Utilization of the approximate location of a device determined from ambient signals
First Claim
1. A system that utilizes approximately determined locations of a device, comprising:
- a component that receives at least one ambient signal;
an analysis component that infers at least one approximate location of a device based, in part, on relative signal strengths of at least a subset of the ambient signals; and
a location associated component that utilizes the approximate location of the device to provide functionality.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention employs approximate device locations determined from changes in the sensed strength of radio signals at different locations. In one instance of the invention, the approximate device locations are based on inference procedures that are used to process ambient commercial radio signals, to estimate a location or a probability distribution over the locations of a device. In another instance of the invention, approximate device locations derived from learning and inference methods that are applied to rank vector of signal strength vectors are utilized. Moving to such rank orderings leads to methods that bypass consideration of absolute signal strengths in location calculations. The invention utilizes approximations for a device location that is based on a method that does not require a substantial number of available ambient signal strengths while still providing useful location inferences in determining locations. Several location-centric services are supported, including receipt of location-specific information such as traffic reports, emergency information, transmission about device location, and time-sensitive promotions such as discounts offered by businesses for load balancing the provision of services.
75 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system that utilizes approximately determined locations of a device, comprising:
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a component that receives at least one ambient signal;
an analysis component that infers at least one approximate location of a device based, in part, on relative signal strengths of at least a subset of the ambient signals; and
a location associated component that utilizes the approximate location of the device to provide functionality. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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21. A method for utilizing an approximately determined location, comprising:
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receiving a plurality of ambient signal strengths;
determining an approximate location of a device based, in part, upon relative signal strengths of at least a subset of the ambient signal strengths; and
employing the approximate location of the device to facilitate in associating time-sensitive information related to at least one location. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification