Activating and deactivating sensors for dead reckoning

• US 9,470,529 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Sidhu, Gursharan S., Agarwal, Sharad
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hutchinson, Alan D
• Application Number:
  US13/183,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20130018581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,923 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/188 for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/26 involving a sensor measurement for aiding acquisition or tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

An identification is made as to when a device is at an anchor location, which can be a proximity zone along an edge of a dead zone or a location where a signal from a beacon is detected. In response to the device being at the anchor location, one or more inertial sensors can be activated and data from the one or more inertial sensors collected to determine a position of the device using dead reckoning. Alternatively, in response to the device being at the anchor location, a determination is made as to when to deactivate one or more inertial sensors from which data is collected to determine the position of the device using dead reckoning.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

an inertial sensor configured to provide inertial sensor data;

a processing device; and

a storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to;

identify that the mobile device is within an entrance anchor location associated with a dead zone;

activate the inertial sensor in response to arrival of the mobile device at the entrance anchor location;

identify that the mobile device is within an exit anchor location associated with the dead zone;

determine that a delay has elapsed since identifying that the mobile device is within the exit anchor location, the delay comprising a threshold amount of time during which the mobile device is not within the dead zone; and

deactivate the inertial sensor in response to determining that the delay has elapsed and the device has not re-entered the dead zone.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, the exit anchor location comprising a proximity zone along an edge of the dead zone.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, the exit anchor location comprising a location where a signal from a beacon is detected.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, further comprising a global navigation satellite system module that is unable to provide a position of the mobile device while the mobile device is within the dead zone.

5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to deactivate the inertial sensor in response to determining that the mobile device is not in the dead zone and is receiving the position of the mobile device from the global navigation satellite system module.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to deactivate the inertial sensor in response to a global navigation satellite system module of the mobile device providing an acceptable estimated accuracy of the position of the mobile device.

7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to:

determine that the mobile device has moved a particular distance away from the exit anchor location and is not in the dead zone, and

deactivate the inertial sensor in response to the determining that the mobile device has moved the particular distance away from the exit anchor location.

8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to identify that the device is at the exit anchor location in response to receiving a signal from a beacon.

9. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the exit anchor location is the same anchor location as the entrance anchor location.

10. A mobile device comprising:

an inertial sensor configured to provide inertial sensor data;

a processing device; and

a storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to;

identify that the mobile device is at an anchor location associated with a dead zone;

determine, based at least in part on the mobile device being at the anchor location, that the inertial sensor will be deactivated after a dead reckoning fidelity interval that begins when the mobile device departs the anchor location and enters the dead zone, the dead reckoning fidelity interval indicating a duration of time in which a position of the mobile device is provided with an acceptable estimated accuracy by dead reckoning;

perform the dead reckoning using the inertial sensor data to determine the position of the mobile device; and

deactivate the inertial sensor after the dead reckoning fidelity interval.

11. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to:

receive a beacon signal;

extend the dead reckoning fidelity interval in response to receiving the beacon signal; and

deactivate the inertial sensor after the extended dead reckoning fidelity interval.

12. The mobile device of claim 10, the anchor location comprising a location where a signal from a beacon associated with the dead zone is detected.

13. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to:

start recording crowd sourcing data based on the dead reckoning in response to identifying that the mobile device is at the anchor location.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of inertial sensors, individual inertial sensors of the plurality configured to detect movement and/or direction of the mobile device.

15. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the dead reckoning fidelity interval is a predetermined duration of time.

16. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to deactivate the inertial sensor provided that the mobile device is no longer at the anchor location and a global navigation satellite system is providing an acceptable estimated accuracy of a current position of the mobile device.

17. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to deactivate the inertial sensor a threshold amount of time after determining that the mobile device is no longer within the dead zone.

18. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to activate the inertial sensor in response to receiving a signal from a beacon associated with the dead zone.

19. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the dead reckoning fidelity interval is related to drift in the position provided by the dead reckoning.

20. A method performed by a device having an inertial sensor, the method comprising:

identifying that the device is at a first anchor location, the first anchor location being associated with a proximity zone along an edge of a dead zone;

activating the inertial sensor in response to the device being at the first anchor location;

collecting data from the inertial sensor to determine a position of the device using dead reckoning;

identifying when the device is at a second anchor location, the second anchor location being associated with the proximity zone along the edge of the dead zone or with a second proximity zone along another edge of the dead zone;

determining to deactivate the inertial sensor based at least in part on a delay occurring after the device is identified as being at the second anchor location; and

deactivating the inertial sensor in response to determining that the delay has occurred and the device has not re-entered the dead zone.