Balloon-based positioning system and method
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- determining, by a computing device, a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere, wherein determining the first set comprises (i) determining a distance between a balloon in the group and another balloon in the group, and (ii) determining an angle between a first vector and a second vector, wherein the first vector extends from a first balloon in the group towards a second balloon in the group, and wherein the second vector extends from the first balloon towards a third balloon in the group;
determining, by the computing device, a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point;
determining, by the computing device, a position of the reference point relative to the earth;
using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and
transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth,wherein using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining the position of the target balloon relative to the earth comprises using an optimization function to determine the position of the target balloon relative to the earth.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a balloon-based positioning system and method. In one example embodiment, a system includes a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere and a control system configured for: determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to the group; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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determining, by a computing device, a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere, wherein determining the first set comprises (i) determining a distance between a balloon in the group and another balloon in the group, and (ii) determining an angle between a first vector and a second vector, wherein the first vector extends from a first balloon in the group towards a second balloon in the group, and wherein the second vector extends from the first balloon towards a third balloon in the group; determining, by the computing device, a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining, by the computing device, a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth, wherein using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining the position of the target balloon relative to the earth comprises using an optimization function to determine the position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that upon execution by a processor, cause performance of a set of functions, the set of functions comprising:
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determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth, wherein using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining the position of the target balloon relative to the earth comprises using an optimization function to determine the position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A system comprising:
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a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere; and a control system configured for; determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to the group; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determine a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth, wherein using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining the position of the target balloon relative to the earth comprises using an optimization function to determine the position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification