Signal processing to extract a pedestrian's moving direction

• US 9,295,027 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yang, Qingxuan, Chang, Edward Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAHEED, KHALID W
• Application Number:
  US14/376,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 13/00 Indicating or recording presence, absence, or direction, of movement electric switches H01H; counting moving objects G06M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/02 by making use of inertia forces using solid seismic massesG01P15/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/14 by making use of gyroscopes gyroscopes per se G01C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

Disclosed here are methods and systems that relate to determining a moving direction of a mobile device user. The methods and systems relate to using an inertial navigation system such as an accelerometer and gyroscope to aid in the determination of the moving direction of the user. The methods and systems may receive an acceleration reading associated with the mobile device, and determine a step frequency of the user based on the acceleration reading. The methods and systems may determine a theoretical model to fit the acceleration reading, and may determine the moving direction of the user based on the theoretical model.

Claims

1. A method of determining a moving direction of a mobile device, the method comprising:

determining, by a processor, an acceleration signal associated with the mobile device, the acceleration signal three dimensions including a first dimension extending generally along a North-South direction, a second dimension extending generally along an East-West direction; and

a third dimension extending generally along a direction of Earth'"'"'s gravity;

fitting the acceleration signal in each of the first, second and third dimensions to first, second, and third sinusoidal functions, respectively;

modeling, with the processor, acceleration in the moving direction using a fourth sinusoidal function based on the first and second sinusoidal functions; and

determining the moving direction based on a phase of the third sinusoidal function and a phase of the fourth sinusoidal function.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth sinusoidal functions are based on a sinusoidal function according to the following equation:

M(t)=A*sin(ω

t+θ

)+A₁,

where A represents an amplitude, t represents time, ω

represents an angular frequency computed based on a step frequency of the user, θ

represents a phase, and A₁ represents a shift of the sinusoidal function above zero.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining an amplitude of the fourth sinusoidal function based on the determined amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining at least one possible moving direction based on the amplitude of the fourth sinusoidal function.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining the phase of the fourth sinusoidal function based on the at least one possible moving direction.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the processor determines the moving direction by:

determining a phase difference between the phase of the third sinusoidal function and the phase of the fourth sinusoidal function;

determining a derivative of the phase difference; and

determining the moving direction based on the phase difference and the derivative.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the processor determines the at least one possible moving direction as the moving direction when the phase difference is in a first range and the derivative is in a second range.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first range is greater than −

0.25π

but less than 0.25π

.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the second range is below 0.5.

11. An apparatus for determining a moving direction of a mobile device, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to;

determine an acceleration signal associated with the mobile device, the acceleration signal having three dimensions including a first dimension extending generally along a North-South direction, a second dimension extending generally along an East-West direction; and

a third dimension extending generally along a direction of Earth'"'"'s gravity;

fit the acceleration signal in each of the first, second and third dimensions to first, second and third sinusoidal functions, respectively;

model acceleration in the moving direction using a fourth sinusoidal function based on the first and second sinusoidal functions; and

determine the moving direction based on a phase of the third sinusoidal function and a phase of the fourth sinusoidal function.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth sinusoidal functions are based on a sinusoidal function according to the following equation:

M(t)=A*sin(ω

t+e)+A₁,

where A represents an amplitude, t represents time, ω

represents an angular frequency computed based on a step frequency of the user, θ

represents a phase, and A₁ represents a shift of the sinusoidal function above zero.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor determines amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor determines an amplitude of the fourth sinusoidal function based on the determined amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor determines at least one possible moving direction based on the amplitude of the fourth sinusoidal function.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor determines the phase of the fourth sinusoidal function based on the at least one possible moving direction.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, the method comprising:

determining an acceleration signal associated with the mobile device, the acceleration signal three dimensions including a first dimension extending generally along a North-South direction, a second dimension extending generally along an East-West direction; and

a third dimension extending generally along a direction of Earth'"'"'s gravity;

fitting the acceleration signal in each of the first, second and third dimensions to first, second, and third sinusoidal functions, respectively;

modeling, with the processor, acceleration in the moving direction using a fourth sinusoidal function based on the first and second sinusoidal functions; and

determining the moving direction based on a phase of the third sinusoidal function and a phase of the fourth sinusoidal function.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth sinusoidal functions are based on a sinusoidal function according to the following equation:

M(t)=A*sin(ω

t+θ

)+A₁,

where A represents an amplitude, t represents time, ω

represents an angular frequency computed based on a step frequency of the user, θ

represents a phase, and A₁ represents a shift of the sinusoidal function above zero.

19. The medium of claim 17, further comprising determining amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.

20. The medium of claim 19, further comprising determining an amplitude of the fourth sinusoidal function based on the determined amplitudes and phases of the first and second sinusoidal functions.