Independent beacon based light position system
First Claim
1. A mobile device, comprising:
- an image sensor;
a wireless interface configured to communicate through a network over a wireless medium;
a display device;
a processor coupled to the display device, the image sensor and the wireless interface;
a memory; and
software in the memory to be run by the processor, wherein running of the software by the processor configures the mobile device to perform functions, including functions to;
prior to operating the image sensor, receive from a location service other than a visible light based positioning system, an indication of a location of the mobile device outside an indoor location outfitted with a visible light based positioning system;
determine based on a distance parameter that the mobile device is entering the indoor location;
prior to the mobile device entering the indoor location, retrieve map information of the indoor location;
operate the image sensor to receive a modulated visible light signal transmitted by a visible light source within the indoor location;
demodulate the received modulated visible light signal transmitted by the visible light source;
determine by using the demodulated visible light signal, a light source identifier corresponding to the visible light source;
determine, by using the light source identifier, a position of the mobile device within the indoor location;
obtain location specific content related to the determined position of the mobile device within the indoor location; and
in response to the determined position of the mobile device being in a particular section of the indoor location, display promotional content from the location specific content on the display device of the mobile device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems an methods are provided that disclose providing a positioning service for devices based on light received from one or more light sources. This light based positioning service uses light information transmitted by each light source to determine the position of the device. The positioning information can include three dimension position information in a building that can then be used to deliver services and information to a mobile device. The content delivered to a mobile device can include multimedia, text, audio, and/or pictorial information. The positioning information along with other location or positioning information can be used in providing augmented reality or location aware services. The light sources can be independent beacons that broadcast information in visible light at a rate that is undetectable by the human eye. Content can be retrieved from a server over a communications connection.
177 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A mobile device, comprising:
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an image sensor; a wireless interface configured to communicate through a network over a wireless medium; a display device; a processor coupled to the display device, the image sensor and the wireless interface; a memory; and software in the memory to be run by the processor, wherein running of the software by the processor configures the mobile device to perform functions, including functions to; prior to operating the image sensor, receive from a location service other than a visible light based positioning system, an indication of a location of the mobile device outside an indoor location outfitted with a visible light based positioning system; determine based on a distance parameter that the mobile device is entering the indoor location; prior to the mobile device entering the indoor location, retrieve map information of the indoor location; operate the image sensor to receive a modulated visible light signal transmitted by a visible light source within the indoor location; demodulate the received modulated visible light signal transmitted by the visible light source; determine by using the demodulated visible light signal, a light source identifier corresponding to the visible light source; determine, by using the light source identifier, a position of the mobile device within the indoor location; obtain location specific content related to the determined position of the mobile device within the indoor location; and in response to the determined position of the mobile device being in a particular section of the indoor location, display promotional content from the location specific content on the display device of the mobile device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method, comprising:
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prior to operating an image sensor of a mobile device, receiving a mobile device location from a location service other than a visible light based positioning system; determining based on a distance parameter that the mobile device is entering an indoor location outfitted with a visible light based positioning system; prior to the mobile device entering the indoor location, retrieving map information of the indoor location; operating an image sensor of a mobile device to capture an image of visible light signals respectively emitted by at least two light sources in the indoor location; determining, by using the captured image, a light source identifier corresponding to each of the at least two visible light source in the captured image; determining, by using the light source identifiers corresponding to each of the at least two visible light sources, a position of the mobile device within the indoor location with reference to the at least two visible light sources within the indoor location; obtaining content related to items near the determined position of the mobile device within the indoor location; and in response to the determined position of the mobile device being in a particular section of the indoor location, display on a display of the mobile device promotional content of the obtained content. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a database containing one or more categories of information, including maps of indoor locations, light identifiers of light sources installed in an indoor location, content and analytics information; and a server, coupled to the one or more databases, the server comprising; a network interface coupled to network associated with an indoor location, a memory, one or more logic modules stored in the memory, a processor coupled to the network interface, the database, the memory, and the processor when running the logic modules stored in the memory is configured to perform functions, including functions to; obtain a light identifier derived from a modulated visible light signal transmitted by a visible light source within the indoor location; determine a light source identifier corresponding to the one visible light source based on the demodulated visible light signals; retrieve, from the database, position information corresponding to the determined light source identifier, the retrieved position information including position coordinates in three dimensions of the one visible light source in the indoor location; retrieve content, from the database, related to the indoor location; deliver the position information and the content related to the indoor location; maintain a number of times a mobile device user visits the indoor location; maintain a physical path taken by the mobile device user in the indoor location; and maintain a dwell time as the time the mobile device user spent at a particular location within the indoor location, wherein the number of times, the path taken, and dwell time are maintained as analytics information in the one or more databases. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification