Balloon-Based Positioning System and Method
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- determining, by a computing device, a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere, wherein determining the first set comprises (i) determining a distance between a balloon in the group and another balloon in the group, and (ii) determining an angle between a first vector and a second vector, wherein the first vector extends from a first balloon in the group towards a second balloon in the group, and wherein the second vector extends from the first balloon towards a third balloon in the group;
determining, by the computing device, a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point;
determining, by the computing device, a position of the reference point relative to the earth;
using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and
transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a balloon-based positioning system and method. In one example embodiment, a system includes a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere and a control system configured for: determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to the group; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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determining, by a computing device, a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere, wherein determining the first set comprises (i) determining a distance between a balloon in the group and another balloon in the group, and (ii) determining an angle between a first vector and a second vector, wherein the first vector extends from a first balloon in the group towards a second balloon in the group, and wherein the second vector extends from the first balloon towards a third balloon in the group; determining, by the computing device, a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining, by the computing device, a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that upon execution by a processor, cause performance of a set of functions, the set of functions comprising:
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determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determining a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A system comprising:
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a group of at least three balloons deployed in the stratosphere; and a control system configured for; determining a first set of spatial relationships relating to the group; determining a second set of spatial relationships relating to at least a portion of the group and to a reference point; determining a position of the reference point relative to the earth; using the determined first set, the determined second set, and the determined position of the reference point relative to the earth as a basis for determine a position of a target balloon in the group relative to the earth; and transmitting the determined position of the target balloon relative to the earth. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification