LOCATION AWARE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

• US 20120309414A1
• Filed: 07/11/2011
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZuluTime LLC
• Inventors: Rhoads, Goeffrey B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,463,290 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/08 according to detected number or speed of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A location aware intelligent transportation system determines ranges between a plurality of communication devices, including at least one mobile communication device. A method includes receiving receive messages transmitted from a plurality of other communication devices. Each receive message includes a transmit count stamp corresponding to a remote counter value. The mobile communication device generates a receive count stamp for each receive message. The method includes dynamically associating and disassociating the mobile communication device with a plurality of sub-groups of the plurality of other communication devices. The associating and disassociating are based at least in part on receiving receive messages from a predetermined number of other communication devices for each sub-group. For each sub-group currently associated with the mobile communication device, the method includes generating range estimates between the mobile communication device and the other communication devices in the particular sub-group. The range estimates are based on a combination of the transmit count stamps and the receive count stamps.

Claims

1. A method of determining ranges between a plurality of communication devices, the plurality of communication devices including at least one mobile communication device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the mobile communication device, receive messages transmitted from a plurality of other communication devices, each receive message including a transmit count stamp corresponding to a remote counter value at the transmission of the receive message from the corresponding other communication device, wherein the mobile communication device generates a receive count stamp for each receive message corresponding to a local counter value at the receipt of the receive message;

as the mobile communication device travels along a path relative to the plurality of other communication devices, dynamically associating and disassociating the mobile communication device with a plurality of sub-groups of the plurality of other communication devices, wherein the associating and disassociating are based at least in part on receiving receive messages from a predetermined number of other communication devices for each sub-group; and

for each sub-group currently associated with the mobile communication device, generating range estimates between the mobile communication device and the other communication devices in the particular sub-group, the range estimates based on a combination of the transmit count stamps and the receive count stamps.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each sub-group includes at least one non-mobile communication device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one non-mobile communication device is located in a traffic light at a street intersection.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the range estimates are used to control the traffic light.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, from the mobile communication device, transmit messages, each transmit message including a transmit count stamp corresponding to the local counter value at the transmission of the transmit message.