Position estimation device, position estimation method, program and integrated circuit

• US 9,372,254 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2012
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Mahendra
• Application Number:
  US14/342,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20140213290A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,379 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 340/686.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0247 Determining attitude
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A position estimation device which includes: a distance estimation unit which estimates, using a receiving strength of a signal received by a wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal, distance information indicating a distance from the base station to the wireless terminal; a position estimation unit which estimates a first position to be a current position of the wireless terminal using base station information indicating a position of the base station and the estimated distance information; and a correction unit which corrects the distance information based on an acceleration and a direction of the wireless terminal, the estimated first position, and the base station information. The position estimation unit further estimates a second position to be a current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.

Claims

1. A position estimation device which estimates a current position of a wireless terminal, the device comprising:

a distance estimation unit configured to estimate, using a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal, distance information indicating a distance from at least one base station of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal;

a position estimation unit configured to estimate a first position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using base station information indicating a position of the at least one base station and the estimated distance information; and

a correction unit configured to correct the distance information by;

obtaining, using terminal posture information that is obtained by an acceleration sensor and a direction sensor of the wireless terminal and indicates an orientation of a surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, surface orientation information on the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position as seen from the position of the at least one base station, the surface orientation information indicating which side of the wireless terminal faces the at least one base station; and

correcting the distance from the at least one base station to the wireless terminal based on the obtained surface orientation information,

wherein the position estimation unit is further configured to estimate a second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.

2. The position estimation device according to claim 1,

wherein the position estimation device is included in the wireless terminal.

3. The position estimation device according to claim 1, further comprising

a posture detection unit configured to detect a posture that is the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal using an acceleration and a direction of the wireless terminal.

4. The position estimation device according to claim 3,

wherein, when the detected posture, the estimated first position, and the base station information indicate that the posture of the wireless terminal with respect to one of the plurality of base stations is other than a front side posture, the correction unit is configured to correct a value of the distance information to be greater than when the posture of the wireless terminal with respect to the one of the plurality of base stations is the front side posture, the distance information being estimated as a distance from the one of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal.

5. The position estimation device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a placement state determination unit configured to determine a placement state indicating where the wireless terminal at the estimated first position is placed on a user using an acceleration of the wireless terminal; and

a movement direction determination unit configured to determine a movement direction of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position using the acceleration and a direction of the wireless terminal,

wherein the correction unit is configured to;

specify a positional relationship among the at least one base station, the user, and the wireless terminal, using the determined placement state, the determined movement direction, the estimated first position, and the base station information; and

correct the distance information according to the specified positional relationship.

6. The position estimation device according to claim 5,

wherein, when the specified positional relationship indicates that the user is present between one of the plurality of base stations and the wireless terminal, the correction unit is configured to correct a value of the distance information to be greater than when the user is not present between the one of the plurality of base stations and the wireless terminal, the distance information being estimated as a distance from the one of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal.

7. The position estimation device according to claim 5,

wherein, when the specified positional relationship indicates that the user is present between one of the plurality of base stations and the wireless terminal and that the wireless terminal is placed in a breast pocket of a garment worn by the user, the correction unit is configured to correct a value of the distance information to be greater than when the wireless terminal is in a hand of the user, the distance information being estimated as a distance from another one of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal.

8. The position estimation device according to claim 1,

wherein the correction unit is configured to correct the distance information according to a frequency band used by the at least one base station for communicating with the wireless terminal.

9. The position estimation device according to claim 1,

wherein, when a distance from the estimated first position to the estimated second position is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the position estimation device corrects the distance information again using the estimated second position as the estimated first position.

10. The position estimation device according to claim 9,

wherein, when the distance from the estimated first position to the estimated second position is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the correction unit is configured to, using the estimated second position as the estimated first position, correct the distance information based on an acceleration and a direction of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, the estimated first position, and the base station information, and

the position estimation unit is further configured to estimate the estimated second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.

