SELF-LOCALIZATION AND SELF-ORIENTATION OF A CEILING-MOUNTED DEVICE

• US 20130250101A1
• Filed: 05/16/2013
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Lavery, Richard J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,511,926 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/135
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/14 for measuring distance or clearance between spaced objects or spaced apertures G01B11/26 takes precedence; rangefinders G01C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/78 Detection of presence or absence of voice signals switching of direction of transmission by voice frequency in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4398 involving reformatting operations of audio signals details of audio signal transcoding G10L19/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 for the sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 5/00 Pseudo-stereo systems, e.g. in which additional channel signals are derived from monophonic signals by means of phase shifting, time delay or reverberation

Abstract

A device and method for self-localization of a ceiling-mounted device within an indoor environment includes establishing a floor plan of the environment including a plurality of fixed reference indicia having known locations with respect to an origin point of the environment. A plumb light beam is projecting downward from the device to a floor of the environment to produce a projection on the floor. An imaging of the floor including the projection and at least two reference indicia is captured. A location of the device can then be determined with respect to the origin using the projection and at least two reference indicia.

Claims

1. A ceiling-mounted device operable for self-localization within an indoor environment, the device comprising:

a memory including a floor plan of the environment and including a plurality of fixed reference indicia having known locations with respect to an origin point of the environment;

a housing encapsulating the device and being disposed on a ceiling within the environment;

a light source installed within the housing;

an imaging device installed within the housing; and

a processor installed within the housing and coupled to the memory, light source, and camera, the processor operable to;

direct the light source to project a light beam downward from the device to a floor of the environment to produce a projection on the floor,

direct the imaging device to capture an image of the floor including the projection and at least two reference indicia, and

determine a location of the device with respect to the origin using the projection and at least two reference indicia.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the light beam from the laser is plumb with the floor.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the reference indicia is a recognizable point defined on the floor plan, another of the reference indicia is scale indicia recognizable from the floor plan, and the projection provides a projection point on the floor used to determine the location.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the reference indicia are at least two recognizable points defined on the floor plan, a distance between the recognizable points establishing a scale indicia, and the projection provides a projection point on the floor used to determine the location.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the projection is a cross projected on the floor having orthogonal lines intersecting at a projection point used to determine the location, the orthogonal lines having one line longer than the other and associated with an azimuth orientation of the device, and wherein the processor is further operable to determine the azimuth orientation of the device by measuring an angle of at least one of the orthogonal lines with respect to a reference indicia line in the image having a known orientation on the floor plan.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a wireless communication device, and wherein a communication performance of the wireless communication device is adapted to the environment based on at least its location.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to establish a height of the device above the floor.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the laser and processor are configured to use interferometry to establish the height of the device above the floor.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further operable to establish a second height of the device above the projection, wherein if two heights are not the same, the processor provides an alert to an administrator.

10. A ceiling-mounted device operable for self-localization and self-orientation within an indoor environment, the device comprising:

a memory including a floor plan of the environment and including a plurality of fixed reference indicia having known locations and orientations with respect to an origin point of the environment;

a housing encapsulating the device and being disposed on a ceiling within the environment;

a laser installed within the housing;

a camera installed within the housing; and

a processor installed within the housing and coupled to the memory, laser, and camera, the processor operable to;

direct the laser to project a plumb light beam downward from the device to a floor of the environment to project a cross on the floor, the cross having orthogonal lines intersecting at a projection point with one line longer than the other and being aligned with an azimuth orientation of the device;

direct the camera to capture an image of the floor including the cross, projection point, and at least two reference indicia, and

determine a location and orientation of the device with respect to the origin using the projection point and at least two reference indicia.

11. A method of self-localization of a ceiling-mounted device within an indoor environment, the method comprising:

establishing a floor plan of the environment including a plurality of fixed reference indicia having known locations with respect to an origin point of the environment;

projecting a light beam downward from the device to a floor of the environment to produce a projection on the floor;

imaging the floor including the projection and at least two reference indicia;

determining a location of the device with respect to the origin using the projection and at least two reference indicia.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining includes establishing a height of the device above the floor.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising plotting a location of the device on a user interface device.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is a wireless communication device, and further comprising adapting a communication performance of the wireless communication device to the environment based on its location and orientation.