Devices, systems, and methods for predicting communication channel conditions
An example device tracks geographical location of the wireless device and time associated with the wireless device. The device may access channel map data comprising a predicted channel condition value for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi channels within each of a plurality of geographical locations during a plurality of time periods of day. The device can use the channel map data to select one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication based on a geographical location of the wireless device and a time of day associated with the wireless device.
1. A method of a wireless device, comprising:
tracking geographical locations of the wireless device and time associated with the wireless device;
accessing channel map data comprising a predicted channel condition value for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi channels within each of a plurality of geographical locations during a plurality of time periods of day; and
using the channel map data, selecting one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication based on a geographical location of the wireless device and a time of day associated with the wireless device, wherein the selecting of the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels comprises using the channel map data, determining that a first predicted condition value of a first Wi-Fi channel within a first geographical location during a first time period of day is greater than a second predicted condition value of a second Wi-Fi channel within the first geographical location during the first time period of day, and responsive to the determination, switching from using the first Wi-Fi channel for communication to using a second Wi-Fi channel for communication, wherein the switching from using the first Wi-Fi channel for communication to using the second Wi-Fi channel for communication is initiated prior to entering the first geographical location.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the accessing of the channel map data comprises receiving the channel map data from a remote computer, wherein the channel map data is based on channel condition data crowdsourced by a plurality of devices.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
detecting channel condition data associated with at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels, within at least one of the plurality of geographical locations, during at least one of the plurality of time periods of day; and
providing the detected channel condition data for a generation of the channel map data or a generation of updated channel map data.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the detecting of the channel condition data associated with the at least one of the plurality of the Wi-Fi channels comprises detecting at least one of a received signal strength indicator, a signal-to-noise ratio value, a transmit opportunity value, and a packet loss value.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the detecting of the channel condition data comprises detecting channel condition data reflecting channel utilization that is not in compliance with a communication protocol.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the providing of the detected channel condition data comprises aggregating the detected channel condition data detected during the at least one of the plurality of time periods of day.
7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the detecting of the channel condition data comprises determining that the wireless device is within a first geographical location and storing the channel condition data for the at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels in a memory responsive to the determination.
8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the detecting of the channel condition data comprises determining that the wireless device is operating at a first time of day and storing the channel condition data for the at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels in a memory responsive to the determination.
9. The method of claim 3 , wherein the detecting of the channel condition data comprises determining that a condition value associated with the at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels meets or exceeds a threshold condition level and storing the channel condition data for the at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels in a memory responsive to the determination.
10. The method of claim 3 , wherein the providing the detected channel condition data comprises transmitting the detected channel condition data to a remote computer via a wireless local area network or a cellular network.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a speed of the wireless device, wherein the selecting of the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication is initiated based on the determined speed.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the accessing of the channel map data comprises determining that a condition value of a first channel currently being used for communication meets or exceeds a threshold condition level and accessing the channel map data responsive to the determination.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels comprises selecting the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication in an automotive network including the wireless device and at least one other wireless device.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining that the first predicted condition value of the first Wi-Fi channel is greater than the second predicted condition value of the second Wi-Fi channel comprises determining that the second predicted condition value is less than a threshold condition level.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication comprises adjusting a transmit power used to transmit data via the selected one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the one of the plurality of Wi-Fi channels for communication comprises switching from using a first Wi-Fi channel width for communication to using a second Wi-Fi channel width for communication.