Computerized method for building a multisensory location map

• US 10,278,154 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2018
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Navin Systems Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Navin Systems Ltd.
• Inventors: Ronen, Shai
• Primary Examiner(s): Osifade, Idowu O
• Application Number:
  US15/899,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20180255528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/014 Identifying transitions between environments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02524 Creating or updating the radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A computerized method for building a multisensory location map, the method may include: receiving, by an interface, multiple multisensory data vectors acquired by multiple mobile devices at multiple locations and location estimates indicative of the multiple locations; wherein at least a majority of the multiple locations are located within an area in which a granularity of global positioning system (GPS) based navigation is below an allowable threshold; wherein the location estimates are at least partially generated by internal navigation systems of the multiple mobile devices; and calculating, by a map calculator, in response to the multiple multisensory data vectors and the location estimates, a location fingerprinting map that comprises multiple grid points, wherein each grid point comprises a multisensory grid point fingerprint and grid point location information.

Claims

1. A computerized method for building a multisensory location map, comprising the steps of:

receiving, by an interface, multiple multisensory data vectors acquired by multiple mobile devices at multiple locations and accelerometer readings obtained upon movement of at least one device carried by at least one user between the multiple locations;

at least a portion of said movement being walking;

at least a majority of the multiple locations are located within an area in which an accuracy of global positioning system (GPS) based navigation is below an allowable threshold;

extracting, out of accelerometers readings, accelerometer information related to multiple walking phases of the walking;

for at least two of said multiple walking phases, by means of said accelerometer information, real-time correcting a currently measured Z vector, and a pitch angle and a roll angle thereof, thereby compensating for horizontal accelerations, thereby obtaining a Z vector pointing toward Earth'"'"'s center;

calculating, from said Z vector pointing toward Earth'"'"'s center, a surface parallel to Earth'"'"'s face (perpendicular to said Z vector pointing toward Earth'"'"'s center);

estimating, from said surface parallel to Earth'"'"'s face and from a magnetic north measured by at least one built-in magnetometer in said at least one device, an offset selected from a group consisting of;

an azimuth offset from magnetic north and a heading offset from geometric north;

processing the accelerometer information related to said at least two of said multiple walking phases to determine a direction of propagation of the at least one user and correcting said direction of propagation based on said offset;

estimating, from said corrected direction of propagation, at least one location of said at least one user; and

calculating, by a map calculator, in response to the multiple multisensory data vectors and said at least one estimated location, a location fingerprinting map that comprises multiple grid points, each of the multiple grid point comprising a multisensory grid point fingerprint and grid point location information derivable from said at least one estimated location.

2. The computerized method according to claim 1, further comprising:

processing location information indicative of paths of multiple users within the indoor area to provide path information indicative of paths of the multiple users; and

processing the path information to generate an estimated three-dimensional map of the indoor area.

3. The computerized method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiple multisensory data vectors comprises at least one of:

ambient noise, temperature, and earth magnetic field information.

4. The computerized method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiple multisensory data vectors comprises pedometer information.