METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING LOCATION OF USER

• US 20130303185A1
• Filed: 03/18/2013
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yong, Kim, Eung Sun
• Granted Patent: US 9,363,629 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method of obtaining a location of a user includes obtaining first location information of the user; searching a pre-stored first map for a plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information; selecting at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on second location information of the user; and determining the location of the user using at least one search area.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining a location of a user, the method comprising:

obtaining first location information of the user;

searching a pre-stored first map for a plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information;

selecting at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on second location information of the user; and

determining the location of the user using the at least one search area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the second location information and a statistical error of the second location information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising searching a pre-stored second map for a plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selecting further comprises:

determining whether the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information overlap the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information; and

selecting the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on a result of the determining.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the selecting further comprises selecting, as the at least one search area, an area of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information that overlaps the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the user comprises an initial location of the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a range of each of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information is pre-selected.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a range of each of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information is pre-selected based on a statistical error of the first location information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching comprises searching the pre-stored first map for the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the first location information and a statistical error of the first location information.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining information of a plurality of maps comprising the first map and information about a statistical error of each of the first location information and the second location information.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location information comprises horizontal location information measured by a magnetic field sensor and the second location information comprises vertical location information measured by the magnetic field sensor, or the first location information comprises the vertical location information and the second location information comprises the horizontal location information.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location information and the second location information indicate a same location.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for controlling a computer to perform the method of claim 1.

15. An apparatus for obtaining a location of a user, the apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit configured to obtain first location information of the user;

a search unit configured to search a pre-stored first map for a plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information;

a selecting unit configured to select at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on second location information of the user; and

a determining unit configured to determine the location of the user using the at least one search area.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the selecting unit is further configured to select the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the second location information and a statistical error of the second location information.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the search unit is further configured to search a pre-stored second map for a plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the selecting unit is further configured to select the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the selecting unit comprises:

a determiner configured to determine whether the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information overlap the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information; and

a selector configured to select the at least one search area from the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on a result obtained by the determiner.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the selecting unit is further configured to select, as the at least one search area, an area of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information that overlaps the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the second location information.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the location of the user comprises an initial location of the user.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a range of each of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information is pre-selected.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a range of each of the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information is pre-selected based on a statistical error of the first location information.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the search unit is further configured to search the pre-stored first map for the plurality of candidate areas corresponding to the first location information based on the first location information and a statistical error of the first location information.

25. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a storage unit configured to maintain information of a plurality of maps comprising the first map and information about a statistical error of each of the first location information and the second location information.

26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first location information comprises horizontal location information measured by a magnetic field sensor and the second location information comprises vertical location information measured by the magnetic field sensor, or the first location information comprises the vertical location information and the second location information comprises the horizontal location information.

27. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first location information and the second location information indicate a same location.

28. A method of obtaining a location of a user, the method comprising:

obtaining a search area containing the location of the user from a first map based on first location information of the user and second location information of the user; and

obtaining the location of the user from the search area;

wherein the search area is smaller than an entire area covered by the first map; and

the first location information of the user and the second location information of the user are different types of location information.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

measuring a first physical quantity at the location of the user to obtain the first location information of the user; and

deriving the second location information of the user from the first location information of the user;

wherein the first map is created based on measurements of the first physical quantity made at a plurality of different locations in the entire area covered by the first map.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

measuring a first physical quantity at the location of the user to obtain the first location information of the user; and

measuring a second physical quantity at the location of the user to obtain the second location information of the user;

wherein the first map is created based on measurements of the first physical quantity made at a plurality of different locations in the entire area covered by the first map.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the obtaining of the search area comprises:

searching the first map for a plurality of first candidate areas likely to contain the location of the user based on the first location information;

searching a second map for a plurality of second candidate areas likely to contain the location of the user based on the second location information, the second map covering a same area as the first map; and

selecting an area where plurality of first candidate areas overlaps the plurality of second candidate areas as the search area.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the searching of the first map comprises limiting a range of each of the plurality of first candidate areas based on a statistical error of the first location information;

and

the searching of the second map comprises limiting a range of each of the plurality of second candidate areas based on a statistical error of the second location information.