METHOD FOR DETERMINING LOCATION USING ACCESS POINT, AND APPARATUS THEREOF

• US 20100265092A1
• Filed: 08/20/2008
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Cho, Young Su, Choi, Wan Sik, Kim, Byung Doo, Cho, Seong Yun
• Application Number:
  US12/741,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20100265092A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/825.490
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a location measuring method using an access point, and an apparatus using the same. According to the present invention, a location of a terminal is estimated by using a signal strength received from an access point installed at a known position in a wireless network, and location of the access point installed at an unknown position is estimated by using a signal strength received from the access point installed in the unknown position and estimated location information of the terminal. In addition, a location of the terminal is finally calculated by using estimated location information of the access point installed at the known position. As described, the location of the terminal is determined by using estimated location information of an AP that is randomly installed by a user (that is, installed at an unknown position), and therefore a location of an AP installed in an area where it is difficult to measure and availability of location measurement can be improved. In addition, a signal strength measurement value, estimation location information of an AP installed at a known position, and estimation location information of an AP installed at an unknown position are used for location information calculation of a terminal, and accordingly, accuracy of the location measure can be improved.

Claims

1. A method for measuring a location of a first access point (AP) installed at an unknown position by using at least one terminal that accesses the first AP and a second AP installed at a known position, the method comprising:

receiving at least one first received signal strength intensity value for the first AP;

estimating location information of the terminal by receiving at least one second received signal strength intensity value for the second AP; and

determining a location of the first AP by using matching information when the number of matching information having the at least one first received signal strength intensity value and the location information of the terminal is greater than a predetermined reference number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal is one, and the method further comprising, between the estimating and the determining, storing a plurality of location information of terminal by matching to the first received signal strength intensity value, which are estimated by using the at least one first received signal strength intensity values and the at least one second received signal strength intensity values, which are received by the one terminal at a plurality of locations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal comprises a plural, the method further comprising, between the estimating of the location information and the determining, storing a plurality of location information of the plurality of terminals by matching to the first received signal strength intensity value, which are estimated by using the at lease one received signal strength intensity values for the first AP received by the plurality of terminals and the at least second received signal strength intensity value for the second AP received by the plurality of terminals.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining of the location information comprises:

determining whether the number of the matching information is greater than the predetermined reference number;

repeating the receiving, the estimating, and the storing when the number of the matching information is smaller than the predetermined reference number; and

estimating the location of the first AP by using a distance measurement value that is converted from the at least one first received signal strength intensity value for the first AP and the location information of the terminal corresponding to the first received signal strength intensity value, to generate location estimation information of the estimated location when the number of the stored matching information items is greater than the predetermined reference number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining of the location information comprises:

determining whether the number of the stored matching information is greater than the predetermined reference number;

repeating the receiving, the estimating, and the storing when the number of the matching information is smaller than the predetermined reference number; and

estimating the location of the first AP by using a distance measurement value that is converted from the at least one first received signal strength intensity for the first AP and the location information of the terminals to generate location estimation information of the estimated location when the number of the stored matching information is greater than the predetermined reference number.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the estimating of the location of the first AP comprises:

calculating a covariance of a location estimation error for the first AP by using a least squares method, the location estimation error comprising a determinant formed of an error covariance of a distance between the first AP and the terminal and the distance measurement value;

determining whether the covariance of the location estimation error for the first AP is smaller than a predetermined threshold value;

repeating the receiving, the estimating, the matching and storing, and the determining of the location information when the covariance is not smaller than the predetermined threshold value; and

registering the estimated location information of the first AP to an AP registration database that is formed of AP location information when the covariance is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the estimating of the location of the first AP comprises:

calculating a covariance of a location estimation error for the first AP by using a least squares method, the location estimation error comprising a determinant formed by an error covariance of a distance between the first AP and the terminal and the distance measurement value;

determining whether the covariance of the location estimation error for the first AP is smaller than a predetermined threshold value;

repeating the receiving, the estimating, the matching and storing, and the determining of the location information when the covariance is not smaller than the predetermined threshold value; and

registering the estimated location information of the first AP to an AP registration database that is formed of AP location information when the covariance is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

