LOCATION MODEL UPDATING APPARATUS AND POSITION ESTIMATING METHOD

• US 20150094088A1
• Filed: 08/19/2014
• Published: 04/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Chen, Bin
• Granted Patent: US 9,226,262 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/00 Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using active systems G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A location model updating apparatus generates attribute data including an attribute of a location and an attribute between locations. A peripheral location is extracted by including each location from a current location of a terminal apparatus to a first front as a member of a definite peripheral location list, including each location from the first front to a second front as a member of a candidate peripheral location list, and updating each location that is a member of the definite peripheral location list and exists from the current location to the first front, and each location that is a member of the candidate peripheral location list and exists from the first front to the second front, using the current location of the terminal apparatus as a query. Data of a peripheral location model of the extracted peripheral location is transmitted to the terminal apparatus.

Claims

1. A location model updating apparatus comprising:

a storage unit; and

a processor configured to

generate attribute data in which an attribute of a location is represented by a location name and a data size of a location model, and an attribute between locations is represented by a similarity between the locations;

extract a peripheral location by including each location from a current location of a terminal apparatus to a first front as a member of a definite peripheral location list, including each location from the first front to a second front as a member of a candidate peripheral location list, and updating each location that is a member of the definite peripheral location list and exists from the current location to the first front, and each location that is a member of the candidate peripheral location list and exists from the first front to the second front, using the current location of the terminal apparatus as a query; and

transmit data of a peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, by including in the peripheral location model a flag identifying the peripheral location that is extracted as a location up to the first front.

2. The location model updating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor transmits, to the terminal apparatus, difference data between the location model stored in the terminal apparatus and received from the terminal apparatus, and the peripheral location model extracted by the processor.

3. The location model updating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor transmits the data of the peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, in response to a request received from the terminal apparatus when the terminal apparatus identifies from the flag that a new current location after the terminal apparatus moves is the first front or a vicinity of the first front.

4. The location model updating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the attribute between the locations includes similarities of features between the locations, and

the features include features related to frequencies of an observing state and an observation missing state of signals from base stations at the terminal apparatus, and features related to received signal strengths at the terminal apparatus.

5. A position estimating method to estimate a position of a terminal apparatus that is communicable with a plurality of base stations, comprising:

estimating, in the terminal apparatus, the position of the terminal apparatus based on a location model stored within the terminal apparatus;

updating, in the terminal apparatus, the location model based on data downloaded from a server; and

performing, in a server, a location model updating process to update the location model stored in a storage unit of the server based on data received from the terminal apparatus, and a transmitting process,

wherein the location model updating process includes

generating attribute data in which an attribute of a location is represented by a location name and a data size of a location model, and an attribute between locations is represented by a similarity between the locations;

extracting a peripheral location by including each location from a current location of a terminal apparatus to a first front as a member of a definite peripheral location list, including each location from the first front to a second front as a member of a candidate peripheral location list, and updating each location that is a member of the definite peripheral location list and exists from the current location to the first front, and each location that is a member of the candidate peripheral location list and exists from the first front to the second front, using the current location of the terminal apparatus as a query; and

wherein the transmitting process includes

transmitting data of a peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, by including in the peripheral location model a flag identifying the peripheral location that is extracted as a location up to the first front.

6. The position estimating method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the transmitting process transmits, to the terminal apparatus, difference data between the location model stored in the terminal apparatus and received from the terminal apparatus, and the peripheral location model extracted by the server.

7. The position estimating method as claimed in claim 5, wherein

the terminal apparatus transmits a request with respect to the server when the terminal apparatus identifies from the flag that a new current location after the terminal apparatus moves is the first front or a vicinity of the first front. and

the server transmits the data of the peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, in response to the request received from the terminal apparatus.

8. The position estimating method as claimed in claim 5, wherein

the attribute between the locations includes similarities of features between the locations, and

the features include features related to frequencies of an observing state and an observation missing state of signals from base stations at the terminal apparatus, and features related to received signal strengths at the terminal apparatus.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a program for causing a computer to execute a process to update a location model based on data received from a terminal apparatus, the process comprising:

generating attribute data in which an attribute of a location is represented by a location name and a data size of a location model, and an attribute between locations is represented by a similarity between the locations;

extracting a peripheral location by including each location from a current location of a terminal apparatus to a first front as a member of a definite peripheral location list, including each location from the first front to a second front as a member of a candidate peripheral location list, and updating each location that is a member of the definite peripheral location list and exists from the current location to the first front, and each location that is a member of the candidate peripheral location list and exists from the first front to the second front, using the current location of the terminal apparatus as a query; and

transmitting data of a peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, by including in the peripheral location model a flag identifying the peripheral location that is extracted as a location up to the first front.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein the transmitting transmits, to the terminal apparatus, difference data between the location model stored in the terminal apparatus and received from the terminal apparatus, and the peripheral location model extracted by the extracting.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein the transmitting transmits the data of the peripheral location model of the peripheral location that is extracted, to the terminal apparatus, in response to a request received from the terminal apparatus when the terminal apparatus identifies from the flag that a new current location after the terminal apparatus moves is the first front or a vicinity of the first front.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the attribute between the locations includes similarities of features between the locations, and

the features include features related to frequencies of an observing state and an observation missing state of signals from base stations at the terminal apparatus, and features related to received signal strengths at the terminal apparatus.