Accurate stepmeter for location-based services
First Claim
1. A system for determining the progress of a pedestrian relative to a starting point, comprising:
- a first footstep sensor;
a second footstep sensor in radio communication with the first sensor via a short-range radio link, wherein the sensors are operable according to a short-range radio protocol providing for mutual radio-link length determination; and
a processor coupled to receive radio-link length information from the first step sensor and the second step sensor to determine progress information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining the progress and position of a pedestrian. The shoes of the user are each provided with communicating sensors. The sensors sense when a step has been taken and communicate with each other through Bluetooth, 802.11b, or some other such short-range wireless protocol. This communication includes a distance measurement, and the distance between sensors is calculated and stored with each step, the sensors being in communication with a central processor for this purpose. The sensors also determine their own orientation and their orientation relative to the other sensor, communicating this directional information to the central processor as well. The direction information is used to calculate the direction of travel and, combined with the accumulated distance measurements, the position of a user.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for determining the progress of a pedestrian relative to a starting point, comprising:
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a first footstep sensor;
a second footstep sensor in radio communication with the first sensor via a short-range radio link, wherein the sensors are operable according to a short-range radio protocol providing for mutual radio-link length determination; and
a processor coupled to receive radio-link length information from the first step sensor and the second step sensor to determine progress information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for determining the progress of a pedestrian from a starting location, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a first step sensor proximate to one foot of the pedestrian;
providing a second step sensor proximate to the other foot of the pedestrian;
the second step sensor for radio communication with the first sensor via a short-range radio link, wherein the sensors are operable according to a short-range radio protocol providing for mutual radio-link length determination;
detecting that a footstep has been taken;
analyzing, upon detecting that a footstep has been taken, radio signals transmitted between the first step sensor and the second step sensor to mutually determine the distance between them;
recording the determined distance in a memory device; and
repeating the detecting, analyzing, and recording steps until the pedestrian has reached an ending location, wherein the recording step includes calculating a cumulative distance and recording at least the cumulative distance. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification