Method and system for determining position of an inertial computing device in a distributed network

• US 9,037,407 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2011
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Thompson, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bendidi, Rachid
• Application Number:
  US13/181,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20120010812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,407 Days
• Field of Search: 701400-541, 340/901, 340/902, 340/932.2, 340/988, 340/426.1, 340/425.5, 340/426.7, 340/426.9, 340/426.2, 340/426.21, 340/445, 340/995.13, 342/357.27, 342/357.31, 342/357.34, 342/357.43, 342/357.44, 342/357.58, 342/357.59, 342/357.63, 342/357.66, 342/357.74
• US Class Current: 701/501
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/188 for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0062 in RFID [Radio Frequency Identification] Systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system for retrieving information about a position of an inertial computing device (ICD) for use in an application, which includes a network of local positioning docks (PDs), each capable of docking an ICD by restricting three dimensions of a physical position of the ICD near one of the PDs; a database capable of storing information about the positions of the PDs within the network; a calculator capable of determining, based on a position of a positioning dock (PD), the position of the ICD; and an application programming interface (API) connected to the database and capable of outputting the position of a PD to the ICD.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of positioning docks each configured to physically confine a mobile computing device on three sides in a fixed position and orientation when the mobile computing device is docked with the respective positioning docks, wherein an estimated physical position and orientation of each respective positioning dock is stored for each of the plurality of positioning docks;

a database configured to store information indicative of the estimated physical positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks, each of the plurality of positioning docks being associated with a unique identifier; and

a processor configured to;

receive a first indication of a first unique identifier associated with a first positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a first point in time;

receive a second indication of a second unique identifier associated with a second positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a second point in time, the second point in time being later than the first point in time;

receive accelerometer position and orientation data provided by an accelerometer of the mobile computing device between the first point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the first positioning dock and the second point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the second positioning dock;

determine an update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock;

accessing, using the second indication of the second unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock; and

calculating, based on the estimated physical positions and orientations of the respective first and second positioning docks and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock; and

store, in the database, an updated estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock based on the update.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of positioning docks are mounted in relatively fixed positions within a moving environment such as a car, phone, or boat.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a reference-positioning device that tracks inertial positioning of the moving environment to provide a reference for its motion.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes a sticker displaying the associated unique identifiers, the sticker useable by an operator of the mobile computing device to manually enter the unique identifiers into the mobile computing device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes a graphical encoding including the associated unique identifier, the graphical encoding detectable with an imaging device on the mobile computing device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks is configured to relay identifying information, including the associated unique identifier, to the mobile computing device through a magnetometer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes RFID tags useable to be scanned by the mobile computing device to obtain the associated unique identifiers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein global positioning system coordinates of the mobile computing device are used to identify each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the estimated physical positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks comprises an estimated absolute position and orientation of each of the plurality of positioning docks.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive gyroscope position and orientation data provided by a gyroscope of the mobile computing device between the first point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the first positioning dock and the second point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the second positioning dock,

wherein determining the update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock further includes;

calculating, based on the estimated physical positions and orientations of the respective first and second positioning docks, the accelerometer position and orientation data, and the gyroscope position and orientation data, the update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of the estimated physical positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks is useable to determine estimated positions and orientations of any of a plurality of mobile computing devices.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an application programming interface in communication with the database and configured to provide the estimated positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks to the mobile computing device.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine an estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock; and

calculating, based on the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device is an estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device at a third point in time later than then first point in time and earlier than the second point in time.

