Abstract
A token is hidden in one out of n boxes following some known probability distribution and then all the boxes are locked. The goal of a searcher is to find the token in at most D ≤ n rounds by opening as few boxes as possible, where in each round any set of boxes may be opened. We design and analyze strategies for a searcher who does not know the exact values of the probabilities associated with the locked boxes. Instead, the searcher might know only the complete order or a partial order of the probabilities, or ranges in which these probabilities fall. We show that with limited information the searcher can find the token without opening significantly more boxes compared to a searcher who has full knowledge. This problem is equivalent to finding mobile users (tokens) in cellular networks (boxes) and finding data (tokens) in sensor networks (boxes).
This research was made possible by NSF Grant number 6531300.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Madhavapeddy, S., Basu, K., Roberts, A.: Adaptive paging algorithms for cellular systems. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, USA (1996)
Goodman, D.J., Krishnan, P., Sugla, B.: Minimizing queuing delays and number of messages in mobile phone location. Mobile Networks and Applications 1(1), 39–48 (1996)
Krishnamachari, B., Gau, R.-H., Wicker, S.B., Haas, Z.J.: Optimal sequential paging in cellular wireless networks. Wirel. Netw. 10(2), 121–131 (2004)
Bar-Noy, A., Feng, Y.: Efficiently paging mobile users under delay constraints. In: Proc. of 26th IEEE Conf. on Computer Communications, May 2007, pp. 1910–1918. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos (2007)
Jain, R., Lin, Y.B., Mohan, S.: Location Straegies for Personal Communications Services. Mobile Communications Handbook, ch.18. CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA (1996)
Akyildiz, I., McNair, J., Ho, J., Uzunalioglu, H., Wang, W.: Mobility management in next-generation wireless systems. In: Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 87, pp. 1347–1384. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos (1999)
Bar-Noy, A., Mansour, Y.: Competitive on-line paging strategies for mobile users under delay constraints. In: Proceedings of the 23rd ACM Symposium on Principles of Distributed Computing, pp. 256–265. ACM Press, New York (2004)
Rose, C., Yates, R.: Location uncertainty in mobile networks: a theoretical framework. Communications Magazine, IEEE 35(2), 94–101 (1997)
Wang, W., Akyildiz, I.F., Stuber, G.: An optimal partition algorithm for minimization of paging costs. IEEE Comm. Letters 5(2), 42–45 (2001)
Bar-Noy, A., Malewicz, G.: Establishing wireless conference calls under delay constraints. J. Algorithms 51(2), 145–169 (2004)
Rose, C., Yates, R.: Ensemble polling strategies for increased paging capacity in mobile communication networks. Wirel. Netw. 3(2), 159–167 (1997)
Gau, R.-H., Haas, Z.J.: Concurrent search of mobile users in cellular networks. IEEE/ACM Trans. Netw. 12(1), 117–130 (2004)
Minch, R.P.: Privacy issues in location-aware mobile devices. In: Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2004)
Gruteser, M., Liu, X.: Protecting privacy in continuous location-tracking applications. IEEE Security and Privacy Magazine 02(2), 28–34 (2004)
Hoh, B., Gruteser, M.: Protecting location privacy through path confusion. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Security and Privacy for Emerging Areas in Communications Networks, pp. 194–205 (2005)
Zipf, G.K.: Human Behaviour and the Principle of Least Effort. Addison-Wesley, London, UK (1949)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bar-Noy, A., Klukowska, J. (2007). Finding Mobile Data: Efficiency vs. Location Inaccuracy. In: Arge, L., Hoffmann, M., Welzl, E. (eds) Algorithms – ESA 2007. ESA 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4698. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75520-3_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75520-3_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-75519-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-75520-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)