Modeling characteristics of a venue

• US 9,115,997 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2013
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Poduri, Sameera, Pakzad, Payam
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hutchinson, Alan D
• Application Number:
  US13/915,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20140365127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 701/433
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• 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 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for modeling characteristics of a venue are disclosed. The method comprises identifying a set of constraints associated with the venue, determining a plurality of paths to be traveled by one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints, directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths, receiving data collected by the one or more mobile devices, and generating a model of the venue using the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method of modeling characteristics of a venue, comprising:

identifying a set of constraints associated with the venue, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

determining a plurality of paths to be traveled by one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints;

directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths;

receiving data collected by the one or more mobile devices, wherein the determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises updating the plurality of paths dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

generating a model of the venue using the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of constraints comprises:

number of measurements to be taken; and

number of mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprises:

receiving one or more of a start location, an end location, and/or a path length; and

determining a plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints, the one or more of the start location, the end location and/or the path length.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices comprises:

determining each path in the plurality of paths has a cost bounded by a predetermined cost value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises:

computing a first cost associated with a shortest path from a start location to an end location;

for the each path in the plurality of paths,

computing a second cost associated with the each path from the start location to the end location; and

determining a difference between the second cost and the first cost is less than a predetermined value.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one path in the plurality of paths is different than the shortest path from the start location to the end location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue comprises at least one of:

sending inquiries to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

sending updates of the plurality of paths to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise crowdsourcing mobile devices configured to collect data for a server through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the crowdsourcing mobile devices receive directions interactively from the server about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise surveying mobile devices configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by a server;

and wherein the surveying mobile devices follow the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the model of the venue comprising:

identifying access points in the venue;

storing locations of the access points;

storing characteristics of the access points; and

storing signal strength of the access points along the plurality of paths.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing navigation guidance to the one or more mobile devices using the model of the venue.

49. The method of claim 1, wherein directing the one or more mobile devices comprises:

dynamically adjusting a first path in the plurality of paths being travelled by a first mobile device based on a second path in the plurality of paths being travelled by a second mobile device.

12. An apparatus configured to model characteristics of a venue, comprising:

one or more processors including processing logic, the processing logic comprising;

logic configured to identify a set of constraints associated with the venue, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

logic configured to determine a plurality of paths to be traveled by one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints;

logic configured to direct the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths;

logic configured to receive data collected by the one or more mobile devices, wherein the logic configured to determine the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises logic configured to update the plurality of paths dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

logic configured to generate a model of the venue using the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein logic configured to determine the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices comprises:

logic configured to determine each path in the plurality of paths has a cost bounded by a predetermined cost value.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein logic configured to determine the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises:

logic configured to compute a first cost associated with a shortest path from a start location to an end location;

for the each path in the plurality of paths,

logic configured to compute a second cost associated with the each path from the start location to the end location; and

logic configured to determine a difference between the second cost and the first cost is less than a predetermined value.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein at least one path in the plurality of paths is different than the shortest path from the start location to the end location.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein logic configured to direct the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue comprises at least one of:

logic configured to send inquiries to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

logic configured to send updates of the plurality of paths to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise crowdsourcing mobile devices configured to collect data for the apparatus through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the crowdsourcing mobile devices receive directions interactively from the apparatus about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise surveying mobile devices configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by the apparatus;

and wherein the surveying mobile devices follow the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein logic configured to generate the model of the venue comprising:

logic configured to identify access points in the venue;

logic configured to store locations of the access points;

logic configured to store characteristics of the access points; and

logic configured to store signal strength of the access points along the plurality of paths.

20. A computer program product for modeling characteristics of a venue, comprising a non-transitory medium storing computer programs for execution by one or more computer systems, the computer program product comprising:

code for identifying a set of constraints associated with the venue, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

code for determining a plurality of paths to be traveled by one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints;

code for directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths;

code for receiving data collected by the one or more mobile devices, wherein the code for determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises code for updating the plurality of paths dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

code for generating a model of the venue using the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein code for determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices comprises:

code for determining each path in the plurality of paths has a cost bounded by a predetermined cost value.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein code for determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises:

code for computing a first cost associated with a shortest path from a start location to an end location;

for the each path in the plurality of paths,

code for computing a second cost associated with the each path from the start location to the end location; and

code for determining a difference between the second cost and the first cost is less than a predetermined value.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein at least one path in the plurality of paths is different than the shortest path from the start location to the end location.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein code for directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue comprises at least one of:

code for sending inquiries to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

code for sending updates of the plurality of paths to the one or more mobile devices asynchronously in response to the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

25. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise crowdsourcing mobile devices configured to collect data for a server through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the crowdsourcing mobile devices receive directions interactively from the server about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

26. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the one or more mobile devices comprise surveying mobile devices configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by a server;

and wherein the surveying mobile devices follow the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

27. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein code for generating the model of the venue comprising:

code for identifying access points in the venue;

code for storing locations of the access points;

code for storing characteristics of the access points; and

code for storing signal strength of the access points along the plurality of paths.

32. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the plurality of paths to be traveled is determined based at least in part on:

a first cost associated with a shortest path from a start location to an end location;

for the each path in the plurality of paths,

a second cost associated with the each path from the start location to the end location; and

a difference between the second cost and the first cost is less than a predetermined value.

33. The mobile device of claim 32, wherein at least one path in the plurality of paths is different than the shortest path from the start location to the end location.

28. A mobile device for modeling characteristics of a venue, comprising:

one or more processors including processing logic, the processing logic comprising;

logic configured to receive from a server a plurality of paths to be traveled in accordance with a set of constraints associated with a venue, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

logic configured to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths;

logic configured to collect data observed from the plurality of paths, wherein the plurality of paths are updated dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by one or more mobile devices; and

logic configured to report data collected to the server in order to generate a model of the venue.

29. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the set of constraints comprises:

number of measurements to be taken; and

number of mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths.

30. The mobile device of claim 29, further comprises:

logic configured to receive one or more of a start location, an end location, and/or a path length; and

logic configured to determine a plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints, the one or more of the start location, the end location and/or the path length.

31. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the plurality of paths to be traveled is determined based at least in part on a cost bounded by a predetermined cost value.

34. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the plurality of paths to be traveled further comprises:

dynamically updated paths based at least in part on the data collected.

35. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein logic configured to navigate the venue comprises at least one of:

logic configured to receive inquiries from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected; and

logic configured to receive updates of the plurality of paths from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected.

36. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the mobile device comprises a crowdsourcing mobile device configured to collect data for the server through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the mobile device receives directions interactively from the server about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

37. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the mobile device comprises a surveying mobile device configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by the server;

and wherein the mobile device follows the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

38. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the data collected comprises:

access points in the venue;

locations of the access points;

characteristics of the access points; and

signal strength of the access points along the plurality of paths.

39. An apparatus, comprising:

means for identifying a set of constraints associated with a venue, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

means for determining a plurality of paths to be traveled by one or more mobile devices in accordance with the set of constraints;

means for directing the one or more mobile devices to navigate the venue using the plurality of paths;

means for receiving data collected by the one or more mobile devices, wherein the means for determining the plurality of paths to be traveled by the one or more mobile devices further comprises means for updating the plurality of paths dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by the one or more mobile devices; and

means for generating a model of the venue using the data collected by the one or more mobile devices.

40. A method for modeling characteristics of a venue, comprising:

receiving from a server a plurality of paths to be traveled in accordance with a set of constraints associated with a venue at a mobile device, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

navigating the venue using the plurality of paths;

collecting data observed from the plurality of paths, wherein the plurality of paths are updated dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by one or more mobile devices; and

reporting data collected to the server in order to generate a model of the venue.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein navigating the venue comprises at least one of:

receiving inquiries from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected; and

receiving updates of the plurality of paths from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the mobile device comprises a crowdsourcing mobile device configured to collect data for the server through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the mobile device receives directions interactively from the server about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the mobile device comprises a surveying mobile device configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by the server;

and wherein the mobile device follows the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

44. A computer program product for modeling characteristics of a venue, comprising a non-transitory medium storing computer programs for execution by one or more processors, the computer program product comprising:

code for receiving from a server a plurality of paths to be traveled in accordance with a set of constraints associated with a venue at a mobile device, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

code for navigating the venue using the plurality of paths;

code for collecting data observed from the plurality of paths, wherein the plurality of paths are updated dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by one or more mobile devices; and

code for reporting data collected to the server in order to generate a model of the venue.

45. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein code for navigating the venue comprises at least one of:

code for receiving inquiries from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected; and

code for receiving updates of the plurality of paths from the server asynchronously in response to the data collected.

46. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the mobile device comprises a crowdsourcing mobile device configured to collect data for the server through crowdsourcing;

and wherein the mobile device receives directions interactively from the server about the plurality of paths to navigate in the venue.

47. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the mobile device comprises a surveying mobile device configured to collect data through the plurality of paths predetermined by the server;

and wherein the mobile device follows the plurality of paths to navigate the venue.

48. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving from a server a plurality of paths to be traveled in accordance with a set of constraints associated with a venue at the apparatus, wherein a constraint in the set of constraints comprises a measurement time, which is an amount of survey time available;

means for navigating the venue using the plurality of paths;

means for collecting data observed from the plurality of paths, wherein the plurality of paths are updated dynamically based at least in part on the data collected by one or more mobile devices; and

means for reporting data collected to the server in order to generate a model of the venue.