ULTRASOUND-BASED LOCALIZATION OF CLIENT DEVICES WITH INERTIAL NAVIGATION SUPPLEMENT IN DISTRIBUTED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND RELATED DEVICES AND METHODS
First Claim
1. A client device configured to communicate in a distributed communication system, comprising:
- a controller;
an ultrasound receiver coupled to the controller, the ultrasound receiver configured to receive ultrasound pulses over at least one microphone; and
a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to the controller, the RF transceiver configured to wirelessly receive and transmit RF communication signals over at least one antenna;
an inertial navigation system (INS) operatively coupled to the controller;
the controller configured to;
calculate a position using received ultrasound signals; and
use the INS to calculate a second position from the first position when the received ultrasound signals are below a predefined threshold.
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Abstract
Spatially located ultrasound beacons are provided in known locations within a distributed communication system. The ultrasound beacons are configured to emit ultrasound pulses that can be received by client devices in ultrasound communication range of the beacons. The client devices are configured to analyze the received ultrasound pulses from the beacons to determine their time-difference of arrival and as a result, their location(s) within the distributed communication system. The client devices comprise inertial navigation systems (INS) that calculate client device location as the client device moves, and when received ultrasound signals are below a predefined threshold.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A client device configured to communicate in a distributed communication system, comprising:
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a controller; an ultrasound receiver coupled to the controller, the ultrasound receiver configured to receive ultrasound pulses over at least one microphone; and a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to the controller, the RF transceiver configured to wirelessly receive and transmit RF communication signals over at least one antenna; an inertial navigation system (INS) operatively coupled to the controller; the controller configured to; calculate a position using received ultrasound signals; and use the INS to calculate a second position from the first position when the received ultrasound signals are below a predefined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of a RF communication client device configured to communicate in a distributed communication system for determining location within the distributed communication system, comprising:
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calculating a first position using ultrasound signals received at the client device; and calculating a second position using an inertial navigation system within the client device when a signal strength of the ultrasound signals falls below a predefined threshold, wherein calculating the first position comprises; recording sound received from a plurality of ultrasound beacons over at least one microphone over a defined period of time; filtering the recorded sound about at least one ultrasound beacon frequency; recovering a plurality of ultrasound pulses from the filtered recorded sound emitted from a plurality of ultrasound beacons in the distributed communication system; performing a time-difference-of-arrival analysis on the recovered plurality of ultrasound pulses; and determining a relative distance of the RF communication client device to the plurality of ultrasound beacons. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification