Low latency client location estimation with dynamic integration of server output

• US 10,462,610 B1
• Filed: 11/21/2018
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Irish, Andrew, Gorthy, Venkata Sathya Praveen, Kadous, Mohammed Waleed, Iland, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Tacsik, Ernest G
• Application Number:
  US16/197,938
• Time in Patent Office: 342 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/393 Trajectory determination or predictive tracking, e.g. Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/244 using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing

Abstract

A client device maintains location state data including a first location estimate of a geographic location of the client device. The first location estimate is based on a first motion measurement obtained over a first time period. The client device retrieves a second motion measurement obtained over a second time period subsequent to the first time period and uses it and the first location estimate to generate a second location estimate. The client device sends the second location estimate to a server. The server further processes the second location estimate to generate an updated second location estimate. The client device retrieves a third motion measurement and generates a third location estimate. The client device receives the updated second location estimate and uses it to adjust the third location estimate. A fourth location estimate is generated using the adjusted third location estimate.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for estimating a location of a client device, the computer-implemented method comprising:

generating, by a motion summarizer of a client device, a first location estimate for the client device, based on first output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a first time period;

sending, by the client device, to a server, the first location estimate;

generating, by the motion summarizer of the client device, a second location estimate for the client device, based on the first location estimate and on second output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a second time period subsequent to the first time period;

receiving, by the client device, from the server, after generating the second location estimate, a server location estimate for the first time period corresponding to the first location estimate, wherein the server location estimate comprises a location estimate based on a non-linear filter;

correcting, by the client device, the first location estimate based on the received server location estimate;

responsive to correcting the first location estimate, updating, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the corrected first location estimate; and

using, by the client device, the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Bluetooth beacons, a Bluetooth beacon signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Bluetooth beacon signals.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first output and second output is one or more GNSS signals and at least one location sensor is a GNSS receiver, and wherein sending, by the client device, to the server, the first location estimate, further comprises sending the one or more GNSS signals.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the received server location estimate is based on a historic average error for a segment of a road network.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein using the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device comprises updating an electronic map, the method further comprising:

displaying, upon a display of the client device, the updated electronic map.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Wi-Fi beacons, a Wi-Fi signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Wi-Fi signals.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one location sensor is an inertial measurement unit.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions executable by a processor to perform operations for estimating a location of a client device, the operations comprising:

generating, by a motion summarizer of a client device, a first location estimate for the client device, based on first output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a first time period;

sending, by the client device, to a server, the first location estimate;

generating, by the motion summarizer of the client device, a second location estimate for the client device, based on the first location estimate and on second output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a second time period subsequent to the first time period;

receiving, by the client device, from the server, after generating the second location estimate, a server location estimate for the first time period corresponding to the first location estimate, wherein the server location estimate comprises a location estimate based on a non-linear filter;

correcting, by the client device, the first location estimate based on the received server location estimate;

responsive to correcting the first location estimate, updating, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the corrected first location estimate; and

using, by the client device, the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Bluetooth beacons, a Bluetooth beacon signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Bluetooth beacon signals.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first output and second output is one or more GNSS signals and at least one location sensor is a GNSS receiver, and wherein sending, by the client device, to the server, the first location estimate, further comprises sending the one or more GNSS signals.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the received server location estimate is based on a historic average error for a segment of a road network.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein using the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device comprises updating an electronic map, the operations further comprising:

displaying, upon a display of the client device, the updated electronic map.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Wi-Fi beacons, a Wi-Fi signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Wi-Fi signals.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein at least one location sensor is an inertial measurement unit.

15. A system, comprising:

a processor for executing computer program instructions; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions executable by the processor to perform operations for estimating a location of a client device, the operations comprising;

generating, by a motion summarizer of a client device, a first location estimate for the client device, based on first output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a first time period;

sending, by the client device, to a server, the first location estimate;

generating, by the motion summarizer of the client device, a second location estimate for the client device, based on the first location estimate and on second output from at least one location sensor and corresponding to a second time period subsequent to the first time period;

receiving, by the client device, from the server, after generating the second location estimate, a server location estimate for the first time period corresponding to the first location estimate, wherein the server location estimate comprises a location estimate based on a non-linear filter;

correcting, by the client device, the first location estimate based on the received server location estimate;

responsive to correcting the first location estimate, updating, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the corrected first location estimate; and

using, by the client device, the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device.

16. The system of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Bluetooth beacons, a Bluetooth beacon signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Bluetooth beacon signals.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first output and second output is one or more GNSS signals and at least one location sensor is a GNSS receiver, and wherein sending, by the client device, to the server, the first location estimate, further comprises sending the one or more GNSS signals.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the received server location estimate is based on a historic average error for a segment of a road network.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein using the updated second location estimate to update a location-aware service of the client device comprises updating an electronic map, the operations further comprising:

displaying, upon a display of the client device, the updated electronic map.

20. The system of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

receiving, from each of one or more Wi-Fi beacons, a Wi-Fi signal; and

adjusting, by the client device, the second location estimate based on the one or more received Wi-Fi signals.