15. A method comprising:

by one or more processors configured with computer executable instructions,

providing a plurality of positioning docks each configured to physically confine a mobile computing device on three sides in a fixed position and orientation when the mobile computing device is docked with the respective positioning docks, wherein an estimated physical position and orientation of each respective positioning dock is stored for each of the plurality of positioning docks;

providing a database configured to store information indicative of the estimated physical positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks, each of the plurality of positioning docks being associated with a unique identifier;

receiving a first indication of a first unique identifier associated with a first positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a first point in time;

receiving a second indication of a second unique identifier associated with a second positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a second point in time, the second point in time being later than the first point in time;

receiving accelerometer position and orientation data provided by an accelerometer of the mobile computing device between the first point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the first positioning dock and the second point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the second positioning dock;

determining an update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock;

accessing, using the second indication of the second unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock; and

calculating, by the one or more processors and based on the estimated physical positions and orientations of the respective first and second positioning docks and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock; and

determining an estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock; and

calculating, by the one or more processors and based on the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device; and

outputting the estimated position of the mobile computing device to an application executing on the mobile computing device.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

by one or more processors configured with computer executable instructions,

receiving second accelerometer position and orientation data provided by the accelerometer of the mobile computing device between the second point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the second positioning dock and a third point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at a third positioning dock; and

determining an second estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device by at least;

accessing, using the first and second indication of the respective first and second unique identifiers, and from the database, the estimated physical positions and orientations of the respective first and second positioning docks; and

calculating, by the one or more processors and based on the estimated physical positions and orientations of the first and second positioning docks and the accelerometer and second accelerometer position and orientation data, the second estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device is an estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device at a fourth point in time later than then second point in time and earlier than the third point in time.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positioning docks are mounted in relatively fixed positions within a moving environment such as a car, phone, or boat.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising tracking inertial positioning of the moving environment to provide a reference for its motion.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the mobile computing device is a device with suitable positioning technology selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone, a lap top computer, a tablet computer, a game controller, or another device with suitable positioning technology.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes a sticker displaying the associated unique identifiers, the sticker useable by an operator of the mobile computing device to manually enter the unique identifiers into the mobile computing device.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes a graphical encoding including the associated unique identifier, the graphical encoding detectable with an imaging device on the mobile computing device.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks is configured to relay identifying information, including the associated unique identifier, to the mobile computing device through a magnetometer.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks includes RFID tags useable to be scanned by the mobile computing device to obtain the associated unique identifier.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein global positioning system coordinates of the mobile computing device are used to identify each of at least some of the plurality of positioning docks when the mobile computing device is docked to each of the at least some of the plurality of positioning docks.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the estimated physical positions and orientations of the first and second positioning docks are useable to determine estimated positions and orientations of any of a plurality of mobile computing devices.

27. The method of claim 15, wherein the database is remote from the mobile computing device and the plurality of positioning docks.

28. A computer readable memory storing a computer program executable by a processor, the computer program performing a method comprising:

providing a plurality of positioning docks each configured to physically confine a mobile computing device on three sides in a fixed position and orientation when the mobile computing device is docked with the respective positioning docks, wherein an estimated physical position and orientation of each respective positioning dock is stored for each of the plurality of positioning docks;

providing a database configured to store information indicative of the estimated physical positions and orientations of each of the plurality of positioning docks, each of the plurality of positioning docks being associated with a unique identifier;

receiving a first indication of a first unique identifier associated with a first positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a first point in time;

receiving a second indication of a second unique identifier associated with a second positioning dock of the plurality of positioning docks at which the mobile computing device was docked at a second point in time, the second point in time being later than the first point in time;

receiving accelerometer position and orientation data provided by an accelerometer of the mobile computing device between the first point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the first positioning dock and the second point in time when the mobile computing device was docked at the second positioning dock;

determining an update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock;

accessing, using the second indication of the second unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock; and

calculating, based on the estimated physical positions and orientations of the respective first and second positioning docks and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the update to the estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock;

storing, in the database, an updated estimated physical position and orientation of the second positioning dock based on the update; and

determining an estimated physical position and orientation of the mobile computing device by at least;

accessing, using the first indication of the first unique identifier, and from the database, the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock; and

calculating, based on the estimated physical position and orientation of the first positioning dock and the accelerometer position and orientation data, the estimated position and orientation of the mobile computing device.

29. The computer readable memory of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises:

using the estimated position and orientation of the mobile computing device in an application executing on the mobile computing device.