Concept of generating experience messages for updating a reference database

• US 8,866,674 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Original Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Inventors: Meyer, Steffen, Vaupel, Thorsten, Haimerl, Stephan, Loidl, Karin, Hupp, Juergen, Mueller, Frank, Zahonyi, Renata Kitti
• Primary Examiner(s): LIU, HARRY K
• Application Number:
  US13/445,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20130342400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 342/451
• US Class Current: 342/451
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02524 Creating or updating the radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

At a current position, a measurement packet is determined by a mobile terminal device at a measurement time. The measurement packet includes transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the current position of the mobile terminal device at the measurement time. By means of reference measurement packets provided to the mobile terminal device, the mobile terminal device itself can determine its current position. Additionally, a deviation of the determined transmitter identifications of the measurement packet from reference transmitter identifications of the reference measurement packets is determined. If a deviation of the reference transmitter identifications from the transmitter identifications determined at the current position is detected, experience messages can be generated that can again result in an update measure as, for example, updating the reference database by adding new transmitter identifications to the reference database and/or removing obsolete reference transmitter identifications from the reference database.

Claims

1. An apparatus for updating a reference database comprising reference measurement packets associated with geographical reference positions, which comprise reference transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the reference position at the reference times, determined at the respective geographical reference positions at reference times, comprising:

a determiner for determining a current measurement packet at a current geographical position at a current time, wherein the current measurement packet comprises transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the current geographical position at the current time;

a selector for selecting an amount of reference measurement packets exceeding a predetermined measure of correspondence to the current measurement packet, wherein the amount of selected reference measurement packets comprises a reference measurement packet or a plurality of reference measurement packets;

a storer for storing that is implemented to store transmitter identifications received prior to the current time and after a last update of the reference database in an amount of previously received radio transmitters;

a determiner for determining a transmitter identification comprised in the amount of selected reference measurement packets and not comprised in the current measurement packet; and

a generator for generating an experience message with respect to the determined transmitter identification, wherein the generator for generating the experience message is adapted to store the determined transmitter identification in an amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed, when the determined transmitter identification is not stored in the amount of previously received radio transmitters stored by the storer.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selector is implemented to estimate the current geographical position by a comparison of the current measurement packet with reference measurement packets, and to determine a measure of correspondence between the current measurement packet and a reference measurement packet with a reference position close to the estimated current geographical position depending on a number of corresponding transmitter identifications between the current measurement packet and the reference packet and differences between quantities in relation with a received field strength that are associated with the corresponding transmitter identifications.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the measure of correspondence is the higher the more transmitter identifications correspond and the smaller the differences are.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generator for generating the experience message is adapted to remove a transmitter identification already associated with the amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed again from this amount if the same is comprised in the current measurement packet and hence belongs to the amount of previously received radio transmitters.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 comprising an updating unit for updating a database, and wherein the generator for generating the experience message is implemented to generate experience messages for radio transmitters of the amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed and to transmit them to the updating unit when a measure of probability is exceeded that indicates how high a probability is to be estimated that a radio transmitter in the amount of transmitter identifications to be removed is actually no longer present in an environment of the current geographical position.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selector is implemented to estimate the current geographical position based on a comparison of the current measurement packet MP(i) with reference measurement packets and based on a feedback of experience messages with respect to the amount of center transmitter identifications to be potentially removed into the comparison.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the current geographical position is estimated based on a measure of correspondence between the current measurement packet MP(i) and a reference measurement packet depending on a number of corresponding transmitter identifications between the current measurement packet MP(i) and the reference packet and differences between quantities in relation with a received field strength associated with the corresponding transmitter identifications, such that radio transmitters not received at the current geographical position that are listed in the amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed exert no influence in the form of a penalty on the measure of correspondence.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 implemented in a mobile terminal device.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the mobile terminal device is a WLAN-capable mobile terminal device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radio transmitters receivable by the apparatus are WLAN base stations comprising MAC addresses as transmitter identifications.

11. A method for updating a reference database comprising reference measurement packets associated with geographical reference positions, which comprise reference transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the reference position at the reference times, determined at the respective geographical reference positions at reference times, comprising:

determining a current measurement packet at a current geographical position at a current time, wherein the current measurement packet comprises transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the current geographical position at the current time;

selecting an amount of reference measurement packets exceeding a predetermined measure of correspondence to the current measurement packet, wherein the amount of selected reference measurement packets comprises a reference measurement packet or a plurality of reference measurement packets;

storing transmitter identifications received prior to the current time and after a last update of the reference database in an amount of previously received radio transmitters;

determining a transmitter identification comprised in the amount of the selected reference measurement packets and not comprised in the current measurement packet; and

generating an experience message with respect to the determined transmitter identification, wherein the determined transmitter identification is stored in an amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed, when the determined transmitter identification is not stored in the amount of previously received radio transmitters.

12. A computer program stored in a computer readable medium for performing the method for updating a reference database comprising reference measurement packets associated with geographical reference positions, which comprise reference transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the reference position at the reference times, determined at the respective geographical reference positions at reference times, the method comprising:

determining a current measurement packet at a current geographical position at a current time, wherein the current measurement packet comprises transmitter identifications of radio transmitters receivable at the current geographical position at the current time;

selecting an amount of reference measurement packets exceeding a predetermined measure of correspondence to the current measurement packet, wherein the amount of selected reference measurement packets comprises a reference measurement packet or a plurality of reference measurement packets;

storing transmitter identifications received prior to the current time and after a last update of the reference database in an amount of previously received radio transmitters;

determining a transmitter identification comprised in the amount of the selected reference measurement packets and not comprised in the current measurement packet; and

generating an experience message with respect to the determined transmitter identification, wherein the determined transmitter identification is stored in an amount of transmitter identifications to be potentially removed, when the determined transmitter identification is not stored in the amount of previously received radio transmitters,

when the computer program runs on a computer or microcontroller.