Learning, storing, analyzing, and reasoning about the loss of location-identifying signals
First Claim
1. A system that facilitates shadow mapping, comprising:
- a processing component that receives and processes location information from a plurality of wireless receiving devices that generate the location information based at least in part on GPS signals, the location information received from each wireless receiving device of the plurality of wireless receiving devices indicating locations of the wireless receiving device upon entering and exiting an area of interruption or total blockage of the GPS signals; and
an analysis component that generates a shadow map of a communications shadow based on the location information, the shadow map representing areas of interruption or total blockage of the GPS signals, and the analysis component comprising at least one processor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A location-centric signal shadow mapping and storing architecture that creates maps where signals, such as GPS, cannot be seen with ease because of natural or synthetic features such as groups of tall buildings. Such maps are used with other information, such as the dynamics of the sensed velocity that had been seen before the loss of the signals, to reason about the location and likely activities being carried out by one or more people. Inferences can be made based on information about organizations and services associated with structures and locations proximal to the locations where signals were lost. Also, such reasoning can be used to turn off or to reduce the power consumed by the receivers of the location information, potentially with the joint use of accelerometers to identify when significant accelerations occur.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system that facilitates shadow mapping, comprising:
-
a processing component that receives and processes location information from a plurality of wireless receiving devices that generate the location information based at least in part on GPS signals, the location information received from each wireless receiving device of the plurality of wireless receiving devices indicating locations of the wireless receiving device upon entering and exiting an area of interruption or total blockage of the GPS signals; and an analysis component that generates a shadow map of a communications shadow based on the location information, the shadow map representing areas of interruption or total blockage of the GPS signals, and the analysis component comprising at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of operating a computing system to generating a data store of shadow maps for determining context of wireless communications devices, the method comprising:
with at least one processor; receiving device location data from a plurality of wireless communications devices that move in relation to a GPS shadow, the GPS shadow representing areas of interruption or total blockage of GPS signals, and the device location data from each wireless communications device indicating locations of the wireless communications device upon entering and exiting the GPS shadow; analyzing the device location data to determine features of the GPS shadow; processing the features to generate a map of the GPS shadow; storing the map in a data store; relating an organization to a location within the GPS shadow; inferring that a wireless communication device of the plurality of wireless communication devices has entered the organization based on a loss of GPS signal near the location; and inferring an activity of a user of the wireless communication device based on a type of the organization related to the location. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
19. A system that generates a data store of shadow maps, comprising:
a server comprising at least one processor implementing; means for receiving device data from a plurality of wireless communications devices that indicates a presence or absence of GPS signals; means for analyzing the presence or absence of the GPS signals to determine a location of a GPS shadow, the GPS shadow representing areas of interruption or total blockage of GPS signals; means for computing a dimension of the GPS shadow based on the presence or absence of the GPS signals; means for generating a map of the GPS shadow in relation to a shadow-producing structure; and means for storing the map in a data store. - View Dependent Claims (20)
Specification