Reliability in mobile device positioning in a crowdsourcing system

• US 9,843,890 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2016
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Do, Ju-yong, Agrawal, Meghna, Zhang, Gengsheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Arevalo, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/074,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20170272900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 455 6711, 4554522, 455436, 455418, 4554351, 455411, 4554561, 455513
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02526 using non-dedicated equipment, e.g. user equipment or crowd-sourcing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for improving reliability in mobile device positioning. A mobile device generates position data for a device, receives a first access point position reliability state associated with the first access point, determines a reliability of the position data based on the first access point position reliability state and an estimated location of the first access point, determines a threshold reliability requirement of an application associated with the mobile device, compares the reliability of the position data to the threshold reliability requirement of the application, and provides the position data of the device based on the comparison. A network entity determines access point characteristics associated with an access point, generates a position reliability state for the access point, sends the position reliability state to a mobile device, receives position data associated with the mobile device, and determines a trustworthiness of the position data.

Claims

1. A method of improving reliability in mobile device positioning, comprising:

generating, by a mobile device, position data for a device based on signaling between the mobile device and a first access point;

receiving, at the mobile device from a positioning server, a first access point position reliability state associated with the first access point;

determining, by the mobile device, a reliability of the position data based on the first access point position reliability state and an estimated location of the first access point;

determining, by the mobile device, a threshold reliability requirement of an application associated with the mobile device;

comparing, by the mobile device, the reliability of the position data to the threshold reliability requirement of the application;

providing, by the mobile device to the application, the position data of the device based on the comparison;

wherein the position data of the device comprises a first position of the mobile device, the method further comprising;

determining, by the mobile device, a second position of the mobile device that is not based on signaling between the mobile device and the first access point;

comparing, by the mobile device, the first position of the mobile device to the second position of the mobile device;

generating, by the mobile device, a consistency metric based on the comparison of the first position of the mobile device to the second position of the mobile device, wherein the consistency metric is based on the measurement history of a given Local Area Network Wireless Access Point (LAN-WAP) including an accumulated number of reliable and consistent measurements;

indicating that the first position is within a threshold distance of the second position and the first access point position reliability state is below a threshold, wherein the consistency metric indicates that the positioning server should increase the first access point position reliability state to a higher access point position reliability state; and

sending, by the mobile device, the consistency metric to the positioning server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the position data of the device comprises a position of the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the position data of the device comprises the estimated location of the first access point.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the mobile device, a plurality of sets of position data based on signaling between the mobile device and a corresponding plurality of access points, the plurality of access points comprising the first access point;

receiving, at the mobile device, a plurality of access point position reliability states, the plurality of access point position reliability states including the first access point position reliability state, wherein each access point of the plurality of access points is associated with an access point position reliability state of the plurality of access point position reliability states;

assigning, by the mobile device, a weight to each of the plurality of sets of position data based on the access point position reliability state of the corresponding access point; and

determining, by the mobile device, consistency between the plurality of sets of position data.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining, by the mobile device, a position of the mobile device based on the plurality of sets of position data, the assigned weights, and the consistency between the plurality of sets of position data.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the consistency between the plurality of sets of position data comprises:

determining, by the mobile device, a first position of the mobile device using only ones of the plurality of access points having access point position reliability states above a threshold; and

determining, by the mobile device, the second position of the mobile device using all of the plurality of access points,

wherein, based on a difference between the first position of the mobile device and the second position of the mobile device being greater than a threshold, providing the position data of the device to the application comprises providing the first position of the mobile device to the application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, based on the comparison of the first position of the mobile device to the second position of the mobile device indicating that the first position is greater than the threshold distance from the second position and the first access point position reliability state is above the threshold, the consistency metric indicates that the positioning server should decrease the first access point position reliability state to a lower access point position reliability state.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first access point position reliability state comprises one of VERY LOW, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, or VERY HIGH.

9. An apparatus for improving reliability in mobile device positioning, comprising:

at least one processor of a mobile device configured to generate position data for a device based on signaling between the mobile device and a first access point; and

a transceiver configured to receive, from a positioning server, a first access point position reliability state associated with the first access point,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to;

determine a reliability of the position data based on the first access point position reliability state and an estimated location of the first access point,

determine a threshold reliability requirement of an application associated with the mobile device,

compare the reliability of the position data to the threshold reliability requirement of the application, and

provide, to the application, the position data of the device based on the comparison;

wherein the position data of the device comprises a first position of the first position of the mobile device, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to;

determine a second position of the mobile device that is not based on signaling between the mobile device and the first access point;

compare the first position of the mobile device to the second position of the mobile device;

generate a consistency metric based on the comparison of the first position of the mobile device to the second position of the mobile device;

wherein the consistency metric is based on the measurement history of a given Local Area Network Wireless Access Point (LAN-WAP) including an accumulated number of reliable and consistent measurements; and

indicate that the first position is within a threshold distance of the second position and the first access point position reliability state is below a threshold, wherein the consistency metric indicates that the positioning server should increase the first access point position reliability state to a higher access point position reliability state; and

wherein the transceiver is further configured to send the consistency metric to the positioning server.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the position data of the device comprises a position of the mobile device.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the position data of the device comprises the estimated location of the first access point.