8. A location measuring method comprising:

receiving a first received signal strength intensity value from a terminal that has requested location measurement, the first received signal strength intensity value being for a first access point (AP) installed at an unknown position;

checking location information of the first AP, the location information being determined by using location information of the terminal that is estimated by using a second receive signal strength intensity value for a second AP and location information of the second AP; and

calculating weights for the location information of the first AP, the signal strength value being received from the terminal that has requested the location measurement, and an estimated location error of the first AP, and determining a location of the terminal that has requested the location measurement through a weighted least squares method using the weights.

9. The location measuring method of claim 8, wherein, in the determining of the location of the terminal, the weights are calculated by using a ratio of a standard deviation for the location error of the first AP and a distance measurement value that is converted from the first received signal strength intensity value.

10. The location measuring method of claim 9, wherein the determining of the location of the terminal comprises:

calculating a location estimation error for the first AP by using a weight matrix formed by the weights; and

determining the location of the terminal that has requested the location measurement by applying the location estimation error for the first AP.

11. The location measuring method of claim 8, wherein the checking comprises:

checking whether the location information of the first AP is registered;

estimating a location of the first AP when the location information of the first AP is not registered; and

checking the location information of the first AP when the location information of the first AP is registered.

12. The location measuring method of claim 11, wherein the receiving comprises:

receiving received signal strength intensity values for a plurality of APs from the terminal that has requested the location measurement, the received signal strength intensity values of the plurality of APs received from an area surrounding the terminal; and

determining performance of the checking and the determining when the first received signal strength intensity value of the first AP is included in the received signal strength intensity values of the plurality of APs.

13. An apparatus measuring a location of a terminal by using a received signal strength intensity value received from an access point (AP) in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

an AP location estimator estimating a location of a first AP by using matching information when the number of matching information is greater than a predetermined reference number, the matching information including location information of the terminal that is estimated by using at least one first received signal strength intensity value of a first access point (AP) installed at an unknown position and at least one second received signal strength intensity value received from a second AP installed at a known position, the first and second received signal strength intensity values being received from the terminal; and

a terminal location calculator calculating weights of the first received signal strength intensity value of the first AP, location information of the first AP, and an estimated location error of the first AP, and determining a location of the terminal that has requested location measurement by using a weighted least squares method when receiving the first received signal strength intensity value from the terminal, the location information of the first AP being estimated by the AP location estimator.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein when a covariance of the location estimation error for the first AP calculated by using a least squares method is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the AP location estimator registers the location estimation information estimated by the first AP to an AP registration database formed of location information of APs, the location estimation error comprising a determinant formed of an error covariance of a distance between the first AP and the terminal and a distance measurement value obtained based on the first received signal strength intensity value.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the terminal is one, and the AP location estimator estimates location information of the terminal by using a plurality of location information of the terminal that have been estimated by using the at least one first received signal strength intensity value and at lease second signal strength intensity value, which are received by the one terminal at a plurality of locations.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the terminal comprises a plural, and the AP location estimator estimates location information of the first AP by using location information of the plurality of terminals and the first received signal strength intensity value, the location information of the plurality of terminals being estimated by using the at least one first received signal strength intensity value received by the plurality of terminals and the at least one second received signal strength intensity value received by the plurality of terminals.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the terminal location calculator determines a location of the terminal that has requested the location measurer by applying a location estimation error for the first AP that is calculated by using a weight matrix formed of a weight according to a distance between the terminal that has requested the location measurer and the first AP, the weight being calculated by using a ratio between a standard deviation of the location error for the first AP and a distance measurement value that is converted from the first received signal strength intensity value.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a signal strength receiver determining whether the first received signal strength intensity value is included in the received signal strength intensity values received from the terminal, wherein the AP location estimator estimates a location of the first AP when estimated location information of the first AP is not registered, and the terminal location calculator determines a location of the terminal that has transmitted the received signal strength intensity values by using the estimated location information when the estimated location information of the first AP is registered.