Sensor node positioning for location determination

• US 8,774,829 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2010
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Farley, Richard O., Kaleas, Dimosthenis, Giorgetti, Gianni
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Chuong A
• Application Number:
  US12/837,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20120015665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 705/12, 705/22, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.4, 455/13.4, 455/522, 455571-574
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0257 Hybrid positioning by coordinating position lines of different shape G01S5/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices are described for determining a physical location of a wireless device. A receiver may be configured to receive associations between anchor locations and sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communications to identify an anchor location. The receiver may also receive signal strength measurements from the wireless device measuring the signal strength of wireless sensor nodes. Arrangements may also be configured to determine physical locations of the sensor nodes based on physical locations of anchor locations and utilize received signal strength measurements with the determined physical locations of the sensor nodes to determine the physical location of the wireless device.

Claims

1. A server computer system for determining a physical location of a wireless device, the system comprising:

memory configured to store a mapping of physical locations of a plurality of anchor locations;

a receiver configured to;

receive a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communications to identify the associated anchor location; and

receive signal strength measurements from the wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions sent to the wireless device from the selected sensor nodes, the wireless device comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless so that the wireless device wirelessly transmits, only when the wireless device is in motion, the signal strength measurements to the server computer system, wherein the selected sensor nodes are further configured to receive, from the respective anchor locations associated with the selected sensor nodes, the near field communications to identify the respective anchor locations; and

a positioning engine, communicatively coupled with the memory and the receiver, and configured to;

determine a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based at least in part on the mapping; and

utilize the received signal strength measurements with the determined physical locations of the selected sensor nodes to determine the physical location of the wireless device.

2. The server computer system of claim 1, wherein the positioning engine is further configured to track the physical location of the wireless device from a first physical location to a second physical location.

3. The server computer system of claim 1, further comprising an external interface configured to output the physical location of the wireless device determined by the positioning engine substantially in real time.

4. The server computer system of claim 1, further comprising an external interface configured to output the physical location of the wireless device positioned on a layout of a physical area, wherein each of the physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations are linked to a location on the layout of the physical area.

5. The server computer system of claim 1, wherein the near field communications utilize an RFID tag to identify the associated anchor location.

6. The server computer system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system is in communication with a coordinator module configured to receive the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes from the selected sensor nodes.

7. The server computer system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes are transmitted by the coordinator module to the receiver module via at least one power line.

8. The server computer system of claim 1, wherein the receiver module is further configured to receive elevation measurements from the wireless device.

9. The server computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of anchor locations are coupled with electrical outlets and the plurality of sensor nodes are configured to be plugged into electrical outlets.

10. A method of determining physical locations of sensor nodes, the method comprising:

storing, by a computer system, a mapping of physical locations of a plurality of anchor locations;

receiving, by the computer system, a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communications to identify the associated anchor location;

receiving, by the computer system, signal strength measurements from a wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions sent to the wireless device from the selected sensor nodes, the wireless device comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless so that the wireless device wirelessly transmits, only when the wireless device is in motion, the signal strength measurements to the computer system, wherein the selected sensor nodes are further configured to receive, from the respective anchor locations associated with the selected sensor nodes, the near field communications to identify the respective anchor locations; and

determining, by the computer system, a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based on the mapping.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising tracking the physical location of the wireless device from a first physical location to a second physical location.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising outputting the physical location of the wireless device determined by the positioning engine substantially in real time.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising outputting the physical location of the wireless device positioned on a layout of a physical area, wherein each of the physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations is linked to a location on the layout of the physical area.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the near field communications utilize an RFID tag to identify the associated anchor location.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes from the selected sensor nodes.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes are transmitted via at least one power line.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving elevation measurements from the wireless device.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving barometric sensor measurements from a subset of the plurality of sensor nodes, wherein the subset of nodes have barometric pressure sensors to establish a reference elevation measurement for use with the received elevation measurements.

19. A computer program product residing on a processor-readable non-transitory storage medium and comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to:

store a mapping of physical locations of a plurality of anchor locations;

receive a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communication to identify the associated anchor location;

receive signal strength measurements from a wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions sent to the wireless device from the selected sensor nodes, the wireless device comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless so that the wireless device wirelessly transmits, only when the wireless device is in motion, the signal strength measurements to the processor, wherein the selected sensor nodes are further configured to receive, from the respective anchor locations associated with the selected sensor nodes, the near field communications to identify the respective anchor locations;

determine a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based on the mapping; and

determine a physical location of the wireless device, wherein the determination utilizes the received signal strength measurements with the determined physical locations of the selected sensor nodes.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to track the physical location of the wireless device from a first physical location to a second physical location.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to output the physical location of the wireless device determined by the positioning engine substantially in real time.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to output the physical location of the wireless device positioned on a layout of a physical area, wherein each of the physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations are linked to a location on the layout of the physical area.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the near field communications utilize an RFID tag to identify the associated anchor location.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to receive the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes from the selected sensor nodes.

25. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to receive elevation measurements from the wireless device.

26. A computing device for determining a physical location of a wireless device, the computing device comprising:

means for storing a mapping of physical locations of a plurality of anchor locations;

means for receiving a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communication to identify the associated anchor location;

means for receiving signal strength measurements from the wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions sent to the wireless device from the selected sensor nodes, the wireless device comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless so that the wireless device wirelessly transmits, only when the wireless device is in motion, the signal strength measurements to the computing device, wherein the selected sensor nodes are further configured to receive, from the respective anchor locations associated with the selected sensor nodes, the near field communications to identify the respective anchor locations;

means for determining a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based on the mapping; and

means for determining the physical location of the wireless device, wherein the determination utilizes the received signal strength measurements with the determined physical locations of the selected sensor nodes.

27. The computing device of claim 26, further comprising means for tracking the physical location of the wireless device from a first physical location to a second physical location.

28. The computing device of claim 26, further comprising means for outputting the physical location of the wireless device determined by the positioning engine substantially in real time.

29. The computing device of claim 26, further comprising means for outputting the physical location of the wireless device positioned on a layout of a physical area, wherein each of the physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations is linked to a location on the layout of the physical area.

30. The computing device of claim 26, further comprising means for receiving the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes from the selected sensor nodes.

31. The computing device of claim 26, further comprising:

means for receiving pressure sensor measurements from the wireless device and from a subset of the plurality of sensor nodes; and

means for calculating elevation measurements using the received measurements.

32. The computing device of claim 26, wherein the plurality of anchor locations coupled with electrical outlets and the plurality of sensor nodes are configured to be plugged into electrical outlets.

33. A system for determining a physical location of a wireless device, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes is configured to;

identify an associated anchor location using near field communications;

transmit an association between a mapped anchor location and the sensor node to a computer system; and

transmit wireless transmissions to the wireless device;

the wireless device, comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to;

disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless;

receive wireless transmissions from selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes only when the wireless device is in motion; and

wirelessly transmit, only when the wireless device is in motion, signal strength measurements, to the computer system measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions from the selected sensor nodes; and

the computer system, configured to;

store a mapping of physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations;

receive a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes;

receive the signal strength measurements from the wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions from the selected sensor nodes;

determine a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based on the association between the mapped anchor location and the sensor node; and

determine the physical location of the wireless device, wherein the determination utilizes the received signal strength measurements and the determined physical locations of the selected sensor nodes.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein a positioning engine of the computer system is further configured to track the physical location of the wireless device from a first physical location to a second physical location.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the computer system further comprises an external interface configured to output the physical location of the wireless device determined by the positioning engine substantially in real-time.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the computer system further comprises an external interface configured to output the physical location of the wireless device positioned on a layout of a physical area, wherein each of the physical locations of the plurality of anchor locations is linked to a location on the layout of the physical area.

37. The system of claim 33, wherein the near field communications utilize an RFID tag to identify the associated anchor location.

38. The system of claim 33, the system further comprising a coordinator module configured to receive the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes from the selected sensor nodes.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the plurality of associations between each of at least the subset of mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of the plurality of sensor nodes are transmitted by the coordinator module to the receiver module via at least one power line.

40. The system of claim 33, wherein the receiver module of the computer system is further configured to receive elevation measurements from the wireless device.

41. The system of claim 33, wherein the plurality of anchor locations are electrical outlets and the plurality of sensor nodes are configured to be plugged into electrical outlets.

42. A method of determining physical locations of sensor nodes, the method comprising:

storing, by a computer system, a mapping of physical locations of a plurality of anchor locations;

receiving, by the computer system, a plurality of associations between each of at least a subset of the mapped anchor locations and selected sensor nodes of a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein each sensor node uses near field communications to identify the associated anchor location;

receiving, by the computer system, signal strength measurements from a wireless device measuring the signal strength at the wireless device of wireless transmissions sent to the wireless device from the selected sensor nodes, the wireless device comprising a wireless device receiver and a wireless device transmitter and configured to disable the wireless device receiver and the wireless device transmitter at least when the wireless device is motionless so that the wireless device wirelessly transmits, only when the wireless device is in motion, the signal strength measurements to the computer system, wherein the selected sensor nodes are further configured to receive, from the respective anchor locations associated with the selected sensor nodes, the near field communications to identify the respective anchor locations;

determining, by the computer system, a physical location for each of the selected sensor nodes based on the mapping; and

determining, by the computer system, a physical location of the wireless device, wherein the determination utilizes the received signal strength measurements with the determined physical locations of the selected sensor nodes.