Method and apparatus for building Wi-Fi radio map

• US 9,445,387 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2012
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ViSoft Ltd
• Original Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Inventors: Han, Dong-soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Soe, Kyaw Z
• Application Number:
  US14/117,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20140341198A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0242 Determining the position of transmitters to be subsequently used in positioning G01S5/0289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02526 using non-dedicated equipment, e.g. user equipment or crowd-sourcing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

The present invention is related to method and device for building Wi-Fi radio map. Especially, it is related to device and method for building Wi-Fi radio map that is used to position locating service that utilizes Wi-Fi fingerprints that many, unspecified mobile terminals collect and provide. Specifically, the present invention provides, as methods for estimating position data for AP (200) using Wi-Fi fingerprints collected by mobile terminals (100), 1) method for estimating position data for AP (200) by linking Wi-Fi fingerprints and time data for collecting Wi-Fi signal, or 2) method for estimating position data for AP (200) through user address data comparison between Wi-Fi fingerprints without linking signal collection time data to Wi-Fi fingerprints. Accordingly, it has effects of epoch-making economic feasibility compared to prior art that requires huge cost in collecting Wi-Fi fingerprint like war driving.

Claims

1. A Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus comprising:

a user address database that stores address data for a plurality of users who carry mobile terminals; and

a control processor that receives Wi-Fi fingerprints collected and transmitted by the mobile terminals that said plurality of users carry;

refers to said user address database for each received Wi-Fi fingerprint;

selects one among addresses of the user who carries the mobile terminal that collected the Wi-Fi fingerprint;

converts the selected user address to coordinates; and

the generates Wi-Fi radio map data;

wherein said control processor comprises;

a Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving part that decides whether time data for collection time is combined for each of the Wi-Fi fingerprints that the mobile terminals carried by said plurality of users collected and transmitted; and

when no time data is combined, combines time data of the time that the corresponding Wi-Fi fingerprint was received;

a Wi-Fi fingerprint classifying part that is notified of received contents from said Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving part;

refers to said combined time data; and

classifies type of the location at which the corresponding Wi-Fi fingerprint was collected;

an address combining part that is notified of the location type classification contents from said Wi-Fi fingerprint classifying part;

retrieves data for user who carried the mobile terminal that transmitted the Wi-Fi fingerprint and the user'"'"'s address through referring to said user address database;

among the user'"'"'s addresses retrieved, selects an address that corresponds to said classified location type; and

combines it with said Wi-Fi fingerprint; and

an address-coordinates converting part that converts the address selected by said address combining part into coordinates; and

generates Wi-Fi radio map data combined with the converted coordinates.

2. The Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 1, wherein said address-coordinates converting part generates the Wi-Fi radio map data in a state in which said converted coordinates and the Wi-Fi fingerprints are combined.

3. The Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 1, wherein said address-coordinates converting part generates the Wi-Fi radio map data in a state in which Wi-fi repeater unique data included in said Wi-Fi fingerprint and the coordinates are combined.

4. The Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 1, wherein said Wi-Fi fingerprint classifying part classifies type of location, at which the Wi-Fi finger print was collected, as residence or workplace.

5. The Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 1, the Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a noise removing part that, for Wi-Fi fingerprints combined with addresses at said address combining part, removes Wi-Fi fingerprints that were decided unreliable through comparison with other Wi-Fi fingerprints combined with the same or similar addresses.

6. The Wi-Fi radio map building apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control processor comprises:

a Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving part that receives Wi-Fi fingerprints that the mobile terminals carried by said plurality of users collected and transmitted;

an address combining part that is notified of received contents from said Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving part;

retrieves the user that carries the mobile terminal that transmitted said received Wi-Fi fingerprint and address data of said user from the user address database; and

combines them to said received Wi-Fi fingerprint;

an address decision part that searches existing received Wi-Fi fingerprint that includes the same AP unique data as that of said received Wi-Fi fingerprint; and

decides an address that is estimated as the position at which said received Wi-Fi finqerprint was coIlected, through checking adjacent relationship between user addresses combined to said received Wi-Fi fingerprint by said address combining part and user addresses combined to the searched existing Wi-Fi fingerprint; and

an address-coordinates converting part that converts the address decided by said address decision part into coordinates; and

generates Wi-Fi radio map data combined with said converted coordinates.

