Method and apparatus for generating positioning assistance data

• US 9,204,260 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Mehta, Chandrakant, Das, Saumitra Mohan, Sharma, Abhinav
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, LUAT T
• Application Number:
  US13/801,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20140274110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 701/408, 701/101, 455/450, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided herein for assistance data generation based on raster images, such as raster images of floor plans. A method provided herein for generating positioning assistance data includes obtaining a first raster image including a floor plan of an area; obtaining geographic reference information corresponding to the area, the geographic reference information including a location of the area; extracting structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image; and generating assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information.

Claims

1. A method for generating positioning assistance data, the method comprising:

obtaining a first raster image comprising a floor plan of an area;

obtaining geographic reference information corresponding to the area, the geographic reference information comprising a location of the area;

extracting structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image; and

generating positioning assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting the structural features of the area comprises generating a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein generating the assistance data comprises generating the assistance data based on the reduced raster image and the geographic reference information.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the assistance data comprises generating a connectivity map indicative of paths through the area.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein generating the connectivity map comprises:

generating a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image;

identifying paths through the area using the reduced raster image; and

building the connectivity map using the reduced raster image and the paths identified through the area.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying one or more wireless beacon transmitter locations within the area, wherein generating the assistance data comprises generating the assistance data based on the extracted structural features, the geographic reference information and the wireless beacon transmitter locations.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein generating the assistance data comprises:

obtaining information relating to signal properties of wireless beacons in the area respectively corresponding to the wireless beacon transmitter locations; and

generating a heatmap for the area based on the signal properties and the wireless beacon transmitter locations.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein:

obtaining the information relating to the signal properties comprises obtaining round trip time (RTT) information for the wireless beacons; and

generating the heatmap comprises generating an RTT heatmap corresponding to the area.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein:

obtaining the information relating to the signal properties comprises obtaining signal strength information for the wireless beacons; and

generating the heatmap comprises generating a signal strength heatmap corresponding to the area.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the signal strength information comprises received signal strength indicator (RSSI) information for the wireless beacon transmitters in the area.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein generating the heatmap further comprises:

determining locations of attenuating structural features in the area from the extracted structural features; and

applying attenuation to signal strengths within the heatmap at the determined locations of the attenuating structural features.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein applying the attenuation comprises:

identifying one or more structural materials utilized in the area; and

applying the attenuation based on attenuation models associated with the one or more structural materials utilized in the area.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the attenuating structural features comprise one or more walls, and applying the attenuation comprises:

estimating thickness of respective walls in the area based at least in part on widths of lines representing the walls in the floor plan; and

varying the attenuation applied in the heatmap for the respective walls as a function of the estimated thickness of the walls.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein estimating the thickness of the respective walls in the area comprises:

obtaining information relating to a drawing scale used for the first raster image;

determining widths of the respective walls in the first raster image; and

estimating the thickness of the respective walls by applying the drawing scale to the widths of the respective walls in the first raster image.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting the structural features of the area comprises locating at least one of doors, walls or elevators within the floor plan of the area via the first raster image.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting the structural features of the area comprises:

identifying a first portion of the first raster image rendered in a first color and a second portion of the first raster image rendered in a second color;

extracting the structural features of a first sub-area within the area corresponding to the first portion of the first raster image; and

bypassing extraction of structural features for a second sub-area within the area corresponding to the second portion of the first raster image.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the assistance data for the area to one or more mobile devices.

18. An apparatus for generating positioning assistance data, the apparatus comprising:

a communications subsystem configured to obtain a first raster image comprising a floor plan of an area and to obtain geographic reference information corresponding to the area, the geographic reference information comprising a location of the area;

a structural feature extraction module communicatively coupled to the communications subsystem and configured to extract structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image; and

an assistance data generation module communicatively coupled to the communications subsystem and the structural feature extraction module and configured to generate positioning assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the structural feature extraction module comprises a reduced image generation module configured to generate a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the assistance data generation module is further configured to generate the assistance data based on the reduced raster image and the geographic reference information.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the assistance data generation module comprises:

a structural analysis module configured to identify paths through the area using the reduced raster image; and

a connectivity map generation module configured to build the connectivity map using the reduced raster image and the paths identified through the area.

22. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein:

the communications subsystem is further configured to identify locations of one or more wireless beacon transmitters in the area; and

the assistance data generation module is further configured to generate assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features, the geographic reference information and the locations of the one or more wireless beacon transmitters.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein:

the communications subsystem is further configured to obtain information relating to signal properties of wireless beacons transmitted from the wireless beacon transmitters in the area; and

the assistance data generation module comprises a heatmap generation module configured to generate a heatmap for the area based on the signal properties of the wireless beacons and the locations of the wireless beacon transmitters in the area.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the signal properties of the wireless beacons comprise round trip time (RTT) and the heatmap generation module is further configured to generate an RTT heatmap corresponding to the area.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the signal properties of the wireless beacons comprise signal strength and the heatmap generation module is further configured to generate a signal strength heatmap corresponding to the area.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the heatmap generation module is further configured to determine locations of attenuating structural features in the area from the extracted structural features and to applying attenuation to signal strengths within the heatmap at the determined locations of the attenuating structural features.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the attenuating structural features comprise one or more walls and the heatmap generation module is further configured to estimate thicknesses for respective walls in the area based at least in part on widths of lines respectively representing the walls in the floor plan and to determine an amount of attenuation applied to the heatmap for the respective walls as a function of the estimated thickness of the walls.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein:

the communications subsystem is further configured to obtain information relating to a drawing scale used for the first raster image; and

the heatmap generation module is further configured to determine widths of the respective walls in the first raster image and to estimate the thicknesses for the respective walls in the area by applying the drawing scale to the widths of the respective walls in the first raster image.

29. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the structural feature extraction module is further configured to locate at least one of doors, walls or elevators within the floor plan of the area via the first raster image.

30. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the communications subsystem is further configured to transmit the assistance data for the area to one or more mobile devices.

31. An apparatus for generating positioning assistance data, the apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining a first raster image comprising a floor plan of an area;

means for obtaining geographic reference information corresponding to the area, the geographic reference information comprising a location of the area;

means for extracting structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image; and

means for generating positioning assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein:

the means for extracting comprises means for rendering a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image; and

the means for generating the assistance data comprises means for generating the assistance data based on the reduced raster image and the geographic reference information.

33. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the means for generating the assistance data comprises means for generating a connectivity map indicative of paths through the area.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein:

the means for extracting comprises means for rendering a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image; and

the means for generating the connectivity map comprises means for identifying paths through the area using the reduced raster image and means for building the connectivity map using the reduced raster image and the paths identified through the area.

35. The apparatus of claim 31 further comprising means for identifying locations of one or more wireless beacon transmitters in the area, wherein the means for generating the assistance data comprises means for generating the assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features, the geographic reference information, and the locations of the one or more wireless beacon transmitters.

36. The apparatus of claim 35 further comprising means for obtaining information relating to signal properties of wireless beacons transmitted from the wireless beacon transmitters in the area, wherein the means for generating the assistance data comprises means for generating a heatmap for the area based on the signal properties of the wireless beacons and the locations of the wireless beacon transmitters in the area.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the means for generating the heatmap comprises means for generating at least one of a round trip time (RTT) heatmap or a signal strength heatmap corresponding to the area.

38. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the means for generating the heatmap further comprises:

means for determining locations of attenuating structural features in the area from the extracted structural features; and

means for modifying the signal properties of the wireless beacons indicated on the heatmap at the determined locations of the attenuating structural features.

39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the attenuating structural features comprise one or more walls and the means for generating the heatmap further comprises:

means for estimating thickness of respective walls in the area based at least in part on widths of lines representing the walls in the floor plan; and

means for varying an extent of modification of the signal properties of the wireless beacons indicated in the heatmap for the respective walls as a function of the estimated thickness of the walls.

40. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the structural features comprise at least one of doors, walls or elevators.

41. The apparatus of claim 31 further comprising means for transmitting the assistance data for the area to one or more mobile devices.

42. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory processor-executable computer storage medium, the computer program product comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor to:

obtain a first raster image comprising a floor plan of an area;

obtain geographic reference information corresponding to the area, the geographic reference information comprising a location of the area;

extract structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image; and

generate positioning assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information.

43. The computer program product of claim 42 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to:

render a reduced raster image that includes the structural features of the area given by the first raster image; and

generate the assistance data based on the reduced raster image and the geographic reference information.

44. The computer program product of claim 42 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to generate a connectivity map indicative of paths through the area based at least in part on the first raster image.

45. The computer program product of claim 42 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to:

identify locations of one or more wireless beacon transmitters within the area; and

generate the assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features, the geographic reference information and the locations of the one or more wireless beacon transmitters.

46. The computer program product of claim 45 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to:

obtain information relating to signal properties of wireless beacons transmitted from the wireless beacon transmitters in the area; and

generate a heatmap for the area based on the signal properties of the wireless beacons and the locations of the wireless beacon transmitters in the area.

47. The computer program product of claim 46 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to generate the heatmap as at least one of a round trip time (RTT) heatmap or a signal strength heatmap corresponding to the area.

48. The computer program product of claim 47 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to:

determine locations of attenuating structural features in the area from the extracted structural features, the attenuating structural features comprising one or more walls;

estimate thickness of respective walls in the area based at least in part on widths of lines representing the walls in the floor plan; and

modify the signal properties of the wireless beacons indicated on the heatmap at the determined locations of the attenuating structural features based, at least in part, on the estimated thickness of the walls.

49. The computer program product of claim 42 further comprising instructions configured to cause the processor to transmit the assistance data for the area to one or more mobile devices.

50. An apparatus for generating positioning assistance data, the apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to obtain a first raster image comprising a floor plan of an area, obtain geographic reference information corresponding to the area, extract structural features of the area from the floor plan of the area via the first raster image and generate positioning assistance data for the area based on the extracted structural features and the geographic reference information; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured for storing data.

51. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein the processor is further configured to generate a connectivity map indicative of paths through the area.

52. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein the processor is further configured to identify transmitter locations and signal properties corresponding to one or more wireless beacons in the area and generate a heatmap for the area based on the transmitter locations and signal properties.

53. The apparatus of claim 52 wherein the processor is further configured to determine locations of attenuating structural features in the area from the extracted structural features and apply attenuation to signal strengths within the heatmap at the determined locations of the attenuating structural features.

54. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein:

the attenuating structural features comprise one or more walls; and

the processor is further configured to estimate thickness of respective walls in the area based at least in part on widths of lines representing the walls in the floor plan and vary the attenuation applied in the heatmap for the respective walls as a function of the estimated thickness of the walls.