Self-configuring wireless network location system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a wireless signal transmitted by a transceiver device;
storing a signal strength indication for the received wireless signal;
determining a location of each one of a plurality of air monitors; and
determining a location of the transceiver device by correlating the determined location of one of the plurality of air monitors with a corresponding retrieved signal strength indication for the transceiver device, the correlating comprising;
commanding each of the plurality of air monitors to broadcast a probe signal;
storing, by each of the plurality of air monitors, probe signal strength indicators of received probe signals transmitted by each other of the plurality of air monitors; and
generating a profile based on the probe signal strength indicators and the determined locations of each of the plurality of air monitors.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Wireless adapters are installed on one or more general purpose computing devices and are connected via a network in an enterprise environment. The adapters are densely deployed at known locations throughout the environment and are configured as air monitors. The air monitors monitor signals transmitted by one or more transceiver devices and records information about these signals. One or more analysis or inference engines may be deployed to obtain the recorded signal information and the air monitor locations to determine a location of the one or more wireless transceivers devices deployed in the environment.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method comprising:
-
receiving a wireless signal transmitted by a transceiver device; storing a signal strength indication for the received wireless signal; determining a location of each one of a plurality of air monitors; and determining a location of the transceiver device by correlating the determined location of one of the plurality of air monitors with a corresponding retrieved signal strength indication for the transceiver device, the correlating comprising; commanding each of the plurality of air monitors to broadcast a probe signal; storing, by each of the plurality of air monitors, probe signal strength indicators of received probe signals transmitted by each other of the plurality of air monitors; and generating a profile based on the probe signal strength indicators and the determined locations of each of the plurality of air monitors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A system comprising:
-
a plurality of transceiver devices configured to each transmit a wireless signal including an identifier of the source of the signal; a plurality of air monitors to receive the wireless signal and to store the identifier and a signal strength indication of the wireless signal transmitted by one or more of the plurality of transceiver devices; and an inference engine to receive the identifier and the corresponding signal strength, to retrieve a predetermined location for each of the air monitors, and to determine a physical location of the transceiver device by correlating the retrieved location with the signal strength indications, the correlating comprising; storing, by each of the plurality of air monitors, probe signal strength indicators of received probe signals transmitted by each other of the plurality of air monitors; and generating a profile based on the probe signal strength indicators and the predetermined location for each of the air monitors. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
-
-
15. A computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform acts comprising:
-
storing locations of a plurality of air monitors that each are operable to receive a wireless signal transmitted by a transceiver device and store in records in a data store a signal strength of the signal along with identification data identifying the transceiver device that transmitted the signal; retrieving from the data store the stored signal strength indications for records with the same identification data; and determining a location of the transceiver device as a function of the determined locations of the plurality of air monitors and the retrieved signal strength indications, the determining a location of the transceiver device comprising generating a profile based on; probe signals transmitted and received by each of the plurality of air monitors; and the locations of the plurality of air monitors. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A method comprising:
-
receiving a wireless signal transmitted by a transceiver device; storing a signal strength indication for the received wireless signal; determining a location of each one of a plurality of air monitors; and determining a location of the transceiver device by correlating the determined location of one of the plurality of air monitors with a corresponding signal strength indication for the transceiver device comprising; receiving instructions via a network by each of the plurality of air monitors to broadcast probe packets; recording probe packets from each broadcasting air monitor by each of the plurality of air monitors; determining, by each of the plurality of air monitors, a signal strength of packets received from each broadcasting air monitor; reporting, by each of the plurality of air monitors, the signal strength for each other of the plurality of air monitors; fitting a set of curves between points associated with distance and signal strength for each of the plurality of air monitors; selecting a curve from the set of curves with the best fit between the points to create a profile for an enterprise environment of the plurality of air monitors; setting an initial location of the transceiver device based on the signal strength of the signal from the transceiver device as indicated by some of the plurality of air monitors; selecting the one of the plurality of air monitors that has the strongest retrieved signal strength indication for the transceiver device; and adjusting the initial location to minimize an error by setting a distance between the one of the plurality of air monitors and the transceiver device based on an intersection of the corresponding signal strength for the air monitor as received from the transceiver device and the curve, and modifying the initial location using the set distance, wherein the error is the difference between a signal strength indication that the some of the plurality of air monitors received from the transceiver device and an estimate of a signal strength indication that the some of the plurality of air monitors were estimated to have received from the transceiver device as determined from an evaluation of the curve associated with the profile.
-
Specification