Methods and devices for adjusting the precision of location information

• US 8,612,756 B1
• Filed: 04/11/2013
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Brown, Jeff, Pelly, Nicholas Julian, Ghosh, Angana, Meier, Reto, Zelinka, Stephen David, Kadous, Mohammed Waleed
• Primary Examiner(s): Yalew, Fikremariam A
• Application Number:
  US13/861,152
• Time in Patent Office: 250 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/166
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Certain embodiments of this disclosure include methods and devices for adjusting the precision of location information. According to one embodiment, a method is provided. The method may include: obtaining a request for location information from an application; determining that the location information needs to be adjusted; obtaining the location information; adjusting the location information, wherein the adjusting includes: (i) adding noise to the location information to obtain noisy location information, (ii) discretizing the noisy location information to obtain discretized location information, and (iii) hysteresizing the discretized location information to obtain adjusted location information. The adjusted location information may then be provided to the requesting application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining, by a processing device, a request for location information from an application;

determining, by the processing device, that the location information needs to be adjusted;

obtaining, by the processing device, the location information; and

adjusting, by the processing device, the location information, wherein the adjusting comprises;

adding noise to the location information to obtain noisy location information;

discretizing the noisy location information to obtain discretized location information; and

hysteresizing the discretized location information to obtain adjusted location information; and

providing, by the processing device, the adjusted location information to the application.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining application clearance level information; and

wherein adjusting the location information further comprises adjusting the location information based on the application clearance level information.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the application clearance level information comprises information describing a maximum precision level of the location information that may be provided to respective one or more applications.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adding noise to the location information comprises applying an algorithm to the location information, wherein the algorithm is configured to add a random distribution to the location information.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adding noise to the location information comprises:

adding a first noise value to the location information, wherein the first noise value is associated with a first weight; and

adding a second noise value to the location information that is different than the first noise value, wherein the second noise value is associated with a second weight that is different than the first weight.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein discretizing the noisy location information comprises rounding the noisy location information to a predefined number of significant figures.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein hysteresizing the discretized location information comprises determining whether the discretized location information has remained consistent over a period of time.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the location information comprises integrating sensor-based location information from a plurality of sensors.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the adjusted location information to one or more applications other than the application that requested the location information.

10. A computing device comprising:

a location determining module configured to obtain location information;

a precision adjustment module operatively connected to the location determining module, wherein the precision adjustment module is configured to adjust the location information by;

adding noise to the location information to provide noisy location information;

discretizing the noisy location information to provide discretized location information; and

hysteresizing the discretized location information to provide adjusted location information.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the precision adjustment module is further configured to:

obtain application clearance level information; and

adjust the location information based on the application clearance level information.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the application clearance level information comprises information describing a maximum precision level of the location information that may be provided to respective one or more applications.

13. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the precision adjustment module is configured to add noise to the location information by applying an algorithm to the location information, wherein the algorithm is configured to add a random distribution to the location information.

14. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the precision adjustment module is configured to add noise to the location information by:

adding a first noise value to the location information, wherein the first noise value is associated with a first weight; and

adding a second noise value to the location information that is different than the first noise value, wherein the second noise value is associated with a second weight that is different than the first weight.

15. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the precision adjustment module is configured to discretize the noisy location information by rounding the noisy location information to a predefined number of significant figures.

16. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the precision adjustment module is configured to hysteresize the discretized location information by determining whether the discretized location information has remained consistent over a period of time.

17. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the location determining module comprises a plurality of sensors, and wherein the location determining module is configured to obtain the location information by integrating sensor-based location information from the plurality of sensors.

18. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising an algorithm adapted to effectuate a method comprising:

obtaining location information; and

adjusting the location information by;

adding noise to the location information to provide noisy location information;

discretizing the noisy location information to provide discretized location information; and

hysteresizing the discretized location information to provide adjusted location information.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the algorithm is adapted to effectuate the method further comprising:

obtaining application clearance level information; and

wherein adjusting the location information further comprises adjusting the location information based on the application clearance level information.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the application clearance level information comprises information describing a maximum precision level of the location information that may be provided to respective one or more applications.