Dead reckoning based initialization of position and heading using discrete position indicators

• US 9,175,963 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2014
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Design Reactor, Inc.
• Original Assignee: mCube, Inc.
• Inventors: Kelly, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US14/152,890
• Publication Number:
  US 20150285637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 701/400, 701/472, 701/495, 701/498
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/12 executed aboard the object being navigated; Dead reckoning
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/165 combined with non-inertial navigation instruments
• 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 method and system for operating a hand-held computer system for navigation. Embodiments of the present invention includes novel improvements to a navigation method and implementation through a device, which can include inertial and/or magnetic field sensors integrated within a hand held device. The method can include using a single-fix method or a dual-fix method. The single fix method includes monitoring travel distance or time for a pre-specified condition and updating the heading from a dead reckoning process based on a first position fix by using a map. The dual-fix method includes obtaining a second position fix and updating the heading based on the difference in displacement vectors from the dead reckoning process based on the first position fix.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for navigation performed by a hand-held computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

receiving a first position fix;

storing a starting position;

compute a navigation path using a dead reckoning process, the navigation path having a navigation heading and a dead reckoning displacement vector;

receiving a second position fix;

computing a heading correction using the difference between the dead reckoning displacement vector and a displacement vector based on the second position fix, wherein computing a heading correction using the difference between the dead reckoning displacement vector and a displacement vector based on the second position fix is executed under a dual fix condition; and

updating the navigation heading using the heading correction.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first position fix is obtained from a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag, an Indoor Messaging System (IMES) beacon, a Bluetooth Wireless device, or a Wi-Fi access point.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the hand-held computer system comprises a memory;

and wherein storing a starting position comprises storing a starting position in the memory.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the hand-held computer system includes a physical sensor selected from an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, or a pressure sensor;

wherein the dead reckoning process includes computing the navigation path using the physical sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second position fix is obtained from a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag, an Indoor Messaging System (IMES) beacon, a Bluetooth wireless device, or a Wi-Fi access point.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the hand-held computer system includes a display;

and wherein updating the navigation heading includes displaying the navigation heading on the display.

7. A computer implemented method for navigation performed by a hand-held computer system programmed to perform the method comprising:

receiving a first position fix;

storing a starting position;

compute a navigation path using a dead reckoning process, the navigation path having a navigation heading and a dead reckoning displacement vector;

monitoring for a pre-specified condition;

receiving a second position fix;

computing a heading correction based on a map upon detection of the pre-specified condition;

computing a heading correction using the difference between the dead reckoning displacement vector and a displacement vector based on the second position fix, wherein computing a heading correction using the difference between the dead reckoning displacement vector and a displacement vector based on the second position fix is executed under a dual fix condition; and

updating the navigation heading using the heading correction.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the first and second position fixes are obtained from a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag, an Indoor Messaging System (IMES) beacon, a Bluetooth wireless device, or a Wi-Fi access point.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the hand-held computer system includes a physical sensor selected from an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, or a pressure sensor;

wherein the dead reckoning process includes computing the navigation path using the physical sensor.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the pre-specified condition includes an acceleration condition, an angular rotation condition, a magnetic field condition, or a pressure condition.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the hand-held computer system comprises a memory;

and wherein storing a starting position comprises storing a starting position in the memory.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the hand-held computer system includes a display;

and wherein updating the navigation heading includes displaying the navigation heading on the display.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein computing a heading correction based on a map upon detection of the pre-specified condition is executed in under a single fix condition.