sharing group based on this coordinated location information. The information is then shared by peer communication among the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  in the sharing group  300  according to the previously arranged sharing rules. Further, the third mobile device  20   c , which is also travelling on the same train, can also now receive the shared information from the first mobile device  20   a  over the peer communication. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the information server  30  may send predictive events or notifications, such as to assist a predictive handover from one access point  14  to another. Conveniently, these predictive events or notifications take advantage of location information provided by the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c . Hence, the GPS coordinate-based location information allows the location based service to be provided at a detailed level. As described above, the information sharing of GPS location information by the first mobile device  20   a  allows the second mobile device  20   b  to take advantage of this location based service. In this example, the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  in the sharing group  300  share access point information relating to the access points  14  of the wireless networks  12   a - 12   c . More specifically, the information server  30  provides predictive notifications concerning a sequence of the access points  14  that will be available to the sharing group based on the provided location information and path information (e.g., speed &amp; direction). 
     For example, the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  of the sharing group  300  may be determined to be on a train and will encounter an access point A, then a tunnel with no coverage, followed by an access point B. This access point information is shared from the first mobile device  20   a  to the second mobile device  20   b , etc. Sharing this access point information between the mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  reduces overall network traffic compared with the information server  30  providing the access point information directly to each of the devices separately. Further, the shared access point information is also provided to other devices such as the third mobile device  20   c . In this example, the devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  in the sharing group  300  are all now able to predict the loss of coverage in the tunnel and prepare their respective applications accordingly, such as putting an application on hold while there is no network coverage. Further, all of the devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  are provided with the access point information to perform a predictive handover to the access point B ready for when the train emerges from the tunnel. In this example, each of the devices  20   a ,  20   b  &amp;  20   c  in the sharing group  300  experience a better service, the service is extended to a wider group of devices, and overall network traffic is reduced. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates another example of a wireless network system including the same mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b , etc. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , users frequently misplace important devices such as their mobile phone, Bluetooth headset, etc. In the example of  FIG. 7 , the mobile device  20   a  includes an information gathering unit  260  that gathers and selectively stores peer information about a plurality of peer communication devices  40   a ,  40   b . This information is gathered by the peer communication unit  220  according to the previously determined information gathering rules. These information gathering rules are suitably negotiated by the rule setting unit  240 . The information gathering rules may be stored centrally in an information gathering rules database  34  at a remote server such as the information server  30 . 
     An information gathering rule may be set whereby the information gathering unit  260  is arranged to gather and store a peer communication identity of each peer device  40   a ,  40   b  that is encountered by the peer communication unit  220 , and to store the peer communication identity associated with location information when the peer device  40   a ,  40   b  becomes out of range. In this case, the information gathering rule is may have a form such as shown in Table 3. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 RULE: 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;Store Bluetooth devices WHEN out of coverage&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;Periodicity= 1 day&gt; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In this example according to Table 3, whenever a Bluetooth device in the local environment goes out of range, the information gathering unit  260  immediately stores the Bluetooth ID, Time, and GPS location of that peer device  40   a ,  40   b.    
     Later, when the user wishes to find the misplaced peer device, in this case their Bluetooth headset  40   a , the information gathering unit  260  retrieves the gathered peer information which indicates the last known position of the peer device. Accordingly, the user is better able to track and locate lost devices. 
     The mobile device  20  may upload all of the gathered peer information to the remote server, such as the information server  30 , to be stored in a gathered information database  35 . The gathered information may be uploaded periodically as set in the information gathering rules, such as once every day, as indicated by Table 3 above. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates another example of a wireless network system including the same mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c , etc., as discussed above. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , each of the plurality of mobile devices  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c  have an information gathering unit  260 , and therefore gather the peer information  50  using the peer communication unit  220  for each of the peer devices  40   a ,  40   b  that are encountered. As a result, by uploading this gathered peer information  50  to the remote server, such as the information server  30 , a collaborative database  35  of the gathered peer information is assembled. 
     As an example, suppose the user of the first mobile device  20   a  misplaces their Bluetooth headset  40   a . Meanwhile, the headset  40   a  is encountered by the second mobile device  20   b , which gathers and uploads the relevant peer information  50  to the database  35 . Later, the first mobile device  20   a  sends an information request for the peer information relevant to this peer identity (e.g., by providing the Bluetooth ID of the headset  40   a ), and, in response, the remote server  30  provides the gathered peer information  50  as gathered by the second mobile device  20   b  providing the last-known time and location information for the headset  40   a.    
     Table 4 is an example of a request made by the information server  30  to the mobile device  20  similar to Table 2 above, but additionally requesting information relating to two Bluetooth objects. Table 5 is an example of a corresponding response from the mobile device  20 , which provides GPS location information relating to these two devices. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Sample Info response RDF Data List from server: 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 0: 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 &lt;?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“utf-8”?&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;sparql xmlns=“http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#”&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;head&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;variable name=“rule startup”/&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;variable name=“rule info sharing”/&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/head&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“rule start up”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;config 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 rule&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“GPS 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 sharing”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;ON&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Client ID”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;Client MIHF_ID 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 1&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Accept 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 Clients”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;ON&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Time interval”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;10 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 min&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Battery Level”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;70 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 %&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/result&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“rule info sharing”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;Sharing 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 &lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Bluetooth 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 objID”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;my_keys&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“Bluetooth 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 objID”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;my_camera&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 &lt;/sparql&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 5 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Sample Info response RDF Data List from client: 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 0: 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“utf-8”?&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;sparql xmlns=“http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#”&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;head&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;variable name=“rule info sharing”/&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/head&gt; 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“rule info sharing”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;Sharing 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 name=“my_keys”&gt;&lt;literal&gt;GPS:108,100,100&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;binding name=“ my_camera”&gt;&lt;literal&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 GPS:190,110,110&lt;/literal&gt;&lt;/binding&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/result&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/results&gt; 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 &lt;/sparql&gt; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
       FIG. 9  illustrates another example of a wireless network system including the same mobile devices  20   a , etc., as discussed above, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the first mobile device  20   a  further includes a camera  270 . The information gathering unit  260  activates the camera  270  in order to gather an image of the location of the peer device  40   a . The image is stored as part of the gathered peer information  50 , to assist with locating the lost device. 
     The camera  270  may be left on whenever the mobile device  20   a  has sufficient battery. In this case, whenever the mobile device  20   a  comes into contact with an object that the user wishes to track, such as their car keys, the object is tagged by the mobile device and the image is gathered into the database of gathered information with the location, time, etc. Thus, when a user wishes to know the location of the object, the gathered information provides an indication of the last time and place that the object was in contact with the mobile device  20   a.    
     At least some elements of embodiments of the present invention discussed herein may be constructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated special-purpose hardware. Terms such as ‘component’, ‘module’ or ‘unit’ used herein may include, but are not limited to, a hardware device, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks. 
     At least some elements of embodiments of the present invention may be may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and be configured to execute on one or more processors. The elements may be implemented in the form of a tangible computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions that are, in use, executed by a computer or other suitable device. These elements may include, for example, components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The tangible medium may take any suitable form, but examples include solid-state memory devices (e.g., Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.), optical discs (e.g. Compact Discs, Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), and etc.), magnetic discs, magnetic tapes and magneto-optic storage devices. 
     Embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the example components, modules and units discussed herein. Where appropriate, these functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. In some cases the elements are distributed over a plurality of separate computing devices that are coupled by a suitable communications network, including any suitable wired networks or wireless networks. 
     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.