7. A Wi-Fi radio map building method, wherein a user address database stores address data for a plurality of users who carry mobile terminals, and wherein a control processor receives Wi-Fi fingerprints collected and transmitted by the mobile terminals that said plurality of users carry;

refers to said user address database for each received Wi-Fi fingerprint;

selects one among addresses of the user who carries the mobile terminal that collected the Wi-Fi fingerprint;

converts the selected user address to coordinates; and

then generates Wi-Fi radio map data;

the method comprising;

a first step of Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving, in which when the Wi-Fi fingerprint transmitted by one of the mobile terminals is received, whether time data for collection time is combined for each of the Wi-Fi fingerprints that the mobile terminals carried by said plurality of users collected and transmitted is decided; and

when no time data is combined, time data of the time that the corresponding Wi-Fi fingerprint was received is combined;

a second step of Wi-Fi fingerprint classifying, in which received contents from the first step is notified;

said combined time data is referred to; and

type of the location at which the corresponding Wi-Fi fingerprint was collected is classified;

a third step of address combining, in which the location type classification contents from the second step is notified;

data for user who carried the mobile terminal that transmitted the Wi-Fi fingerprint and the user'"'"'s address through referring to said user address database are retrieved;

among the user'"'"'s addresses retrieved, an address that corresponds to said classified location type is selected and combined with said Wi-Fi fingerprint; and

a fourth step of address-coordinates converting, in which the address selected in the third step is converted into coordinates; and

Wi-Fi radio map data combined with the converted coordinates is generated.

8. The Wi-Fi radio map building method of claim 7, wherein the location type classification in said second step is classified into residence or workplace.

9. The Wi-Fl radio map building method of claim 7, further comprisinq, after performinq said third step, a step of removing Wi-Fi fingerprint which is judged unreliable through comparison with other Wi-fi fingerprints to which the same or similar addresses are combined, for the Wi-Fi fingerprints for which addresses are decided.

10. The Wi-Fi radio map building method of claim 7, wherein in the generation of Wi-Fi radio map data in said fourth step, the Wi-Fi radio map data is generated either in a form in which said Wi-Fi fingerprint and said coordinates are combined, or in a form in which Wi-Fi repeater unique data included in the Wi-Fi fingerprint and coordinates are combined.

11. A Wi-Fi radio map building method, wherein a user address database stores address data for a plurality of users who carry mobile terminals, wherein a Wi-Fi fingerprint database stores mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprint, and wherein a control processor receives Wi-Fi fingerprints collected and transmitted by the mobile terminals that said plurality of users carry;

refers to said user address database for each received Wi-Fi fingerprint;

selects one among addresses of the user who carries the mobile terminal that collected the Wi-Fi fingerprint;

converts the selected user address to coordinates; and

then generates Wi-Fi radio map data;

the method comprising;

a first step of Wi-Fi fingerprint receiving, in which mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints transmitted by the plurality of mobile terminals are received and stored in the Wi-Fi fingerprint database;

a second step of address combining, in which all address data of the user for a corresponding mobile terminal from the use address database is retrieved using the mobile terminal unique data in the first step, and the address data of the user for the corresponding mobile terminal is combined to said mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints that are stored in the Wi-Fi fingerprint database;

a third step of address decision, in which existing data stored in the Wi-Fi fingerprint database and said received mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints are compared, wherein whether there is one in which the mobile unique data do not coincide but the Wi-Fi repeater unique data are the same is searched, wherein if there is one, the addresses combined to the searched existing data and said received mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints are compared with each other, wherein the address among the addresses combined to said received mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints, which is in adjacent relationship with one of the addresses combined to the searched existing data is decided as the position at which the Wi-Fi fingerprint in the received mobile terminal unique data and Wi-Fi fingerprints was collected; and

a fourth step of generating Wi-Fi radio map, in which said decided address in the third step is converted into coordinates; and

Wi-Fi radio map data combined with the converted coordinates is generated.

12. The Wi-Fi radio map building method of claim 11, wherein in the Wi-Fi radio map data generation in said fourth step, Wi-Fi radio map data is generated either in a form in which said received Wi-Fi fingerprint and said coordinates are combined, or in a form in which AP unique data included in Wi-Fi fingerprint and said coordinates are combined.