Method and system to provide a global multiuser service of localization information with integrity as required under liability or commercial issues

• US 20050246093A1
• Filed: 12/02/2004
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GMV Aerospace and Defence, S.A.
• Original Assignee: GMV Aerospace and Defence, S.A.
• Inventors: Schortmann, Joaquin Cosmen, Olague, Miquel Angel Martinez, Merino, Miguel Romay, Piedelobo, Juan Ramon Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,526,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

A system to provide to different users with information about position coordinates of remote mobile vehicles or individuals (mobile agent) guarantying that each particular position data, as it is provided to the user, is within certain error boundaries. The system is composed by a number of mobile units (MU) installed at the mobile agents and a Central Platform (CP). The MU consists of a GPS/SBAS and/or a Galileo navigation receiver that includes specific autonomous integrity algorithms and a transceiver to transmit GPS/SBAS and/or Galileo derived data to the CP. The CP receives data from MU and enhances position estimation and position integrity. Integrity is guaranteed by the use of a GNSS Integrity service (either provided by SBAS or Galileo) and specific autonomous integrity algorithms that ensure the position integrity in non-controlled environments. The CP provides access to MUs position data to multiple Users via Internet or dedicated telecommunications links. Integrity guarantee of provided position data allows the Users to employ provided position data for legal or commercial purposes where auditability and traceability of position error is required. Besides the support of multiple Users on a single MU allows for the provision of different types of position based services based on the same mobile device.

Claims

1. A system that provides to one or more users with information about position coordinates of one or more remote vehicles or individuals (Mobile Agents) in any environment as obtained from GPS/SBAS signals complemented with an Integrity Guarantee Information, the Integrity Guarantee Information means that the system provides besides the position coordinates the so called Protection Levels, where Protection Level means a limit such that the probability that the actual position error be above it is lower than a value called Integrity Risk.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein it is comprised by Mobile Units (MUs) carried by the Mobile Agents and a Central Platform (CP), the MU is composed by a GPS/SBAS receiver an On Board Processor—

OBP—

, a wireless data telecommunications transceiver (MODEM) and a non-volatil memory, the MU receives the navigation signal (GPS) and the SBAS messages from the SBAS geostationary satellite through the GPS SBAS receiver, the MU estimates its position coordinates and associated Protection Level, if the Protection Level can not be computed with required Integrity Risk, then an Integrity Unhealthy flag is issued to accompany obtained position to indicate that error can not be bounded with established Integrity Risk, MU uses SBAS Integrity information about GPS satellites and ionosphere and an Autonomous Integrity Algorithm in order to compute position and Protection Levels, the results;

position estimate, Integrity healthy/unhealthy flag and the Protection Levels are encoded in the a data packet that the MU transmits through the MODEM to the CP, the Central Platform (CP) provides to multiple authorized users with localization information and associated Integrity Information based on the reception and processing of received MU, the CP coordinates the reception, storage and delivery to user s of the Mobile Agents Localization Information, in addition applies a privacy policy secure enough to protect the data of all Mobile Agents.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system provides also velocity coordinates of mobile agents.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system algorithm used to determine position and Integrity Information (Autonomous Integrity Algorithm) is based in the algorithm described in Ref [3]

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the MU satellite navigation receiver is a Galileo or GPS and Galileo combined receiver augmented or not with SBAS.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein SBAS Integrity Information is obtained through other transmission means different to the SBAS Geostationay Satellite.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein satellite and Ionosphere Integrity Information is obtained through other means different than SBAS as local augmentation systems or even through future GPS evolutions (GPS III) and/or Galileo system themselves if they provide such information in compatibility with overall Integrity Risk.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the CP performs Enhanced Performance Integrity Algorithms with the aim to reduce position estimation error and reduce correspondent Protection Levels (maintaining required Integrity Risk) based on additional information or additional considerations dependant on the application.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the Enhanced Performance Autonomous Integrity Algorithms used by the CP are based in the algorithm described in Ref [3]

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication system is based in a private or public cellular network or satellite communications.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the MU described components are integrated in a different way:

Satellite Navigation receiver and On-board processor are combined;

On-board processor and MODEM are combined; and

Satellite Navigation Receiver, On-board processor and MODEM are combined.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the MU has additional interfaces with other external devices like:

PDA, Display, keyboard, etc

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the MU has additional interfaces with vehicle odometer in order to use its measurements to obtain position estimates during GPS and/or Galileo outages or to use its information to enhance performances of the Autonomous Integrity Algorithm with aim to reduce position estimation error and reduce correspondent Protection Levels (maintaining required Integrity Risk).

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the Autonomous Integrity Algorithm and position and/or velocity computation algorithms run in whole or in part in the CP instead that in the MU.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein MU data packets are stored in the MU non-volatil memory and are transmitted to the CP when at a certain predefined intervals, or when the CP asks the MU to transmit them or when a particular geographical condition happens.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the system transmits position related data to the user at certain predefined time or distance intervals or when certain geographic event occurs or when certain velocity event occurs, the data transmission is such that the time lag since the Mobile Unit is actually in a position and the corresponding position data is provided to the user is intended to be as short as possible.

16. A system that makes accessible to two or more users position related data contents of one or more remote vehicle or individual (Mobile Agents) where the contents for each user are obtained from position information of a single Mobile Unit being carried by each Mobile Agent and where user means someone that exploit position data of Mobile Agents to support their operations and processes or to exploit them to generate contents for value added services, examples of position data exploitation are very diverse, a non exhaustive list includes:

Road tolling, road pricing, road traffic law enforcement, driver assistance, driver routing assistance, traffic information and fleet management;

a non exhaustive list of potential users includes;

toll road operators and concessionaires, public road authorities, local authorities, transport operators, service providers, and insurance companies.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the position related data contents can be different for each user, possible position related data contents are:

last available position coordinates themselves with/without Integrity Information, last available geographic related coordinates with/without Integrity Information, position coordinates at a past time with/without Integrity Information, geographic related coordinates at a past time with/without Integrity Information, position or geographic coordinates during a past interval with or without Integrity Information, last occurrence of position coordinates accomplishing a geographic condition (geofencing event), geofencing events happened during a past interval.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein accessibility of each user to position related data is restricted by criteria that can be different for each user:

only position data which date and time are inside an specified time interval are accessible by the user;

only position data with position coordinates inside certain geographical area or zone are accessible by the user;

only position data packets with position coordinates outside certain geographical area or zone are accessible by the user; and

only position data packets with velocity above certain limits are accessible by the client.