Technologist's innovation can change smartphone industry

Sneha is an avid hiker who loves exploring picturesque locations in nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries. Being an adventure freak she often camps out for days in remote areas where nature is her only company. However, the present-day technology in her phone does not allow her to connect with her mother, who is always worried that Sneha may not have access to emergency medical services or GPS in a dire situation And it’s not possible to carry satellite phones as they are expensive. A young city musician Rahul faces a similar scenario.  His rock band performs in restaurants and clubs often located in basements of buildings. Rahul also has a corporate day job as an analyst with a conglomerate located in a high-rise building. He often finds his smartphone in no service mode or with a drained battery.

Sneha and Rahul are not alone. You would have likely encountered a similar situation where you had to make an urgent call and the phone is out of service, or you miss important calls or messages while hanging out in a basement club or remote location, or you find that your phone has drained most of the battery while it was inside your backpack or suitcase. Well, these are common scenarios we all deal with. A San Diego-based technologist of Indian origin, Mudit Sood has invented methods to make your smartphone connect to the network faster, all while saving battery life.

We live in a communication age where access to a reliable high-speed connection is crucial to functioning well in society and having growth opportunities.  Devices of yesteryears like pagers, phones, personal computers, and health monitoring equipment are all converging and shrinking into smaller form factors and always connected devices like smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. This has increased the competition among telecommunications and device-making companies to bring new features, increase battery life, and be always reachable. In certain use cases, if the wireless device can connect in time, it can save lives.

Mudit has been working on the technology behind wireless communications for almost twenty years. During this time he has helped launch premier devices and improved user experience through improvements in how the devices work and innovations to help bring the latest communication technologies to the users. He has experience working on several components and sensors inside a smartphone. So he realized that all the information that can be gathered through these sensors can help the device to get back to cellular service faster and by using much less battery power.

While discussing his invention Mudit explains, “Smartphones are becoming more and more smart and have a lot of sensors and and communication components besides the good old modem to make calls and text. Companies have leveraged several innovative technologies in the wireless field over the decades to transform devices from brick-styled phones with pull-out antennas to the modern and slick phones of today.”

We live in a communication age where access to a reliable high-speed connection is crucial to functioning well in society and having growth opportunities.  Devices of yesteryears like pagers, phones, personal computers, and health monitoring equipment are all converging and shrinking into smaller form factors and always connected devices like smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. This has increased the competition among telecommunications and device-making companies to bring new features, increase battery life, and be always reachable. In certain use cases, if the wireless device can connect in time, it can save lives.

However, the nature of wireless connections is such that you might lose the connection sometimes or multiple times depending on where you are and the service provider. When the phone goes out of service and you see the dreaded “No Signal” icon, it means you are cut off from your friends and family and worse if it was in your pocket or bag, your loved ones would not be able to reach you for the entire time until you find out and try to restart or move to better coverage area. 

Interestingly, our phones are still working hard even in this mode where we think they are dead. Mr Sood explains, “All the while your phone is out of service, it is scanning and trying to camp on the signal from the cell tower. However, while it does that, phone battery gets drained continuously. To avoid this, the phones are designed to, shift to sleep mode in between during which the phone misses the chance to camp on a good cell tower and come back to service. So it is a tradeoff between spending too much battery to come back to service or sleeping more to save battery but taking longer to find service.

Well, this is where Mudit’s invention comes in and starts using other smart things on your phone to guide it back to service. For example, it can use the data from a gyroscope to know when it is moving and should scan more aggressively or when it is in the same place and should sleep more as there is not much chance of finding service. If you are cycling or driving in a remote area, this method would not help much as you are moving in bad coverage area. So there are more mechanisms covered in this discovery. Every time the phone wakes up to scan the network, it can save a snapshot and compare it with previous snapshots to evaluate the probability of finding a good cell tower to camp. In this way, it can learn when the phone might be moving toward a good service area and should be more aggressive to scan and come back to service. This same method can be used in other wireless devices like smartwatches or radio walkie-talkies and makes this discovery even more useful.

Here is how Mudit explains, it in a simple way, “Imagine you are stranded in a desert where you hike often and are running out of water. It is important for survival to get to a source of good water. You cannot search in all directions as you will wear out and deplete your water reserve. So, you use a method similar to what is outlined in the patent. You bring all your senses to use. You pick one direction, find a high ground, and scan hard. You look at the terrain, try to hear the sounds of animals, feel the wind, and register other signs like vegetation and insects. Then you take a break in the shade and evaluate the snapshot you just got with other such snapshots. You utilize your previous experience and rate which direction is worth exploring more.”

In a world where companies are constantly engaged in fierce battles to distinguish their mobile products, the ability to offer a unique advantage becomes the key to success. Imagine having the power to locate services swiftly and efficiently, all while conserving precious battery life. It's a game-changer that can potentially revolutionize the way we engage with our mobile devices. For hikers and backpackers, this innovation is more than just a convenience; it could be life-saving. When deep in the wilderness, far from civilization, the ability to conserve battery power while still having access to essential services is a crucial lifeline. Moreover, for consumers residing in rural areas, where cell towers are often few and far between, this innovation can significantly enhance their mobile experience. In these areas, finding a reliable signal or the next opportunity to charge one's phone can be an arduous challenge. Mudit’s innovation promises not only to address these issues but also to reshape the landscape of mobile technology, creating a more efficient, convenient, and accessible world for users, regardless of their location.