Methods and apparatuses for location-triggered sensor initialization

• US 9,476,716 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Biacs, Zoltan F., Opshaug, Guttorm R., Kushwaha, Manish, Riley, Wyatt Thomas, Shah, Mayur N., Czompo, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hutchinson, Alan D
• Application Number:
  US14/072,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20140288820A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1654 with electromagnetic compass
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/26 involving a sensor measurement for aiding acquisition or tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/47 the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/48 by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and devices for generating one or more harsh or diminished radiofrequency environments relative to a planned route of a mobile device user. In one example, a mobile device user a be routed through a harsh or diminished radiofrequency environment based, at least in part, on a sensor suite of a mobile device and/or based on a user'"'"'s preferences. Prior to entry into such an environment, various sensors may be activated in a manner that permits position estimation in an absence of SPS based positioning signals and/or TPS based positioning signals.

Claims

1. A method comprising, at a mobile device:

receiving via a wireless communication signal, from a route server that is separate and external to the mobile device, at least a portion of a planned route to a pre-determined destination, said received at least said portion of said planned route comprising indicators for travel within a location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

said received at least said portion of said planned route comprising an instruction to activate at least one sensor if an estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

processing acquired satellite positioning system (SPS) signals, terrestrial positioning system (TPS) signals, or a combination thereof, for use in computing said estimated position of said mobile device;

said mobile device activating, said at least one sensor in response to said instruction based, at least in part, on a determination that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

using measurements obtained at said activated at least one sensor to aid in obtaining a position fix within said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

using said measurements obtained by said activated at least one sensor to aid in obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on said received at least said portion of said planned route indicating that an accurate estimated position of said mobile device is critical for operation of a position estimation application.

3. The method of claim 2, and further comprising:

maintaining said at least one sensor in an unpowered state if said received at least said portion of said planned route indicates that said accurate estimated position of said mobile device is not critical for operation of said position estimation application.

4. The method of claim 2, and further comprising:

maintaining said at least one sensor in an unpowered state based, at least partially in response to receiving a user selection of a route that traverses densely populated areas, experiences traffic delays, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

determining that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, or that said estimated position is along said received at least said portion of said planned route that is proximate to said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, said determining being based, at least in part, on one or more of;

crowd-sourced measurements or indications;

detection of a WWAN cell density;

channel energy or channel impulse responses for WWAN signals or GNSS signals;

a population density map;

a Wi-Fi access point density map;

or

inspection of imagery features on a digital map.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises an accelerometer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a gyroscope.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a magnetometer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor comprises a barometric pressure sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

determining that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment by application of said estimated position to a geofence.

11. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

acquiring an identifying signal indicating that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching a cellular base station known to delimit said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

12. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

determining an extent of said location of at least one harsh or diminished radiofrequency environment; and

selecting a set of sensors to be activated based, at least in part, on said determined extent of said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

13. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

determining an estimated distance or an estimated time to reach said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

placing said at least one sensor into a preparatory condition based, at least in part, on said estimated distance or said estimated time.

14. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

receiving one or more crowd-sourcing updates to said received at least said portion of said planned route over a wireless communications channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said indicators for travel comprise one or more turn-by-turn indicators provided at one or more locations within said at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said instruction to activate said at least one sensor is based, at least in part, on a determination that said received at least said portion of said planned route comprises said one or more turn-by-turn indicators at one or more locations within said at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said activating said at least one sensor is based, at least in part, on available battery resources of said mobile device not being below a threshold capacity.

18. A mobile device comprising:

one or more sensors;

one or more receivers to acquire satellite positioning system (SPS) signals and terrestrial positioning system (TPS) signals, or a combination thereof, said one or more receivers additionally to receive via a wireless communication signal, from a route server that is separate and external to the mobile device, at least a portion of a planned route to a pre-determined destination, said received at least said portion of said planned route to comprise indicators for travel within a location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, said received at least said portion of said planned route additionally to comprise an instruction to activate at least one sensor of said one or more sensors if an estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

one or more processors of the mobile device configured to;

process said acquired SPS signals for use in computing said estimated position of said mobile device;

determine that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

activate said at least one sensor in response to said instruction and based, at least in part, on a determination that said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

apply measurements obtained by said at least one sensor of said one or more sensors to aid in obtaining a position fix within said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured to:

update said received at least said portion of said planned route based, at least in part, on one or more crowd-sourced measurements or indications.

20. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein said at least said portion of said received planned route comprises a digital map showing one or more WWAN cells, population density, and Wi-Fi access point density.

21. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured to:

receive, from a user interface, an input signal representing a route preference, said route preference being based, at least in part, on a user'"'"'s tolerance for traveling within a harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

22. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured to:

direct a display device of said mobile device to present at least portions of at least two planned routes to said pre-determined destination based, at least in part, said input signal from said user interface.

23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein said one or more processors are additionally configured to:

direct said display device of said mobile device to present at least portions of said at least two planned routes to said pre-determined destination based, at least in part, on a sensor suite of said mobile device.

24. An article comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon which are executable by a special purpose computing apparatus of a mobile device to;

obtain via a wireless communication signal, from a route server that is separate and external to the mobile device, at least a portion of a planned route to a pre-determined destination, said obtained at least said portion of said planned route to comprise indicators for travel within a location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, said obtained at least said portion of said planned route additionally to comprise an instruction to activate at least one sensor if an estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

process acquired satellite positioning system (SPS) signals or terrestrial positioning system (TPS) signals for use in computing said estimated position of said mobile device;

determine that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

the mobile device to activate said at least one sensor in response to said instruction based, at least in part, on a determination that said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

apply measurements obtained at said activated at least one sensor to aid in obtaining a position fix within said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

25. The article of claim 24, wherein said non-transitory storage medium comprises machine-readable instructions stored thereon which are executable by said special purpose computing apparatus to:

modify said at least said portion of said planned route based, at least in part, on one or more crowd-sourced measurements or indications.

26. The article of claim 24, wherein said non-transitory storage medium comprises machine-readable instructions stored thereon which are executable by said special purpose computing apparatus to:

determine whether to activate said at least one sensor in response to determining that an accurate measurement of said estimated position within said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment is critical for operation of a position estimation application along said at least said portion of said planned route.

27. The article of claim 26, wherein said at least a portion of said planned route comprises a digital map showing one or more WWAN cells, population density, or Wi-Fi access point density.

28. The article of claim 24, wherein said non-transitory storage medium comprises machine-readable instructions stored thereon which are executable by said special purpose computing apparatus to:

direct a display device of said mobile device to receive an input that represents a mobile device user'"'"'s route preference, said mobile device user'"'"'s route preference being based, at least in part, on a user'"'"'s tolerance for traveling to a destination within a harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

29. An apparatus at a mobile device, comprising:

means for receiving via a wireless communication signal, from a route server that is separate and external to the mobile device, at least a portion of a planned route to a pre-determined destination, said received at least a portion of said planned route comprising indicators for travel within a location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, said received at least said portion of said planned route comprising an instruction to activate one or more sensors if an estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment;

means for processing acquired satellite positioning system (SPS) signals and terrestrial positioning system (TPS) signals, or a combination thereof, for use in computing said estimated position of said mobile device;

means for activating at least one of said one or more sensors in response to said instruction and based, at least in part, on a determination that said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

means for using measurements obtained from said one or more sensors to aid in obtaining a position fix within said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means for using said measurements obtained from said one or more sensors to aid in obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on acquisition of said SPS signals and said TPS signals if said received at least said portion of said planned route indicates that accurate estimated position of said mobile device is critical for operation of a position estimation application.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means for maintaining said one or more sensors in an unpowered state if said received at least said portion of said planned route indicates that accurate position estimates of said mobile device are not critical for operation of a position estimation application.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means for determining that said estimated position of said mobile device is proximate to or approaching said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, or that said estimated position is along said received at least said portion of said planned route is proximate to said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment, said determining being based, at least in part, on one or more of;

crowd-sourced measurements or indications;

detection of a WWAN cell density;

channel energy or channel impulse responses for signals or GNSS signals;

a population density map;

a Wi-Fi access point density map;

or

inspection of imagery features on a digital map.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, and further comprising:

means for determining an estimated distance or time to reach said location of at least one harsh or diminished radio frequency environment; and

means for placing at least one sensor of said one or more sensors into a preparatory condition based, at least in part, on said estimated distance or time.