System and method of locating users indoors

• US 8,988,195 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Joshi, Avinash, Bhargava, Saurabh, Suryanarayanan, Radhakrishnan
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bousono, Orlando
• Application Number:
  US13/598,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20130249672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 936 Days
• Field of Search: 340 101- 106, 340/568.1, 340/568.8, 340571-5729, 340 101- 1052
• US Class Current: 340/10.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks

Abstract

Indoor locationing using radio frequency based tags includes distributing a plurality of radio frequency based tags at mapped locations within the indoor environment. The radio frequency based tags periodically transmit their identity information in a message. A mobile device in proximity to at least one of the radio frequency based tags receives the message. A location of the mobile device is associating to the mapped location of the radio frequency based tag identified in the received message.

Claims

1. A method for locationing using battery-powered radio frequency based tags within an indoor environment, comprising:

distributing a plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags at fixed mapped locations within the indoor environment;

obtaining an identification of each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags;

selecting a fixed mapped location where said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags was installed to associate said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags to a physical location corresponding to said fixed mapped location within the indoor environment;

said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags periodically transmitting its identity information without being interrogated in a message, wherein said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags is operable to transmit said message at a power level that is limited by said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags such that a transmit range of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags at fixed mapped locations of neighboring battery-powered radio frequency based tags of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags that can be received by a mobile device moving within the indoor environment does not significantly overlap such that the mobile device moving within the indoor environment will always be able to receive said message from only one battery-powered radio frequency based tag at a time while moving within the indoor environment;

receiving said message by said mobile device moving within the indoor environment when in proximity to at least one of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags; and

associating a physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment to a fixed mapped location within the indoor environment of the at least one of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags identified in the received message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step further comprises the mobile device moving within the indoor environment receiving other messages from other battery-powered radio frequency based tags of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags as the mobile device moving within the indoor environment moves in proximity to the other battery-powered radio frequency based tags, and further wherein the associating step comprises using the other messages to note the movement of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of relaying said message by the mobile device moving within the indoor environment to a central/distributed server, and wherein the associating step is performed by the central/distributed server to determine the physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of the central/distributed server validating the physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment with said mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining step further comprises scanning said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags by a scanning device at a physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags to obtain said identification of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags;

and

wherein the selecting step further comprises associating the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags with said identification corresponding to said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of transmitting the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags and said identification corresponding to said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags associated with the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags by the scanning device to a central/distributed server.

7. A system for locationing using battery-powered radio frequency based tags within an indoor environment, comprising:

a plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags operable at distributed fixed mapped locations within the indoor environment, wherein for each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags an identification is obtained for said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags and a fixed mapped location within the indoor environment where said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags was installed is selected to associate said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags to a physical location corresponding to said fixed mapped location within the indoor environment, said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags periodically transmitting its identity information without being interrogated in a message, wherein said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags is operable to transmit said message at a power level that is limited by said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags such that a transmit range of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags at fixed mapped locations of neighboring battery-powered radio frequency based tags of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags that can be received by a mobile device moving within the indoor environment does not significantly overlap such that the mobile device moving within the indoor environment will always be able to receive said message from only one battery-powered radio frequency based tag from the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags at a time while moving within the indoor environment; and

said mobile device moving within the indoor environment operable to receive said message when in proximity to at least one of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags,

wherein a physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment is associated with a fixed mapped location within the indoor environment of the at least one of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags identified in the received message.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the mobile device moving within the indoor environment is further operable to receive other messages from other battery-powered radio frequency based tags of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags as the mobile device moving within the indoor environment moves in proximity to the other battery-powered radio frequency based tags, wherein the other messages are used to note the movement of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the mobile device moving within the indoor environment is mounted on a cart usable within the indoor environment.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags transmit its message every second.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the mobile device moving within the indoor environment includes a display, which is operable to display identities of detected proximal battery-powered radio frequency based tags of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein said message is relayed by the mobile device moving within indoor environment to a central/distributed server, which determines the physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment by associating the physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment to the fixed mapped location within the indoor environment of said at least one of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags identified in the received message.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the mobile device moving within the indoor environment includes an application installed therein, operable within the indoor environment and operable to relay said message.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the central/distributed server is also operable to validate the physical location of the mobile device moving within the indoor environment with said mobile device.

15. The system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags are initially installed at said distributed fixed mapped locations within the indoor environment, wherein each installed battery-powered radio frequency based tag is scanned by a scanning device at a physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags to obtain said identity information of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags, and wherein the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags is associated with said identity information corresponding to said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the scanning device is further operable to transmit the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags and said identity information corresponding to said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags associated with the physical location of said each of the plurality of battery-powered radio frequency based tags to a central/distributed server.