Method and apparatus for utilizing RF signals to create a site specific representation of an environment

• US 7,773,995 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore, Skidmore, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild; Joseph H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Huy D
• Application Number:
  US11/405,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20070099622A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,576 Days
• Field of Search: 455/446, 455/452.2, 455/422.1, 455/423, 455/424
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/04 Systems determining presence of a target based on relative movement of target G01S13/56
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00

Abstract

A system and method for creating a site specific representation of an environment are disclosed. The system and method comprise sending an RF signal and receiving a reflected RF signal. Based upon determining characteristics of the reflected RF signal, characteristics of an obstruction in the environment are computed. Finally, a site specific representation of the environment based upon the computed characteristics is created.

Claims

1. A method for creating a site specific representation of a wireless communication environment, the method comprising:

sending an RF signal into the wireless communication environment that is to be represented;

receiving a reflected RF signal;

determining characteristics of the reflected RF signal;

computing characteristics of a plurality of encountered obstructions in the wireless communication environment based upon the determined characteristics of the reflected RF signal, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises any structures in the physical environment that affect the RF signal;

creating a site specific representation of the wireless communication environment based upon the computed characteristics, wherein the step of creating a site specific representation further comprises translating the characteristics of the plurality of encountered obstructions into a computerized model of the wireless communication environment by converting the encountered obstructions into a polygonal planer surface; and

placing the polygonal planer surface on a virtual coordinate system representation of the wireless communication environment.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the site specific representation comprises electromagnetic attributes integrated with the physical wireless communication environment.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the site specific representation comprises electromagnetic attributes of the obstruction.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of computing characteristics comprises computing a location of the obstruction in the wireless communication environment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the site specific representation is stored in computer aided design format.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of utilizing the created site specific representation to optimize the operations of a wireless communication environment.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the characteristics of the reflected RF signals comprises at least one of path loss, time delay, signal strength, angle of arrival, phase, time of arrival, reflection coefficient, attenuation, and scattering.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating the site specific representations of the wireless communication environment based upon the computed characteristics as obstructions are moved throughout the site.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises a plurality of:

walls, furniture, vehicles, buildings, windows, or trees.

10. A system for creating a site specific representation of a wireless communication environment, the system comprising:

a wireless element comprising sending and receiving RF signal functionality;

a controller that determines characteristics of a plurality of encountered obstructions in the wireless communication environment from receiving reflected RF signals that are received in response to sent RF signals, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises any structures in the physical environment that affect the RF signals; and

a site specific representation created by the controller from the determined characteristics of the obstruction comprising electromagnetic attributes integrated with the physical wireless communication environment;

wherein the controller is in communication with the wireless element, and wherein the site specific representation further comprises translations of the characteristics of the obstruction into a computerized model of the wireless communication environment in which the obstruction is converted into a polygonal planer surface, the polygonal planer surface being placed on a virtual coordinate system representation of the wireless communication environment.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the wireless element comprises at least one of a) co-located transmitters and a receiver, b) a transceiver, and c) transmitters and a receiver at different locations.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the reflected RF signals are at least one of a) simple carrier waves, b) modulated RF signals, and c) multi-carrier RF signals.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the site specific representation comprises a computer readable format that exists in at least one of the following formats:

RAM, DRAM, electric and magnetic media.

14. The system of claim 10 further comprising a network switch in control of the controller.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the wireless element comprises timing functionality to periodically send RF signals to perform sounding measurements, wherein sounding measurements comprises sending RF signals and receiving reflected RF signals to determine characteristics of the received reflected RF signals.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the wireless element comprises adjustable antennas for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

17. The system of claim 10 wherein the controller comprises a processor for computing characteristics of the determined obstruction.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises a plurality of:

walls, furniture, vehicles, buildings, windows, or trees.

19. A system for creating a site specific representation of a wireless communication environment, the system comprising:

means for sending an RF signal into the wireless communication environment that is to be represented;

means for receiving a reflected RF signal;

means for determining characteristics of the reflected RF signal;

means for computing characteristics of a plurality of encountered obstructions in the wireless communication environment based upon the determined characteristics of the reflected RF signal, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises any structures in the physical environment that affect the RF signal; and

means for creating a site specific representation of the wireless communication environment based upon the computed characteristics wherein the means for creating a site specific representation further comprises translating the characteristics of the obstruction into a computerized model of the wireless communication environment by converting the obstruction into a polygonal planer surface; and

placing the polygonal planer surface on a virtual coordinate system representation of the wireless communication environment.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the means for sending and the means for receiving adhere to a wireless communications protocol.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the site specific representation comprises computer aided drawings of the wireless communication environment.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the plurality of encountered obstructions comprises a plurality of:

walls, furniture, vehicles, buildings, windows, or trees.