Aggregating location accuracy data to estimate accuracy of a wireless locating system

• US 7,634,266 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2005
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intrado Life & Safety Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Pivotpoint Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: McDougall, Jeff, Durrant, Jeff
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ajayi; Joel
• Application Number:
  US11/255,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20070093257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Location determination accuracy in a mobile telecommunications environment can be estimated based on location determination accuracy data for multiple empirical test calls in a geographic region. A location of a wireless station for each test call is determined using one of multiple wireless locating techniques, and an approximate ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls is identified. Subscriber call data relating to location estimates determined using one of the wireless locating techniques is received. Location determination accuracy in the geographic region is estimated by combining the subscriber call data according to the identified ratio. To facilitate determinations of locating accuracy, the geographic region is logically segmented into multiple areas. Each area is associated with a performance profile that relates to a locating accuracy performance. Location determination accuracy is estimated based on one or more areas associated with each wireless call in the geographic region.

Claims

1. A method, comprising one or more operations implemented by a computer, for ascertaining location determination accuracy in a mobile telecommunications environment, the method comprising:

obtaining location determination accuracy data for a plurality of empirical test calls in a geographic region, a location of a wireless station for each test call determined using at least one of a plurality of wireless locating techniques;

identifying at least an approximate ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls, wherein the identified ratio is based on a comparison of a number of empirical test calls that use a first wireless locating technique with a number of empirical test calls that use at least one other wireless locating technique;

receiving data relating to subscriber calls involving wireless telecommunication devices in the geographic region, the data including information relating to location estimates determined using at least one of the wireless locating techniques; and

automatically estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region by combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the identified ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls is determined based on at least an approximate percentage of the empirical test calls that use each wireless locating technique; and

combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio comprises weighting data relating to subscriber calls that use each wireless locating technique using a corresponding percentage.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the data relating to subscriber calls includes an estimated position error and an identification of a wireless locating technique for each subscriber call.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the data relating to subscriber calls further includes information relating to at least one network operation, the method further comprising identifying subscriber call candidates for use in estimating location determination accuracy based on the information relating to at least one network operation.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the location determination accuracy data for each empirical test call comprises a difference between an actual location associated with the test call and an estimated position determined using a wireless locating technique for the test call, the method further comprising:

determining an error bias between the difference and an estimated position error for each test call; and

adjusting the estimated position error for the subscriber calls according to the error bias to estimate location determination accuracy.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

segmenting the geographic region into a plurality of areas, each area associated with one of a plurality of location-estimating performance types;

identifying at least an approximate ratio among the location-estimating performance types; and

weighting at least one of the location determination accuracy data for the empirical test calls or portions of the data relating to the subscriber calls according to the identified performance type ratio to estimate location determination accuracy, wherein weighting is based on at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising identifying the at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call based on the performance type of the areas within an error range of an estimated position.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region further comprises combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio and at least partially based on a volume of subscriber calls.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region further comprises combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio and at least partially based on a volume of subscriber calls in the geographic region.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein weighting is further based on a volume of subscriber calls in each area.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a tangible machine-readable medium storing instructions for causing one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations for ascertaining location determination accuracy in a mobile telecommunications environment, the operations comprising:

receiving location determination accuracy data for a plurality of empirical test calls in a geographic region, a location of a wireless station for each test call determined using at least one of a plurality of wireless locating techniques;

identifying at least an approximate ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls, wherein the identified ratio is based on a comparison of a number of empirical test calls that use a first wireless locating technique with a number of empirical test calls that use at least one other wireless locating technique;

receiving data relating to subscriber calls involving wireless telecommunication devices in the geographic region, the data including information relating to location estimates determined using at least one of the wireless locating techniques; and

estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region by combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls.

12. The article of claim 11 wherein:

the identified ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls is determined based on at least an approximate percentage of the empirical test calls that use each wireless locating technique; and

combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio using weighting data relating to a percentage of subscriber calls that use each wireless locating technique.

13. The article of claim 11 wherein the data relating to subscriber calls includes an estimated position error and an identification of a wireless locating technique for each subscriber call.

14. The article of claim 13 wherein the data relating to subscriber calls further includes information relating to at least one network operation, the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising identifying subscriber call candidates for use in estimating location determination accuracy based on the information relating to at least one network operation.

15. The article of claim 13 wherein the location determination accuracy data for each empirical test call comprises a difference between an actual location associated with the test call and an estimated position determined using a wireless locating technique for the test call, the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising:

determining an error bias between the difference and an estimated position error for each test call; and

adjusting the estimated position error for the subscriber calls according to the error bias to estimate location determination accuracy.

16. The article of claim 11 wherein the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising:

segmenting the geographic region into a plurality of areas, each area associated with one of a plurality of location-estimating performance types;

identifying at least an approximate ratio among the location-estimating performance types; and

weighting at least one of the location determination accuracy data for the empirical test calls or portions of the data relating to the subscriber calls according to the identified performance type ratio to estimate location determination accuracy, wherein weighting is based on at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call.

17. The article of claim 16 wherein the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising identifying the at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call based on the performance type of the areas within an error range of an estimated position.

18. The article of claim 11 wherein estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region further comprises combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio and at least partially based on a volume of subscriber calls.

19. The article of claim 11 wherein estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region further comprises combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio and at least partially based on a volume of subscriber calls in the geographic region.

20. The article of claim 16 wherein weighting is further based on a volume of subscriber calls in each area.

21. A system for ascertaining location determination accuracy in a mobile telecommunications environment, the system comprising:

a memory comprising one or more modules; and

a processor configured to execute one or more of the modules to;

receive location determination accuracy data for a plurality of empirical test calls in a geographic region, a location of a wireless station for each test call determined using at least one of a plurality of wireless locating techniques;

identify at least an approximate ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls, wherein the identified ratio is based on a comparison of a number of empirical test calls that use a first wireless locating technique with a number of empirical test calls that use at least one other wireless locating technique;

receive data relating to subscriber calls in the geographic region, the data including information relating to location estimates determined using at least one of the wireless locating techniques; and

estimate location determination accuracy in the geographic region by combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio of wireless locating techniques for the empirical test calls.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the data relating to subscriber calls further includes information relating to at least one network operation, the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising identifying subscriber call candidates for use in estimating location determination accuracy based on the information relating to at least one network operation.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the location determination accuracy data for each empirical test call comprises a difference between an actual location associated with the test call and an estimated position determined using a wireless locating technique for the test call, the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising:

determining an error bias between the difference and an estimated position error for each test call; and

adjusting the estimated position error for the subscriber calls according to the error bias to estimate location determination accuracy.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising:

segmenting the geographic region into a plurality of areas, each area associated with one of a plurality of location-estimating performance types;

identifying at least an approximate ratio among the location-estimating performance types; and

weighting at least one of the location determination accuracy data for the empirical test calls or portions of the data relating to the subscriber calls according to the identified performance type ratio to estimate location determination accuracy, wherein weighting is based on at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call.

25. The system of claim 21 wherein the instructions further operable to cause one or more data apparatus to perform operations comprising identifying the at least one performance type associated with each empirical test call or subscriber call based on the performance type of the areas within an error range of an estimated position.

26. The system of claim 21 wherein estimating location determination accuracy in the geographic region further comprises combining at least portions of the data relating to subscriber calls according to the identified ratio and at least partially based on a volume of subscriber calls.

27. The system of claim 21 wherein weighting is further based on a volume of subscriber calls in an each area.