11. A position estimation device which estimates a current position of a wireless terminal, the device comprising:

a storage unit configured to preliminarily store an electric field strength map in which a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal is recorded at predetermined space intervals;

a measurement unit configured to measure a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from at least one base station of the plurality of base stations;

a position estimation unit configured to estimate a first position to be the current position of the wireless terminal and at which the receiving strength is measured, using the receiving strength measured by the measurement unit and the electric field strength map stored in the storage unit;

a placement state determination unit configured to determine a placement state indicating where the wireless terminal at the estimated first position is placed on a user using an acceleration of the wireless terminal;

a movement direction determination unit configured to determine a movement direction of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position using the acceleration and a direction of the wireless terminal; and

a correction unit configured to;

obtain, using terminal posture information that is obtained by an acceleration sensor and a direction sensor of the wireless terminal and indicates an orientation of a surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, surface orientation information on the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position as seen from the position of the at least one base station, the surface orientation information indicating which side of the wireless terminal faces the at least one base station;

specify a positional relationship among the at least one base station, the user, and the wireless terminal, using the obtained surface orientation information, the determined placement state, the determined movement direction, and the estimated first position; and

correct the receiving strength according to the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position and the specified positional relationship,

wherein the position estimation unit is configured to estimate a second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal, using the corrected receiving strength and the stored electric field strength map.

12. The position estimation device according to claim 11,

wherein the position estimation device is included in the wireless terminal, and

the position estimation device further comprises a detection unit configured to detect the acceleration and the direction of the wireless terminal.

13. The position estimation device according to claim 11, further comprising

a posture detection unit configured to detect the terminal posture information of the wireless terminal using the acceleration sensor and the direction sensor of the wireless terminal.

14. A position estimation method for estimating a current position of a wireless terminal, the method being performed by the wireless terminal, the method comprising:

estimating, using a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal, distance information indicating a distance from at least one base station of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal;

estimating a first position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using base station information indicating a position of the at least one base station and the estimated distance information; and

correcting the distance information by;

obtaining, using terminal posture information that is obtained by an acceleration sensor and a direction sensor of the wireless terminal and indicates an orientation of a surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, surface orientation information on the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position as seen from the position of the at least one base station, the surface orientation information indicating which side of the wireless terminal faces the at least one base station; and

correcting the distance from the at least one base station to the wireless terminal based on the obtained surface orientation information,

wherein the estimating of a first position further includes estimating a second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute position estimation processing for estimating a current position of a wireless terminal is recorded, the position estimation processing being executed in the wireless terminal, the position estimation processing comprising:

estimating, using a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal, distance information indicating a distance from at least one base station of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal;

estimating a first position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using base station information indicating a position of the at least one base station and the estimated distance information; and

correcting the distance information by;

obtaining, using terminal posture information that is obtained by an acceleration sensor and a direction sensor of the wireless terminal and indicates an orientation of a surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, surface orientation information on the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position as seen from the position of the at least one base station, the surface orientation information indicating which side of the wireless terminal faces the at least one base station; and

correcting the distance from the at least one base station to the wireless terminal based on the obtained surface orientation information,

wherein the estimating of a first position further includes estimating a second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.

16. An integrated circuit which estimates a current position of a wireless terminal, the integrated circuit being included in the wireless terminal, the integrated circuit comprising:

a distance estimation unit configured to estimate, using a receiving strength of a signal received by the wireless terminal from each of a plurality of base stations communicating with the wireless terminal, distance information indicating a distance from at least one base station of the plurality of base stations to the wireless terminal;

a position estimation unit configured to estimate a first position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using base station information indicating a position of the at least one base station and the estimated distance information; and

a correction unit configured to correct the distance information by;

obtaining, using terminal posture information that is obtained by an acceleration sensor and a direction sensor of the wireless terminal and indicates an orientation of a surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position, surface orientation information on the orientation of the surface of the wireless terminal at the estimated first position as seen from the position of the at least one base station, the surface orientation information indicating which side of the wireless terminal faces the at least one base station; and

correcting the distance from the at least one base station to the wireless terminal based on the obtained surface orientation information,

wherein the position estimation unit is further configured to estimate a second position to be the current position of the wireless terminal using the base station information and the corrected distance information.