Indoor positioning device and indoor positioning method

• US 9,883,351 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Original Assignee: Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Inventors: Tan, Guang, Xie, Bo, Mao, Chenghua, Xiao, Zhongkai
• Primary Examiner(s): WOLDEKIDAN, HIBRET ASNAKE
• Application Number:
  US15/309,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20170078852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 398118, 398127-132, 398172
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/7034 Mounting or deployment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/7038 Signal details
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2201/02 Indoor positioning, e.g. in covered car-parks, mining facilities, warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1141 One-way transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Disclosed is an indoor positioning device which comprises a base, a light source mounted on the base, a rotating part, a rotating outer shell and a controller; the rotating outer shell is a hemispherical shell body or a shell body being tangent externally with a hemispherical surface; a luminous point is located at a spherical center of the rotating outer shell; the rotating outer shell is divided into a plurality of encoded rings, each encoded ring is divided into a plurality of encoding bits, a angle β of each encoding bit in a latitudinal direction is 360/N degrees, different encoded rings has different arrangements of encoding bits; in each encoded ring, some encoding bits are in a transparent state, there is no arrangement of two continuous opaque encoding bits, some encoding bits arranged in a specified style constitute a start bit or an end bit; once a light barrier of the rotating part passes through an optical coupler, the light source generates a frequency hopping; a receiver senses an optical signal and performs positioning. According to the special rotating outer shell and the frequency hopping light source, and in combination with the receiver, the optical signal can be sensed and positioning can be implemented. The indoor positioning device has a simplified structure and the method for indoor positioning is novel, accurate, has a good stability and a low cost, and is applicable to indoor positioning with high precision.

Claims

1. An indoor positioning device, comprising a base, a light source mounted on the base, a rotating part, a rotating outer shell arranged on the rotating part, and a controller;

the rotating outer shell is a hemispherical shell body or a shell body formed by splicing a plurality of small flat surfaces or annular surfaces together and being tangent externally with a hemispherical surface;

a luminous point of the light source is positioned at a spherical center of the hemispherical surface;

the rotating outer shell is divided into a plurality of encoded rings that are parallel to latitude lines, in a longitudinal direction, an angle α

of each encoded ring relative to the light source is known;

each encoded ring relative to the light source is divided into a plurality of encoding bits, in a latitudinal direction, an angle β

of each of the encoding bits relative to a center point of the encoded ring is 360/N degree, wherein N is the number of the encoding bits in one encoded ring, and is a positive integer equal to or greater than 3, and N satisfies that different encoded rings have different arrangements of encoding bits respectively;

in each encoded ring, some encoding bits are in a transparent state, and there is no arrangement of two or more continuous opaque encoding bits, some encoding bits arranged in a specified style constitutes a start bit or an end bit of the encoded ring;

the base is further provided with an opto-isolator having a groove, a side of the rotating part facing the base is provided with a light barrier, once the rotating part drives the light barrier to pass through the groove, the controller controls the light source to generate a frequency hopping;

the indoor positioning device further comprises a receiver configured to be placed at a point to be positioned to sense optical signal, detecting a frequency hopping point, and performing positioning according to the optical signal and the frequency hopping point.

2. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein each encoded ring comprises a special encoding bit having a shape that is different from that of other encoding bits, a width of the special encoding bit is in accordance with a predetermined changing rule in a longitudinal direction.

3. The indoor positioning device according to claim 2, wherein two lateral edges of the special encoding bit are neither parallel to nor coincident with longitude lines, and the special encoding bit is substantially trapezoid-shaped.

4. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the start bit or the end bit includes a plurality of encoding bits arranged continuously and in a transparent state.

5. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein a working frequency of the light source includes a first frequency and a second frequency;

when the light barrier passes through the groove, if the working frequency of the light source is the first frequency, the controller controls the light source to hop into the second frequency;

if the working frequency of the light source is the second frequency, the controller controls the light source to hop into the first frequency after the rotating outer shell continues to rotate by one encoding bit.

6. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein each encoded ring has an identical or different angle in the longitudinal direction.

7. An indoor positioning method based on the indoor positioning device according to claim 1, comprising:

driving the rotating outer shell to rotate, and enabling a projection light ring of the rotating outer shell projected by the light source onto a horizontal plane where the point to be positioned is located to rotate with the rotating outer shell;

sensing the optical signal by the receiver located at the point to be positioned, determining the projection light ring where the receiver is located according to the optical signal, and determining an angle θ

between a connecting line that connects the point to be positioned with the light source and a rotating axis of the rotating outer shell;

defining a direction directed by a projection of a distal end of the start bit or the end bit on the horizontal plane when the light barrier passes through the groove as an initial direction, detecting the frequency hopping point of the light source and the distal end of the start bit or the end bit, and determining an angle ω

between the point to be positioned and the initial direction by the receiver;

determining the position of the point to be positioned according to the angle θ and

the angle ω

.

8. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein the step of determining an angle θ

between a connecting line that connects the point to be positioned with the light source and a rotating axis of the rotating outer shell specifically includes;

when each encoded ring has an identical angle α

in a longitudinal direction, θ

=(m−

½

)*α

;

when each encoded ring has a different angle in the longitudinal direction, θ

=α

₁+α

₂+ . . . α

_m/2;

wherein, m is the number of the projection light rings at the inner side of the point to be positioned, and includes the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located, α

₁, α

₂, . . . α

_m are angles of a first encoded ring, a second encoded ring,. . . a mth encoded ring in the longitudinal direction respectively.

9. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein under the following circumstance:

each encoded ring of the rotating outer shell comprises a special encoding bit that is different from other encoding bits in shape, and a width of the special encoding bit is in accordance with a predetermined changing rule in the longitudinal direction,

the step of determining an angle θ

between a connecting line that connects the point to be positioned with the light source and a rotating axis of the rotating outer shell specifically includes;

when each encoded ring has an identical angle α

in the longitudinal direction, determining an angle θ

^r=r*α

between a connecting line that connects an inner edge of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located with the light source and the rotating axis of the rotating outer shell;

when each encoded ring has a different angle in the longitudinal direction, determining an angle θ

^r=α

₁=α

₂=. . . α

_r, between a connecting line that connects an inner edge of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located with the light source and the rotating axis of the rotating outer shell;

wherein, r is the number of the projection light rings at the inner side of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located, α

₁, α

₂, . . . α

_m are angles of the first encoded ring, the second encoded ring, . . . the mth encoded ring in the longitudinal direction respectively;

according to the width of the special encoding bit sensed by the receiver, determining an included angle Δ

θ

^r of the point to be positioned and the inner edge of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located relative to the light source;

determining the angle θ

=θ

^r+Δ

θ

^r between the connecting line that connects the point to be positioned with the light source and the rotating axis.

10. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein determining an angle ω

between the point to be positioned and the initial direction specifically includes following steps;

determining an included angle ω

^r between a front edge of the projection light ring wherein the point to be positioned is located and the initial direction, r is the number of the projection light rings at the inner side of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located;

according to transparent encoding bit data collected continuously by the receiver after the frequency hopping point is detected, determining an included angle Δ

ω

^r of the point to be positioned and the front edge of the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located relative to a center of the projection light ring when the frequency hopping takes place;

determining the angle ω

=ω

^r+Δ

α

^r between the point to be positioned and the initial direction.

11. The indoor positioning method according to claim 10, wherein when the frequency hopping takes place at a time when the light barrier passes through the groove, ω

^r=(n−

1)*β

, n is the number of the encoding bits by which the rotating outer shell is rotated in a time interval from a time when the frequency hopping point is detected by the receiver to a time when a distal end of the end bit is detected by the receiver, and includes the encoding bit corresponding to the projection light ring where the point to be positioned is located;

when the frequency hopping takes place at a time when the light barrier passes through the groove and continues to rotate by one encoding bit, ω

^r=n*β

.

12. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein, when a vertical height H from the light source to the point to be positioned is known, and a coordinate (x₀, y₀, z₀) of the light source is known too, a coordinate of the point to be positioned is:

(x₀+H*tan(θ

)*sin(ω

), y₀+H*tan(θ

)*cos(ω

), z₀−

H).

13. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein when the vertical height H from the light source to the point to be positioned is unknown, but a coordinate (x₀, y₀, z₀) of the light source is known, two indoor positioning devices are applied, and irradiating surfaces of the two light sources have an intersecting area, the point to be positioned is located in the intersecting area, and a coordinate of the point to be positioned is determined according to coordinates of the two known light sources, the included angle θ

, and the included angle ω

.

14. The indoor positioning method according to claim 7, wherein the light source is set to work under a first frequency and a second frequency, when the light barrier passes through the groove , if the frequency of the light source is the first frequency, the light source is controlled to hop into the second frequency;

if the frequency of the light source is the second frequency, the light source is controlled to hop into the first frequency after the rotating outer shell continues to rotate by one encoding bit.

15. The indoor positioning device according to claim 1, wherein N is equal to or greater than 48.