METHOD OF ESTIMATING POSITION OF A DEVICE

• US 20150172872A1
• Filed: 07/24/2013
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sensewhere Limited
• Inventors: Alsehly, Firas, Sevak, Zankar Upendrakumar, Arslan, Tughrul Sati
• Granted Patent: US 9,872,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/114 Indoor or close-range type systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

The invention provides a method of estimating the position of a device, the method comprising: providing a database of location specific geographical descriptive data; obtaining location data relating to the position of the device; retrieving geographical descriptive data specific to an indoor region from the said database, the indoor region being selected dependent on the location data; and subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data. The method can be used with existing or new positioning systems to improve the execution of the said positioning systems, particularly when the positioning system is being used indoors.

Claims

1. A method of estimating the position of a device, the method comprising:

providing a database of location specific geographical descriptive data;

obtaining location data relating to the position of the device;

retrieving geographical descriptive data specific to an indoor region from the said database, the indoor region being selected dependent on the location data; and

subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data.

2. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the location data comprises a provisional estimated position of the device.

3. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 2, wherein the step of subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data comprises adjusting the provisional estimated position of the device taking into account the retrieved data.

4. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1 wherein the retrieved data comprises layout data describing the spatial relationship between two or more physical features within the indoor region.

5. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 4 wherein the layout data comprises at least part of a floorplan of the indoor region or data derived therefrom.

6. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining one or more characteristics of one or more electromagnetic signal sources located or detectable within the indoor region and/or obtaining the positions of one or more electromagnetic signal sources located or detectable within the indoor region.

7. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more electromagnetic signal propagation characteristics relating to the propagation of electromagnetic signals within the indoor region, or data from which one or more electromagnetic signal propagation characteristics can be derived.

8. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 6, wherein the step of subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data comprises:

receiving electromagnetic signals transmitted from one or more electromagnetic signal sources; and

processing the electromagnetic signals or data derived therefrom together with one or more of the one or more characteristics of the one or more electromagnetic signal sources and/or one or more of the one or more electromagnetic signal propagation characteristics.

9. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the retrieved data comprises topological information identifying passable and impassable sections within the indoor region.

10. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more constraints defining possible and impossible positions of the device within the indoor region.

11. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more paths, each path defining a range of possible positions of the device along a respective route within the indoor region.

12. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1 wherein the retrieved data comprises positions of one or more topological features and one or more predefined zones, each zone being associated with a respective one of the said topological features.

13. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 12 further comprising:

determining whether an estimated position of the device is within one of the said predefined zones; and

, in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is within one of the said predefined zones, activating the execution of a pattern recognition algorithm associated with the topological feature associated with the said predefined zone.

14. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 13 further comprising:

in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is within said one of the predefined zones providing one or more reference patterns associated with the topological feature associated with said one of the predefined zones to a positioning system module.

15. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 13, wherein the said pattern recognition algorithm comprises:

comparing movement of the device to one or more reference movement patterns to determine whether the device has passed through or interacted with the topological feature associated with the said predefined zone; and

adjusting the provisional estimated position of the device in response to a determination that the device has passed through or interacted with the said topological feature.

16. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 13, wherein the said pattern recognition algorithm is a turning point detection algorithm.

17. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 13, wherein the said pattern recognition algorithm is a floor-change detection algorithm.

18. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 13, further comprising deactivating an execution of the said pattern recognition algorithm in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is outside of the said predefined zone.

19. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 12 further comprising activating and/or deactivating one or more positioning algorithms and/or positioning systems or part thereof in response to a determination that the device has entered and/or left one of the said predefined zones.

20. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the retrieved data defines a plurality of subregions within the indoor region.

21. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 20 further comprising:

receiving one or more electromagnetic signals in a first subregion of the indoor region from one or more electromagnetic signal sources comprising at least one electromagnetic signal source located in a second subregion of the indoor region; and

estimating the position of the device by processing the electromagnetic signals or data derived therefrom together with retrieved data relating to the first and second subregions and/or any subregions between the device and the said at least one electromagnetic signal source in the second subregion.

22. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 21, wherein the step of subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data comprises:

determining a relationship between the first subregion and the second subregion from the retrieved data;

associating a weighting with the signal(s) received from the electromagnetic signal source or data derived therefrom, the weighting being dependent on said relationship; and

processing said electromagnetic signals or data derived therefrom taking into account said weighting.

23. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1 wherein the step of subsequently estimating the position of the device comprises:

predicting one or more possible future positions of the device using the retrieved data; and

comparing the one or more predicted future positions of the device with a or the provisional estimated position of the device to determine whether the provisional estimated position of the device matches one of the predicted possible future positions.

24. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 23 further comprising:

adjusting the provisional estimated position of the device to match one of the predicted possible future positions in response to a determination that the provisional estimated position does not match one of the predicted possible future positions.

25. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1, wherein the indoor region comprises the interior of a building.

26. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1 further comprising:

obtaining second location data relating to an updated position of the device;

retrieving geographical descriptive data specific to a second indoor region from the said database, the second indoor region being selected dependent on the second location data; and

subsequently estimating the position of the device taking into account the retrieved data concerning the second indoor region.

27. A method of estimating the position of a device according to claim 1 further comprising:

receiving electromagnetic signals transmitted by one or more electromagnetic signal sources;

obtaining electromagnetic signal source data relating to the one or more electromagnetic signal sources, the said electromagnetic signal source data comprising the positions of the one or more electromagnetic signal sources; and

processing the received electromagnetic signals or data derived therefrom, the obtained electromagnetic signal source data and the retrieved data from the database of location specific geographical descriptive data to estimate the position of the device.

57. A computer readable medium storing computer executable code which when executed on a data processing apparatus causes the data processing apparatus to perform in accordance with the method of claim 1.

60. A mobile device configured to perform the method of claim 1.

28. Data processing apparatus comprising a geographical descriptive data processing module in communication with a database of location specific geographical descriptive data, the geographical descriptive data processing module being configured to:

select an indoor region dependent on location data relating to the position of a device;

retrieve geographical descriptive data specific to the indoor region from the database; and

to subsequently estimate a position of the device taking into account the retrieved data and/or to output data from the retrieved data or data derived from the retrieved data which is usable for estimating a position of the device.

29. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 further comprising a computer readable storage medium storing the database.

30. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more electromagnetic signal propagation characteristics relating to the propagation of electromagnetic signals within the indoor region, or data from which one or more electromagnetic signal propagation characteristics can be derived.

31. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data or data derived therefrom comprises topological information identifying passable and impassable sections within the indoor region.

32. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more constraints defining possible and impossible positions of the device within the indoor region.

33. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data comprises one or more paths, each path defining a range of passable positions along a respective route within the indoor region.

34. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data comprises positions of one or more topological features.

35. Data processing apparatus according to claim 34 wherein the topological information further comprises one or more predefined zones, each zone being associated with one of the said topological features.

36. Data processing apparatus according to claim 35 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to determine whether an estimated position of the device is within one of the said predefined zones and, in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is within one of the said predefined zones, to activate the execution of a pattern recognition algorithm associated with the topological feature associated with the said predefined zone.

37. Data processing apparatus according to claim 36 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to, in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is within said one of the predefined zones, retrieve one or more reference patterns associated with the topological feature associated with said one of the predefined zones from the database.

38. Data processing apparatus according to claim 36 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to deactivate the said pattern recognition algorithm(s) in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is outside of the said predefined zone.

39. Data processing apparatus according to claim 35 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to activate and/or deactivate execution of one or more positioning algorithms and/or positioning systems or part thereof in response to a determination that the device has entered and/or left one of the said predefined zones.

40. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the retrieved data or data derived therefrom defines a plurality of subregions within the indoor region.

41. Data processing apparatus according to claim 40 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to:

determine a relationship between a or the device and an electromagnetic signal source using the retrieved data or data derived therefrom, the device being located in a first subregion of the indoor region and the electromagnetic signal source being located in a second subregion of the indoor region; and

to associate a weighting with signal(s) received by the device from the electromagnetic signal source, or with data derived therefrom, the weighting being dependent on said relationship.

42. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is further configured to predict one or more possible future positions of a or the device using the retrieved data or data derived therefrom;

and to compare the one or more predicted possible future positions of the device with a or the provisional estimated position of the device provided by the location data in order to determine whether the provisional estimated position of the device matches one of the predicted possible future positions.

43. Data processing apparatus according to claim 42 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to adjust the provisional estimated position of the device to match one of the predicted possible future positions in response to a determination that the provisional position does not match one of the predicted possible future positions.

44. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the indoor region comprises the interior of a building.

45. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to:

select a second indoor region dependent on second location data relating to an updated position of the device;

retrieve geographical descriptive data specific to the second indoor region from the database; and

to subsequently estimate a second position of the device taking into account the retrieved data specific to the second indoor region and/or to output data from the retrieved data or data derived therefrom specific to the second indoor region data which can be used to estimate a second position of the device.

46. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 further comprising a positioning system module for estimating the position of a device, the positioning system module being in communication with the geographical descriptive data processing module.

47. Data processing apparatus according to claim 46 wherein the positioning system module is configured to transmit location data to the geographical descriptive data processing module, and wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to provide the positioning system module with data from the retrieved data or data derived therefrom.

48. Data processing apparatus according to claim 46 wherein the positioning system module is further configured to obtain one or more characteristics of one or more electromagnetic signal sources located or detectable within the indoor region and/or to obtain the positions of one or more electromagnetic signal sources located or detectable within the indoor region.

49. Data processing apparatus according to claim 46 wherein the positioning system module is configured to:

receive electromagnetic signals transmitted by one or more electromagnetic signal sources;

obtain electromagnetic signal source data relating to the one or more electromagnetic signal sources, the said electromagnetic signal source data comprising the positions of the said one or more electromagnetic signal sources; and

process the received electromagnetic signals or data derived therefrom, the obtained electromagnetic signal source data and the retrieved data from the database of location specific geographical descriptive data to estimate the position of the device.

50. Data processing apparatus according to claim 28 wherein the location data comprises a provisional estimated position of a or the device, and wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to adjust the provisional estimated position of the device in accordance with the retrieved data.

51. Data processing apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the positioning system module is configured to perform the said pattern recognition algorithm(s).

52. Data processing apparatus according to claim 51 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to transmit a reference movement pattern to the positioning system module in response to a determination that the estimated position of the device is within a said predefined zone.

53. Data processing apparatus according to claim 52 wherein the pattern recognition algorithm comprises:

comparing movement of the device to the said reference movement pattern to determine whether the device has passed through or interacted with the topological feature associated with the reference movement pattern.

54. Data processing apparatus according to claim 53 wherein the geographical descriptive data processing module is configured to adjust the estimated position of the device taking into account the retrieved data in response to a determination that the device has passed through or interacted with the said topological feature.

55. Data processing apparatus according to claim 36 wherein the pattern recognition algorithm comprises a turning point detection algorithm.

56. Data processing apparatus according to claim 36 wherein the pattern recognition algorithm comprises a floor-change detection algorithm.

58. A computer readable medium storing computer executable code which when executed on a data processing apparatus causes the data processing apparatus to perform in accordance with the data processing apparatus of claim 28.

59. A mobile device comprising the data processing apparatus according to claim 28.