Method and apparatus for mobile device localization
First Claim
1. A method of providing indoor localization, the method comprising:
- emitting signals at multiple fixed locations within an indoor facility with multiple floors and multiple rooms on each floor, the signals being unique at each location relative to the signals at adjacent locations within the indoor facility, the signals being non-radio frequency signals perceptible by a mobile electronics device, each signal encoded to correspond to both the respective floor and the respective room on each floor within the facility from which each signal is emitted and known to the mobile electronics device by way of a look-up table, the look-up table being a multi-dimensional data structure with dimensions corresponding to the floors and the rooms on each floor within the facility; and
transmitting the look-up table, on a temporary basis, to the mobile electronics device as the mobile electronics device enters the indoor facility.
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Abstract
Because GPS does not work indoors, mobile electronics devices that use GPS for activities do not work inside a building. An embodiment of the present invention uses ultrasonic tone generators in each room. The ultrasonic tone generators can be built into cameras or separate devices. Each device may emit a unique tone that has a high enough frequency that most people cannot hear the frequency or combination of frequencies. Using a built-in microphone on a mobile device, the incoming audio may be analyzed in the frequency domain to determine the loudest tone above the human hearing threshold. This tone may be mapped to a specific room that can then be sent to the mobile electronics device to perform any location-aware actions.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of providing indoor localization, the method comprising:
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emitting signals at multiple fixed locations within an indoor facility with multiple floors and multiple rooms on each floor, the signals being unique at each location relative to the signals at adjacent locations within the indoor facility, the signals being non-radio frequency signals perceptible by a mobile electronics device, each signal encoded to correspond to both the respective floor and the respective room on each floor within the facility from which each signal is emitted and known to the mobile electronics device by way of a look-up table, the look-up table being a multi-dimensional data structure with dimensions corresponding to the floors and the rooms on each floor within the facility; and transmitting the look-up table, on a temporary basis, to the mobile electronics device as the mobile electronics device enters the indoor facility. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for providing indoor localization, the system comprising:
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a controller configured with a mapping of multiple fixed locations within an indoor facility with multiple floors and multiple rooms on each floor, the mapping including parameters for signals to be emitted at the multiple fixed locations, the parameters being unique for each location relative to parameters at adjacent locations; a signal generator at each location configured to generate a signal corresponding to a respective parameter; an emitter at each location coupled to the respective signal generator and configured to emit a signal according to the respective parameter, the signals at the multiple fixed locations within the indoor facility being unique at each location relative to signals at adjacent locations within the indoor facility, the signals being non-radio frequency signals perceptible by a mobile electronics device, each signal encoded to correspond to both the respective floor and the respective room on each floor within the facility from which each signal is emitted and known to the mobile electronics device by way of a look-up table, the look-up table being a multidimensional data structure with dimensions corresponding to the floors and the rooms on each floor within the facility; and a mapping distribution module configured to transmit, on a temporary basis, the look-up table to the mobile electronics device as the mobile electronics device enters the indoor facility. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification