Access point environment characterization

• US 10,595,162 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2016
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Agrawal, Meghna, Venkatraman, Sai Pradeep, Zhang, Gengsheng, Do, Ju-Yong, Gao, Weihua
• Primary Examiner(s): Arevalo, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/075,043
• Publication Number:
  US 20170272911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 455 6711, 4554561, 455 453, 455418, 455507, 455457
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0242 Determining the position of transmitters to be subsequently used in positioning G01S5/0289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

A method of associating environmental context with wireless access points is disclosed. In some embodiments, a method on a user equipment may comprise determining at least one environmental context associated with a subset of one or more Access Points (APs) visible to the UE at an estimated location of the UE. The at least one environmental context associated with the subset may be determined based on one or more of wireless measurements by the UE, and/or sensor measurements by the UE. Further, at least one AP cluster may be determined by clustering the subset of the one or more APs visible to the UE based on the at least one environmental context and the estimated location. Environmental context for APs may be crowdsourced and stored and provided to a UE as location assistance information to facilitate location determination and other functions.

Claims

1. A method on a User Equipment (UE) comprising:

determining, based on wireless measurements by the UE and barometric sensor measurements by the UE, at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to one or more subsets of Access Points (APs), wherein each of the one or more subsets of APs comprises one or more APs visible to the UE over a time interval;

determining, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensor measurements, one or more relative floor level AP clusters by associating each of the one or more subsets of APs with the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context and at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE during the time interval; and

determining a building environmental context associated with the one or more subsets of APs based on;

the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, a map associating the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE with a building, or an image of the building captured by an image sensor on the UE, or a combination thereof.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to the one or more subsets of APs comprises:

associating a first subset of APs with a first relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein the first subset of APs have higher RSSI measurements relative to a second subset of APs following a change in the barometric sensor measurements; and

associating the second subset of APs with a second relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein;

the second relative floor level environmental context is set higher than the first relative floor level environmental context when a barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is lower than a barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements, or

the second relative floor level environmental context is set lower than the first relative floor level environmental context when the barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is higher than the barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE is determined using at least one of:

Satellite Positioning System (SPS) positioning, the wireless measurements comprising SPS measurements;

or

Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) based positioning, the wireless measurements comprising WWAN signal measurements;

or

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) based positioning, the wireless measurements comprising WLAN signal measurements;

or

positioning based on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) measurements using a previously determined position of the UE, wherein the previously determined position of the UE was determined within a time window of a current time;

or

Vision Based Positioning (VBP) techniques based, in part, on image sensor measurements comprising one or more images captured by an image sensor on the UE;

or

some combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE is determined based on location assistance information received by the UE, the location assistance information comprising stored environmental context information associated with the one or more APs visible to the UE.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the one or more relative floor level AP clusters comprises:

associating, with each of the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, a corresponding AP cluster identifier and the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, wherein the corresponding AP cluster identifier is associated with each AP in the AP cluster, wherein each AP is identified by a corresponding AP identifier.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the corresponding AP identifier is based on a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the corresponding AP.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating transmission of information pertaining to the one or more relative floor level AP clusters to a server, wherein, for each relative floor level AP cluster, the transmitted information comprises;

the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context, the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, and AP identifiers of each AP in the corresponding relative floor level AP cluster.

8. A User Equipment (UE) comprising:

at least one wireless communications interface configured to perform wireless measurements of wireless signals;

at least one barometric sensor configured to obtain barometric sensor measurements,

an image sensor, the image sensor configured to capture images, and

a processor coupled to the at least one wireless communications interface, the image sensor, and to the at least one barometric sensor, wherein the processor is configured to;

determine, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensor measurements, at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to one or more subsets of Access Points (APs), wherein each of the one or more subsets of APs comprises one or more APs visible to the UE over a time interval;

determine, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensor measurements, one or more relative floor level AP clusters by associating each of the one or more subsets of APs with the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context and at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE during the time interval; and

determine a building environmental context associated with the one or more subsets of APs based on;

the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, a map associating the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE with a building, or an image of the building captured by the image sensor, or a combination thereof.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein to determine the at least one relative floor level environmental context, the processor is configured to:

associate a first subset of APs with a first relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein the first subset of APs have higher RSSI measurements relative to a second subset of APs following a change in the barometric sensor measurements; and

associate the second subset of APs with a second relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein;

the second relative floor level environmental context is set higher than the first relative floor level environmental context when a barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is lower than a barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements, or

the second relative floor level environmental context is set lower than the first relative floor level environmental context when the barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is higher than the barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements.

10. The UE of claim 8, further comprising at least one of:

an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the IMU configured to obtain IMU measurements;

or

an image sensor, the image sensor configured to obtain image sensor measurements comprising captured images; and

wherein the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE is determined using at least one of;

Satellite Positioning System (SPS) positioning, the wireless measurements comprising SPS signal measurements;

or

Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) based positioning, the wireless measurements comprising WWAN signal measurements;

or

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) based positioning the wireless measurements comprising WLAN signal measurements;

or

positioning based on the IMU measurements and a previously determined position of the UE, wherein the previously determined position of the UE was determined within a time window of a current time;

or

Vision Based Positioning (VBP) techniques based, in part, on the image sensor measurements;

or

some combination thereof.

11. The UE of claim 8, wherein:

the wireless communications interface is configured to receive location assistance information, the location assistance information comprising stored environmental context information associated with the one or more APs visible to the UE; and

the processor is configured to;

determine the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE based on the received location assistance information.

12. The UE of claim 8, wherein to determine the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, the processor is configured to:

associate, with each of the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, a corresponding AP cluster identifier and the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, wherein the corresponding AP cluster identifier is associated with each AP in the AP cluster, wherein each AP is identified by a corresponding AP identifier.

13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the corresponding AP identifier is based on a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the corresponding AP.

14. The UE of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:

initiate transmission of information pertaining to the one or more relative floor level AP clusters to a server, wherein, for each relative floor level AP cluster, the transmitted information comprises;

the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context, the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, and AP identifiers of each AP in the corresponding relative floor level AP cluster.

15. A User Equipment (UE) comprising:

wireless communications interface means to perform wireless measurements of wireless signals;

barometric sensing means to obtain barometric sensing means measurements;

imaging means to capture images;

means for determining, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensing means measurements, at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to one or more subsets of Access Points (APs), wherein each of the one or more subsets of APs comprises one or more APs visible to the UE over a time interval;

means for determining, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensor measurements, one or more relative floor level AP clusters by associating each of the one or more subsets of APs with the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context and at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE during the time interval; and

means for determining a building environmental context associated with the one or more subsets of APs based on;

the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, a map associating the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE with a building, or an image of the building captured by the imaging means, or a combination thereof.

16. The UE of claim 15, further comprising:

imaging means to capture images; and

means for determining a building name environmental context associated with the one or more subsets of APs based on one or more of;

the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, a map associating the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE with a building name, or an image of a building captured by the imaging means.

17. The UE of claim 15, wherein:

the wireless communication interface means receives location assistance information, the location assistance information comprising stored environmental context information associated with the one or more APs visible to the UE; and

the UE further comprises;

means for determining the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE based on the received location assistance information.

18. The UE of claim 15, wherein means for determining the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, comprises:

means for associating, with each of the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, a corresponding AP cluster identifier and the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, wherein the corresponding AP cluster identifier is associated with each AP in the AP cluster, wherein each AP is identified by a corresponding AP identifier.

19. The UE of claim 15, further comprising:

means for initiating transmission of information pertaining to the one or more relative floor level AP clusters to a server, wherein, for each relative floor level AP cluster, the transmitted information comprises;

the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context, the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, and AP identifiers of each AP in the corresponding relative floor level AP cluster.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that are executable by a processor on a User Equipment (UE) to:

determine, based on wireless measurements by the UE and barometric sensor measurements by the UE, at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to one or more subsets of Access Points (APs), wherein each of the one or more subsets of APs comprises one or more APs visible to the UE over a time interval;

determine, based on the wireless measurements and the barometric sensor measurements, one or more relative floor level AP clusters by associating each of the one or more subsets of APs with the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context and at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE during the time interval; and

determine a building environmental context associated with the one or more subsets of APs based on;

the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, a map associating the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE with a building, or an image of the building captured by an image sensor on the UE, or a combination thereof.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions to determine the at least one relative floor level environmental context corresponding to the one or more subsets of APs comprise instructions executable by the processor to:

associate a first subset of APs with a first relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein the first subset of APs have higher RSSI measurements relative to a second subset of APs following a change in the barometric sensor measurements; and

associate the second subset of APs with a second relative floor level environmental context of the at least one relative floor level environmental context, wherein;

the second relative floor level environmental context is set higher than the first relative floor level environmental context when a barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is lower than a barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements, or

the second relative floor level environmental context is set lower than the first relative floor level environmental context when the barometric sensor reading following the change in the barometric sensor measurements is higher than the barometric sensor reading prior to the change in the barometric sensor measurements.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE is determined using at least one of:

Satellite Positioning System (SPS) positioning, the wireless measurements comprising SPS signal measurements;

or

Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) based positioning, the wireless measurements comprising WWAN signal measurements;

or

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) based positioning the wireless measurements comprising WLAN signal measurements;

or

positioning based on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) measurements using a previously determined position of the UE, wherein the previously determined position of the UE was determined within a time window of a current time;

or

Vision Based Positioning (VBP) techniques based, in part, on image sensor measurements comprising captured images;

or

some combination thereof.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE is determined based on location assistance information received by the UE, the location assistance information comprising stored environmental context information associated with the one or more APs visible to the UE.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein to determine the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, the instructions executable by the processor comprise:

associating, with each of the one or more relative floor level AP clusters, a corresponding AP cluster identifier and the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, wherein the corresponding AP cluster identifier is associated with each AP in the AP cluster, wherein each AP is identified by a corresponding AP identifier.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the executable instructions further comprise instructions to:

initiate transmission of information pertaining to the one or more relative floor level AP clusters to a server, wherein the transmitted information comprises;

the corresponding at least one relative floor level environmental context, the at least one corresponding estimated location of the UE, and AP identifiers of each AP in the corresponding relative floor level AP cluster.