Selecting wireless communication channels based on signal quality metrics

• US 10,004,076 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2017
• Issued: 06/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cognitive Systems Corp.
• Original Assignee: Cognitive Systems Corp.
• Inventors: Griesdorf, Dustin, Devison, Stephen Arnold, Omer, Mohammad, Piao, Yunfeng, Kravets, Oleksiy, Manku, Tajinder, Olekas, Christopher Vytautas
• Primary Examiner(s): Crutchfield, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US15/706,193
• Time in Patent Office: 277 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 13/00 Indicating or recording presence, absence, or direction, of movement electric switches H01H; counting moving objects G06M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/02 using radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/187 by interference of a radiation field
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA

Abstract

In a general aspect, a wireless communication channel is selected based on signal quality metrics. In some aspects, a first wireless communication device receives a first set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through a space on a first wireless communication channel from a second wireless communication device. A signal quality metric value is computed based on the first set of signals, and a second wireless communication channel is selected based on a determination that the value of the signal quality metric does not meet a quality criterion for a motion detection process. The first wireless communication device receives a second set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through the space on the second wireless communication channel from the second wireless communication device, and the motion detection process is executed to detect motion of an object in the space based on the second set of signals.

Claims

1. A motion detection method comprising:

receiving, at a first wireless communication device, a first set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through a space on a first wireless communication channel from a second wireless communication device;

by operation of one or more processors, computing a value of a signal quality metric based on the first set of signals;

selecting a second wireless communication channel based on a determination that the value of the signal quality metric does not meet a quality criterion for a motion detection process;

receiving, at the first wireless communication device, a second set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through the space on the second wireless communication channel from the second wireless communication device; and

by operation of one or more processors, executing the motion detection process to detect motion of an object in the space based on the second set of signals.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising sending, from the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, a message indicating the second wireless communication channel.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising computing the value of the signal quality metric based on a number of signals from the first set of signals that are rejected as inputs for the motion detection process based on the quality criterion for the motion detection process.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising computing the value of the signal quality metric based on a period of time over which a minimum number of the first set of signals are accepted as inputs for the motion detection process.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel, and the method comprises computing the value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel based on values of the signal quality metric determined for respective communication paths between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising computing a difference in the number of communication paths on the first wireless communication channel and the number of communication paths on the second wireless communication channel, wherein the second wireless communication channel is selected based on the difference.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising computing the value of the signal quality metric based on comparing the first set of signals and estimated received signals, wherein the estimated received signals are based on estimated channel responses for the space.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication channel and the second wireless communication channel are frequency channels.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication channel and the second wireless communication channel are coded channels.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality criterion includes a threshold value for the signal quality metric.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a first value, and the method comprises computing a second value of the signal quality metric based on the second set of signals, wherein the motion detection process is executed based on a determination that the second value of the signal quality metric does meet the quality criterion.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a first value, and selecting the second wireless communication channel comprises:

computing a second value of a signal quality metric based on the second set of signals; and

selecting the second wireless communication channel based on a comparison of the first and second values.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that are operable when executed by a data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

computing a value of a signal quality metric based on a first set of signals received at a first wireless communication device, the first set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through a space on a first wireless communication channel from a second wireless communication device;

selecting a second wireless communication channel based on a determination that the value of the signal quality metric does not meet a quality criterion for a motion detection process; and

executing a motion detection process to detect motion of an object in the space based on a second set of signals received at the first wireless communication device, the second set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted through the space on the second wireless communication channel from the second wireless communication device.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations comprising sending, from the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, a message indicating the second wireless communication channel.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the value of the signal quality metric is computed based on a number of signals from the first set of signals that are rejected as inputs for the motion detection process based on the quality criterion for the motion detection process.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the value of the signal quality metric is computed based on a period of time over which a minimum number of the first set of signals are accepted as inputs for the motion detection process.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel, and the method comprises computing the value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel based on values of the signal quality metric determined for respective communication paths between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations comprising computing a difference in the number of communication paths on the first wireless communication channel and the number of communication paths on the second wireless communication channel, wherein the second wireless communication channel is selected based on the difference.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the value of the signal quality metric is computed based on comparing the first set of signals and estimated received signals, and the estimated received signals are based on estimated channel responses for the space.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the first wireless communication channel and the second wireless communication channel are frequency channels.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the first wireless communication channel and the second wireless communication channel are coded channels.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the quality criterion includes a threshold value for the signal quality metric.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a first value, and the operations comprise computing a second value of the signal quality metric based on the second set of signals, wherein the motion detection process is executed based on a determination that the second value of the signal quality metric does meet the quality criterion.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a first value, and selecting the second wireless communication channel comprises:

computing a second value of a signal quality metric based on the second set of signals; and

selecting the second wireless communication channel based on a comparison of the first and second values.

25. A motion detection system comprising:

wireless communication devices distributed in a space, each wireless communication device comprising a modem configured to send and receive wireless signals through the space on any one of multiple wireless communication channels;

a data processing apparatus communicably coupled to at least one of the wireless communication devices and configured to;

compute a value of a signal quality metric based on a set of signals received at a first wireless communication device, the set of signals based on wireless signals transmitted on a first wireless communication channel from a second wireless communication device; and

select a second wireless communication channel for communication between the first and second wireless communication devices based on a determination that the value of the signal quality metric does not meet a quality criterion for a motion detection process.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the data processing apparatus is configured to send a message indicating the second wireless communication channel in response to selecting the second wireless communication channel.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the data processing apparatus is configured to compute the value of the signal quality metric based on a number of signals from the first set of signals that are rejected as inputs for the motion detection process based on the quality criterion for the motion detection process.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the value of the signal quality metric comprises a value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel, and the data processing apparatus is configured to compute the value of the signal quality metric for the first wireless communication channel based on values of the signal quality metric determined for respective communication paths between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the data processing apparatus is configured to compute the value of the signal quality metric based on comparing the first set of signals and estimated received signals, the estimated received signals based on estimated channel responses for the space.

30. The system of claim 25, wherein the quality criterion includes a threshold value for the signal quality metric.