METHODS FOR PROVIDING LOCATION OF WIRELESS DEVICES USING WI-FI

• US 20140342756A1
• Filed: 08/04/2014
• Published: 11/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyhook Holding, Inc. (Liberty Broadband Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Skyhook Holding, Inc. (Liberty Broadband Corp.)
• Inventors: Houri, Cyril
• Granted Patent: US 9,402,154 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02524 Creating or updating the radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0263 by combining or switching between positions derived from two or more separate positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• 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 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Method includes maintaining a collaborative database on a database server containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points. The collaborative database includes database records for Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location. A position location request from a Wi-Fi enabled wireless device is received at a server, and includes a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device. Via a query issued to the database server using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for one or more Wi-Fi access points is retrieved from the database. A processor determines geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the retrieved geographic location data, and returns, via the server, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

maintaining a collaborative database on a database server containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points, the collaborative database including database records for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location of the Wi-Fi access point, wherein at least a portion of the database records are based on Wi-Fi identification and geographic location data received from a plurality of Wi-Fi- and GPS-enabled wireless devices such that the collaborative database is built in a collaborative manner;

receiving, at a server, a position location request from a wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device;

retrieving, via a query issued to the database server using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for at least one of the Wi-Fi access points from the collaborative database;

determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the geographic location data retrieved from the collaborative database; and

returning, via the server, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device that is determined.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location data includes a latitude and longitude value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a cell phone.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing software configured to be executed on a Wi-Fi enabled wireless device, wherein the software, upon execution enables the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to:

identify a MAC address for at least one Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon that is received by the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device;

generate a position location request including a respective MAC address for each of the at least one Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon for which a MAC address is identified; and

send the position location request to a server configured to facilitate access to the collaborative database.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the software is further configured, upon execution, to enable a user of the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to cause the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to generate and send a position location request to the server in response to selection of an icon by the user.

6. A method, comprising:

maintaining a collaborative database on a server system containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points, the collaborative database including database records for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location of the Wi-Fi access point, wherein at least a portion of the database records are based on Wi-Fi identification and geographic location data received from a plurality of Wi-Fi- and GPS-enabled wireless devices such that the collaborative database is built in a collaborative manner;

receiving, at the server system, a position location request from a wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device;

retrieving, via a query issued to the server system using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for at least one of the Wi-Fi access points from the collaborative database;

determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the geographic location data retrieved from the collaborative database; and

returning, via the server system, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device that is determined.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the geographic location data includes a latitude and longitude value.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the wireless device comprises a cell phone.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing software configured to be executed on a Wi-Fi enabled wireless device, wherein the software, upon execution enables the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to:

identify a MAC address for at least one Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon that is received by the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device;

generate a position location request including a respective MAC address for each of the at least one Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon for which a MAC address is identified; and

send the position location request to the server system which is configured to facilitate access to the collaborative database.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the software is further configured, upon execution, to enable a user of the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to cause the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device to generate and send a position location request to the server system in response to selection of an icon by the user.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving at a database server, first Wi-Fi access point location data from a first wireless device that is GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled, the first Wi-Fi access point location data including,

GPS location data generated by the first wireless device; and

a MAC address of a first Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the first wireless device;

processing, via a processor, the first Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point;

adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point to a collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data;

receiving, at a server, a position location request from a second wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the second wireless device;

retrieving via a query issued to the database server, geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point from the collaborative database;

determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the second wireless device based at least on the geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point; and

returning, via the server, geographic location data to the second wireless device corresponding to the geographic location determined for the second wireless device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the geographic location data includes a latitude and longitude value.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second wireless devices are cell phones.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing software configured to be executed on the first wireless device, wherein the software, upon execution enables the first wireless device to:

identify a MAC address for at least one Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon that is received by the Wi-Fi enabled wireless device;

determine a geographic location of the first wireless device through use of GPS facilities provided by the first wireless device;

generate the first Wi-Fi access point location data; and

send the first Wi-Fi access point location data to a server configured to facilitate access to the collaborative database.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point to the collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data is performed only when the geographic location data and MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point is not already present in the collaborative database.

16. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a database server from each of a plurality of GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless devices, respective sets of Wi-Fi access point location data, each set of Wi-Fi access point location data including,

for each of at least one Wi-Fi access point from which a wireless beacon transmitted from at Wi-Fi access point is detected by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device,

a MAC address of the Wi-Fi access point; and

GPS location data generated by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device;

for each of at least a portion of the respective sets of Wi-Fi access point location data that is received;

processing, via a processor, data in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for at least one Wi-Fi access point having a MAC address included in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data; and

adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the at least one Wi-Fi access point to a collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, via a server, a position location request from a requesting wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a MAC address corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the requesting wireless device;

in response to receiving the position location request,

retrieving geographic location data from the collaborative database for at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a MAC address is provided in the position location request;

determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the requesting wireless device based at least on the geographic location data for the at least one Wi-Fi access point; and

returning, via the server, geographic location data to the requesting wireless device corresponding to the geographic location determined for the requesting wireless device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, at the database server from a GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device, a set of Wi-Fi access point location data including,

a MAC address for a Wi-Fi access point transmitting a wireless beacon received by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device; and

for each of a plurality of geographic locations,

GPS-measured coordinates, generated by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device; and

at least one signal strength measurement of a wireless beacon transmitted from the Wi-Fi access point measured by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device;

processing, via the processor, data in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for the Wi-Fi access point; and

adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the Wi-Fi access point to the collaborative database.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, at the database server from a GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device, a set of Wi-Fi access point location data including,

a respective MAC address for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points transmitting a wireless beacon received by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device; and

for each of a plurality of geographic locations,

GPS-measured coordinates, generated by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device; and

at least one signal strength measurement of a wireless beacon transmitted from at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points measured by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device;

processing, via the processor, data in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points; and

adding the geographic location data and MAC address for the at least one of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points for which geographic location data is generated to the collaborative database.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the at least one Wi-Fi access point to the collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data is performed only when the geographic location data and MAC address of the at least one Wi-Fi access point is not already present in the collaborative database.