Apparatus, system and method of communicating positioning transmissions

• US 9,432,115 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2013
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Roberts, Richard D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dzung
• Application Number:
  US14/129,303
• Publication Number:
  US 20150016824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,147 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1129 Arrangements for outdoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of communicating positioning transmissions. For example, an apparatus may include a controller to control at least one light transmitter to transmit from a mobile object Intensity-Modulated (IM) optical signals including On-Off-Keying (OOK) signals of one or more positioning transmissions, the controller is to control the at least one light transmitter to transmit from the mobile object one or more first OOK signals over a first ranging frequency, and to transmit from the mobile object one or more second OOK signals over a second ranging frequency, the second ranging frequency is different from the first ranging frequency.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a controller to control at least one light transmitter to transmit from a mobile object Intensity-Modulated (IM) optical signals including On-Off-Keying (OOK) signals of one or more positioning transmissions, which are configured for determining a relative positioning between the mobile object and at least one other object, said controller is to control said at least one light transmitter to transmit from said mobile object one or more first OOK signals over a first ranging frequency, and to transmit from said mobile device one or more second OOK signals over a second ranging frequency, said second ranging frequency is different from said first ranging frequency.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and second ranging frequencies are selected according to a predefined frequency hopping size.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said first ranging frequency is offset from a center frequency by a first integer multiple of said frequency hopping size, and wherein said second ranging frequency is offset from said center frequency by a second integer multiple of said frequency hopping size.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and second ranging frequencies are randomly selected.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first OOK signals comprise signals of a first positioning transmission, and said second OOK signals comprise signals of a second positioning transmission subsequent to said first positioning transmission.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said at least one light transmitter comprises a plurality of light transmitters, and wherein said controller is to control said plurality of light transmitters to simultaneously transmit the signals of the first positioning transmission over said first ranging frequency, and to control said plurality of light transmitters to simultaneously transmit the signals of the second positioning transmission over said second ranging frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one light transmitter comprises at least first and second light transmitters, and wherein said controller is to control said first and second light transmitters to transmit a positioning transmission by controlling said first light transmitter to transmit said first OOK signals over said first ranging frequency and said second light transmitter to transmit said second OOK signals over said second ranging frequency.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said controller is to control said first and second light transmitters to transmit said first and second OOK signals simultaneously.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, comprising at least one light receiver to receive said first and second OOK signals reflected from said other object.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, comprising a lensed detector array to map an angle of arrival of said first and second OOK signals to pixel locations on an image plane.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said mobile object comprises a first mobile object, and said other object comprises a second mobile object, and wherein said first and second OOK signals comprise one-way positioning signals transmitted from the first mobile object to the second mobile object.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and second OOK signals comprise two-way positioning signals transmitted by said mobile object, reflected by said other object, and received back by the mobile object.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said light transmitter comprises a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said mobile object comprises a vehicle, and wherein said positioning transmissions comprise vehicle-positioning transmissions.

15. A vehicle positioning system comprising:

at least one light transmitter; and

a controller to control said light transmitter to transmit from a vehicle Intensity-Modulated (IM) optical signals including On-Off-Keying (OOK) signals of one or more vehicle-positioning transmissions, which are configured for determining a relative positioning between the vehicle and at least one object, said controller is to control said at least one light transmitter to transmit from said vehicle one or more first OOK signals over a first ranging frequency, and to transmit from said vehicle one or more second OOK signals over a second ranging frequency, said second ranging frequency is different from said first ranging frequency.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said first and second ranging frequencies are selected according to a predefined frequency hopping size.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said first and second ranging frequencies are randomly selected.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein said first OOK signals comprise signals of a first vehicle-positioning transmission, and said second OOK signals comprise signals of a second vehicle-positioning transmission subsequent to said first vehicle positioning transmission.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said at least one light transmitter comprises at least first and second light transmitters, and wherein said controller is to control said first and second light transmitters to transmit a vehicle-positioning transmission by controlling said first light transmitter to transmit said first OOK signals over said first ranging frequency and said second light transmitter to transmit said second OOK signals over said second ranging frequency.

20. The system of claim 19, comprising at least one light receiver to receive said first and second OOK signals reflected from said object.

21. The system of claim 15, including said vehicle.

22. A method comprising:

transmitting from a mobile object Intensity-Modulated (IM) optical signals including On-Off-Keying (OOK) signals of one or more positioning transmissions, which are configured for determining a relative positioning between the mobile object and at least one other object, said transmitting including transmitting from said mobile object one or more first OOK signals over a first ranging frequency, and transmitting from said mobile object one or more second OOK signals over a second ranging frequency, said second ranging frequency is different from said first ranging frequency.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising transmitting a first positioning transmission including said first OOK signals, and transmitting a second positioning transmission, subsequent to said first positioning transmission, including said second OOK signals.

24. The method of claim 22, comprising transmitting a positioning transmission by transmitting a first optical signal including a first OOK signal over said first ranging frequency, and transmitting a second optical signal including a second OOK signal over said second ranging frequency.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the mobile object comprises a vehicle, and wherein said positioning transmissions comprise vehicle-positioning transmissions.

26. A product including a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a machine, result in:

transmitting from a vehicle Intensity-Modulated (IM) optical signals including On-Off-Keying (OOK) signals of one or more vehicle-positioning transmissions, which are configured for determining a relative positioning between the vehicle and at least one object, said transmitting including transmitting from said vehicle one or more first OOK signals over a first ranging frequency, and transmitting from said vehicle one or more second OOK signals over a second ranging frequency, said second ranging frequency is different from said first ranging frequency.

27. The product of claim 26, wherein said instructions result in selecting said first and second ranging frequencies according to a predefined frequency hopping size.

28. The product of claim 26, wherein said instructions result in transmitting a first vehicle-positioning transmission including said first OOK signals, and transmitting a second vehicle-positioning transmission, subsequent to said first vehicle positioning transmission, including said second OOK signals.

29. The product of claim 26, wherein said instructions result in transmitting a vehicle-positioning transmission by transmitting a first optical signal including a first OOK signal over said first ranging frequency, and transmitting a second optical signal including a second OOK signal over said second ranging frequency.

30. The product of 29, wherein said instructions result in receiving said first and second optical signals reflected from said object.