Skip to main content
Log in

Tracking Mobile Users with Uncertain Parameters

Wireless Networks Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A method of reducing the wireless cost of tracking mobile users with uncertain parameters is developed in this paper. Such uncertainty arises naturally in wireless networks, since an efficient user tracking is based on a prediction of its future call and mobility parameters. The conventional approach based on dynamic tracking is not reliable in the sense that inaccurate prediction of the user mobility parameters may significantly reduce the tracking efficiency. Unfortunately, such uncertainty is unavoidable for mobile users, especially for a bursty mobility pattern. The two main contributions of this study are a novel method for topology-independent distance tracking, and a combination of a distance-based tracking with a distance-sensitive timer that guarantees both efficiency and robustness. The expected wireless cost of tracking under the proposed method is significantly reduced, in comparison to the existing methods currently used in cellular networks. Furthermore, as opposed to other tracking methods, the worst case tracking cost is bounded from above and governed by the system, such that it outperforms the existing methods. The proposed strategy can be easily implemented, and it does not require a significant computational power from the user.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. I.F. Akyildiz, J.S.M. Ho and Y.B. Lin, Movement based location update and selective paging schemes, IEEE/ACMTransactions on Networking 4(4) (1996) 629–638.

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. Bar-Noy and I. Kessler, Tracking mobile users in wireless networks, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 39 (1993) 1877–1886.

    Google Scholar 

  3. A. Bar-Noy, I. Kessler and M. Naghshineh, Topology-based tracking strategies for personal communication networks, ACM Journal of Mobile Networks and Applications (1996).

  4. A. Bar-Noy, I. Kessler and M. Sidi, Mobile users: to update or not to update? Wireless Networks 1(2) (1995) 175–185.

    Google Scholar 

  5. A. Bhattacharya and S.K. Das, LeZi-Update: An information-theoretic approach to track mobile users in PCS networks, in: Proc. of ACM MobiCom (1999).

  6. EIA/TIA, Cellular radio-telecommunications inter-system operations, Technical Report IS-41, Revision C (1995).

  7. J.S.M. Ho and I.F. Akyildiz, Mobile user location update and paging under delay constraints, Wireless Networks 1(4) (1995) 413–425.

    Google Scholar 

  8. L. Kleinrock, Queueing Systems, Vols 1, 2 (Wiley, New York, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  9. H. Levy and Z. Naor, Active tracking: Locating mobile users in personal communication service networks, Wireless Networks 5(6) (1999) 467–477.

    Google Scholar 

  10. U. Madhow, L. Honig and K. Steiglitz, Optimization of wireless resources for personal communications mobility tracking, IEEE Transactions on Networking 3(6) (1995) 698–707.

    Google Scholar 

  11. K.S. Meier-Hellstern, E. Alonso and D. O'Neil, The use of SS7 and GSM to support high density personal communications, in: Wireless Communication: Future Directions, eds. J.M. Holtzman and D.J. Goodman (Kluwer, 1993) pp. 55–68.

  12. Z. Naor and H. Levy, Minimizing the wireless cost of tracking mobile users: An adaptive threshold scheme, in: Proc. of IEEE INFOCOM'98 (1998) pp. 720–727.

  13. Z. Naor and H. Levy, LATS: A load-adaptive threshold scheme for tracking mobile users, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking 7(6) (1999) 808–817.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Z. Naor and H. Levy, Cell Identification Codes for tracking mobile users, in: Proc. of IEEE INFOCOM'99 (1999) pp. 28–35.

  15. E. Pitoura and G. Samaras, Locating objects in mobile computing. IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering 13(4) (2001) 571–592.

    Google Scholar 

  16. C. Rose, Minimizing the average cost of paging and registration: a timer-based method, ACM Journal of Wireless Networks 2(2) (1996) 109–116.

    Google Scholar 

  17. C. Rose and R. Yates, Minimizing the average cost of paging under delay constraints, ACM Journal ofWireless Networks 1(2) (1995) 211–219.

    Google Scholar 

  18. O. Wolfson, A. Sistla, S. Chamberlain and Y. Yesha, Updating and querying databases that track mobile units, Distributed and Parallel Databases Journal 7(3) (1999) 257–287.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Naor, Z. Tracking Mobile Users with Uncertain Parameters. Wireless Networks 9, 637–646 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025960502871

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025960502871

Navigation