Method and system for indoor positioning and device for creating indoor maps thereof

• US 10,169,914 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2017
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Osense Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Osense Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Huang, Jiung-Yao, Wang, You-Kwang
• Primary Examiner(s): Drennan, Barry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robinson, Terrell M
• Application Number:
  US15/436,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20180061126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 680 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/55 from multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

An indoor positioning method, indoor positioning system and indoor maps creating device thereof are provided. The method includes converting a panorama image corresponding to an indoor environment into a plurality of perspective images, and extracting a plurality of reference feature points and descriptors of the reference feature points from the perspective images; taking a shooting position of the panorama image as an origin, and recoding a plurality of 3D reference coordinate values corresponding to a central position of each perspective images; calculating 3D coordinate values of the reference feature points base on the 3D reference coordinate values, and storing the 3D coordinate values and the descriptors of the reference feature points as an indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment. The method also includes determining a 3D target coordinate value of a portable electronic device with respect to the origin of the indoor maps in the indoor environment.

Claims

1. An indoor positioning method, configured to position a portable electronic device, the indoor positioning method comprising:

converting a panorama image corresponding to an indoor environment into a plurality of perspective images, and extracting a plurality of reference feature points in the perspective images and descriptors of the reference feature points;

taking a shooting position of the panorama image as an origin and recording a plurality of three-dimensional reference coordinate values corresponding to a central position of each of the perspective images;

calculating three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points base on the three-dimensional reference coordinate values, and storing the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the reference feature points as an indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment; and

determining a three-dimensional target coordinate value of the portable electronic device with respect to the origin of the indoor map in the indoor environment.

2. The indoor positioning method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of taking the shooting position of the panorama image as the origin and recording the three-dimensional reference coordinate values corresponding to the central position of each of the perspective images comprises:

obtaining a plurality of reference pixels of the central position of each of the perspective images in a vertical axis direction and a horizontal axis direction, and recording three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference pixels as the three-dimensional reference coordinate values.

3. The indoor positioning method as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the reference feature points corresponds to a feature point pixel in the perspective image, and the step of calculating the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points base on the three-dimensional reference coordinate values comprises:

obtaining a first reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the vertical axis direction and a second reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the horizontal axis direction; and

calculating a three-dimensional coordinate value of the feature point pixel based on the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the first reference pixel and the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the second reference pixel.

4. The indoor positioning method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indoor map is generated in an off-line mode, and the off-line mode is a state without connection to the Internet.

5. The indoor positioning method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indoor map is stored in a positioning database, and the step of determining the three-dimensional target coordinate value of the portable electronic device with respect to the origin of the indoor map in the indoor environment comprises:

obtaining a real-time image by the portable electronic device, and extracting a plurality of target feature points of the real-time image and descriptors of the target feature points;

comparing the descriptors of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the target feature points, and if a distance value between the descriptors of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the target feature points are smaller than a predetermined threshold value, retrieving the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points whose distance value with respect to the descriptors of the target feature points are smaller than the predetermined threshold value from the positioning database; and

calculating the three-dimensional target coordinate value and a rotational angle of the portable electronic device based on the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points retrieved from the positioning database.

6. The indoor positioning method as claimed in claim 5, wherein determining the three-dimensional target coordinate value of the portable electronic device in the indoor environment with respect to the origin is performed in an on-line mode, and the on-line mode is a state with connection to the Internet,

wherein the step before comparing the descriptors of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the target feature points further comprises:

determining the indoor environment of the portable electronic device through the Internet, and downloading the indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment to the portable electronic device.

7. An indoor positioning system, comprising:

a camera device, configured to shoot a panorama image corresponding to an indoor environment;

a portable electronic device; and

an indoor map establishing device, connected to the camera device, wherein the indoor map establishing device comprises;

a storage device, storing a positioning database; and

a processor, coupled to the storage device, wherein the processor is configured to convert the panorama image into a plurality of perspective images and extract a plurality of reference feature points in the perspective images and descriptors of the reference feature points,

wherein the processor is further configured to take a shooting position of the panorama image as an origin and record a plurality of three-dimensional reference coordinate values corresponding to a central position of each of the perspective images,

wherein the processor is further configured to calculate three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points base on the three-dimensional reference coordinate values, and store an indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment and formed by the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the reference feature points in the positioning database,

wherein the portable electronic device is configured to determine a three-dimensional target coordinate value of the portable electronic device with respect to the origin of the indoor map in the indoor environment.

8. The indoor positioning system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain a plurality of reference pixels of the central position of each of the perspective images in a vertical axis direction and a horizontal axis direction, and record three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference pixels as the three-dimensional reference coordinate values.

9. The indoor positioning system as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of the reference feature points corresponds to a feature point pixel in the perspective image, and the processor is further configured to obtain a first reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the vertical axis direction and a second reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the horizontal axis direction, and

wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a three-dimensional coordinate value of the feature point pixel based on the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the first reference pixel and the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the second reference pixel.

10. The indoor positioning system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the portable electronic device is further configured to obtain a real-time image, and extract a plurality of target feature points of the real-time image and descriptors of the target feature points,

wherein the portable electronic device is further configured to determine the indoor environment of the portable electronic device through the Internet, and download the indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment to the portable electronic device,

wherein the portable electronic device is further configured to compare the descriptors of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the target feature points, and if a distance value between the descriptors of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the target feature points are smaller than a predetermined threshold value, retrieve the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points whose distance value with respect to the descriptors of the target feature points are smaller than the predetermined threshold value from the positioning database, and

wherein the portable electronic device is further configured to calculate the three-dimensional target coordinate value and a rotational angle of the portable electronic device based on the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points retrieved from the positioning database.

11. The indoor positioning system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the processor is operated in an off-line mode and the portable electronic device is operated in an on-line mode, and the off-line mode is a state without connection to the Internet, whereas the on-line mode is a state with connection to the Internet.

12. An indoor map establishing device, comprising:

a storage device, storing a positioning database; and

a processor, coupled to the storage device, wherein the processor is operated in an off-line mode and configured to;

receive a panorama image corresponding to an indoor environment;

convert the panorama image into a plurality of perspective images;

take a shooting position of the panorama image as an origin and record a plurality of three-dimensional reference coordinate values corresponding to a central position of each of the perspective images;

extract a plurality of reference feature points in the perspective images and descriptors of the reference feature points; and

calculate three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points base on the three-dimensional reference coordinate values recorded, and store an indoor map corresponding to the indoor environment and formed by the three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference feature points and the descriptors of the reference feature points in the positioning database.

13. The indoor map establishing device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain a plurality of reference pixels of the central position of each of the perspective images in a vertical axis direction and a horizontal axis direction, and record three-dimensional coordinate values of the reference pixels as the three-dimensional reference coordinate values.

14. The indoor map establishing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein each of the reference feature points corresponds to a feature point pixel in the perspective image, and the processor is further configured to obtain a first reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the vertical axis direction and a second reference pixel corresponding to the feature point pixel in the horizontal axis direction, and

wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a three-dimensional coordinate value of the feature point pixel based on the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the first reference pixel and the three-dimensional reference coordinate value of the second reference pixel.

15. The indoor map establishing device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the off-line mode is a state without connection to the Internet.