Event tagging for mobile networks

• US 10,687,302 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2018
• Issued: 06/16/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fix, Jeremy, Martinez, Francisco, Meredith, Sheldon Kent
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US15/917,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20180199307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/017 Detecting state or type of motion
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration 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 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

Improved network event tagging for mobile communications is described herein. By way of example, a mobile network can be configured to take periodic geographic positions of a mobile terminal operating within the mobile network. Network events occurring between the periodic geographic positions, otherwise partially unknown in position, can be estimated by referencing topographical information and estimating a route of travel of the mobile device. Estimated speed of the mobile device can be utilized to place the mobile device on a road network, cycling route, pedestrian walkway, or the like, and refine the estimated position of the mobile device at the time of the network event. Such estimates can be refined from traffic information or other real-time travel data. An estimated position of the mobile device can be output as an approximation of the network event to facilitate event modeling for the mobile network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining, by a system comprising a processor, location information representing multiple geographic locations of a mobile device determined, at least in part, from signal transmissions of the mobile device and time data representing respective times when the mobile device is determined, at least in part from the signal transmissions, to be within the multiple geographic locations;

determining, by the system, an additional location of the mobile device based on the location information representing multiple geographic locations, wherein the determining is independent of the signal transmissions of the mobile device at an additional time excluded from the time data; and

outputting, by the system, the additional location of the mobile device as a geographic estimate of an occurrence of a wireless network activity.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining, by the system, an estimated speed of the mobile device at the additional time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the additional location of the mobile device comprises extrapolating the additional location at the additional time from at least two geographic locations of the multiple geographic locations and from the respective times when the mobile device is determined at least in part from the signal transmissions to be within the at least the two geographic locations.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining the additional location of the mobile device comprises interpolating the additional location at the additional time from at least the two geographic locations and from the respective times when the mobile device is determined at least in part from the signal transmissions to be within the at least two geographic locations.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising obtaining an initial estimate of the estimated speed of the mobile device by dividing a distance between the multiple geographic locations by a difference in time between the respective times.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising refining, by the system, the additional location of the mobile device utilizing the estimated speed of the mobile device at the additional time, inferring, by the system, a mode of travel suitable to the estimated speed, and confining, by the system, the additional location to a geographic boundary of a travel network correlated to the mode of travel.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising acquiring, by the system, map data of a highway map, a street map, a bicycle path map, or a pedestrian walkway map pertaining to the mode of travel, and determining, by the system, the geographic boundary of the travel network correlated to the mode of travel from the map data.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising acquiring, by the system, public speed data pertinent to the mode of travel at the additional time, and refining, by the system, the estimated speed with the public speed data at the additional time.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising refining, by the system, the additional location at least in part from a refined estimated speed determined from the refining the estimated speed.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining, by the system, the location information from at least one of:

an e911 location services system,

a location based system platform,

an IuB based locating system,

a timed fingerprint location processing system,

a mobile-originated location signaling system,

a global positioning system (GPS) location identification system,

an assisted-GPS (A-GPS) location identification system, or

a periodic radio access network position determination system.

11. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving location data representing multiple geographic locations of a mobile device determined based on signal transmissions of the mobile device, and time data representing respective points in time for the multiple geographic locations of the mobile device;

determining a further location of the mobile device based on the location data representing the multiple geographic locations, wherein the determining is independent of signal transmissions of the mobile device at an additional time not represented in the time data; and

correlating the further location of the mobile device with a geographic estimate of an expected occurrence of a wireless communication activity.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the determining the further location further comprises at least one of:

extrapolating the further location of the mobile device from the location data and the time data in an absence of the signal transmissions of the mobile device at the additional time, or

interpolating the further location of the mobile device from the location data and the time data in the absence of the signal transmissions of the mobile device at the additional time.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise employing topographical information in a vicinity of the further location of the mobile device at the additional time not represented in the time data, in conjunction with an inference drawn from a determined speed of the mobile device at the additional time not represented in the time data, to refine the further location of the mobile device and generate a refined geographic estimate of the wireless communication activity.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise inferring a mode of travel for the mobile device at the additional time from the determined speed of the mobile device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise determining a revised speed of the mobile device from the determined speed and from contemporaneous travel information data indicative of a general speed for the mode of travel at the additional time.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise utilizing the revised speed in conjunction with the topographical information and the inference drawn from the determined speed of the mobile device, for generating the refined geographic estimate of the wireless communication activity.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication activity comprises a call drop event associated with the mobile device, a poor signal detection event associated with the mobile device, or a poor service report submitted by the mobile device.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication activity is associated with a second mobile device, different from the mobile device, that is determined to be near the mobile device at the additional time.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

receiving location data representing multiple geographic locations of a mobile device determined based on signal transmissions of the mobile device, and time data representing respective points in time for the multiple geographic locations of the mobile device;

determining a further location of the mobile device independent of signal transmissions of the mobile device at an additional time not represented in the time data, wherein the determining is based on the location data representing the multiple geographic locations; and

correlating the further location of the mobile device with a geographic estimate of an occurrence of a wireless communication activity.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise employing travel infrastructure information or rate of travel information in a vicinity of the further location of the mobile device at the additional time not represented in the time data, in conjunction with an inference drawn from a determined speed of the mobile device at the additional time not represented in the time data, to refine the further location of the mobile device and generate a refined geographic estimate of the wireless communication activity.