Wireless Tracking System And Method With Multipath Error Mitigation
First Claim
1. A method for determining a location of an object within a predetermined environment, the method comprising:
- transmitting a plurality of radiofrequency signals for a wireless tracking device to a positioning engine, each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding to a signal transmitter within the environment;
processing each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals to determine the location of the signal transmitter for each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals;
determining a probable region of the object based on the location of a of the signal transmitter for each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals;
weighting any of the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding from a fixed signal transmitter located outside of the probable region of the object; and
calculating the position of the object within the predetermined environment using only the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding to a fixed signal transmitter within the probable region of the object.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system (50) and method (300) for providing multipath error mitigation for real-time wireless tracking of an object (100) is disclosed herein. A plurality of sensor readings are obtained from a tag (60) attached to an object (100) within an indoor facility (70). A plurality of reading sets are generated and sorted by zones. A zone with the highest average reading is preferably selected and the location of the object (100) is calculated based on the selected zone readings. In this manner, faulty position readings are eliminated from the location calculation thereby allowing for more accurate tracking of the object (100) within the indoor facility (70).
34 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining a location of an object within a predetermined environment, the method comprising:
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transmitting a plurality of radiofrequency signals for a wireless tracking device to a positioning engine, each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding to a signal transmitter within the environment; processing each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals to determine the location of the signal transmitter for each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals; determining a probable region of the object based on the location of a of the signal transmitter for each of the plurality of radiofrequency signals; weighting any of the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding from a fixed signal transmitter located outside of the probable region of the object; and calculating the position of the object within the predetermined environment using only the plurality of radiofrequency signals corresponding to a fixed signal transmitter within the probable region of the object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for providing real-time location information for a plurality of non-stationary objects within an indoor facility, the system comprising:
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a mapped space of a physical environment of the indoor facility; and a processor comprising means for updating the mapped space in response to received measurements of the physical environment from one or more stationary sensors located within the indoor facility, means for generating a plurality of location hypotheses for a non-stationary object within the physical environment, at least one of the location hypotheses computed in response to measurement received from the non-stationary object and the mapped space, and means for generating a location estimate based on one or more of the plurality of location hypotheses, wherein one or more of the plurality of location hypotheses are selected based on a probability associated respectively therewith, and wherein a probability is computed in association with a plurality of known barriers in the physical space. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for providing real-time location information for a plurality of non-stationary objects within an indoor facility, the system comprising:
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a plurality of stationary sensors, each of the plurality of stationary sensors positioned within the indoor facility; a plurality of tags, each of the plurality of tags attached to one of the plurality of non-stationary objects, each of the plurality of tags having means for wirelessly transmitting to each of the plurality of stationary sensors tag specific data; a mapped space of a physical environment of the indoor facility; a processor comprising means for updating the mapped space in response to received measurements of the physical environment from one or more stationary sensors located within the indoor facility, means for generating a plurality of location hypotheses for each of the plurality of non-stationary objects located within the physical environment, at least one of the location hypotheses computed in response to measurement received from a non-stationary object of the plurality of non-stationary objects and the mapped space, and means for generating a location estimate based on one or more of the plurality of location hypotheses, wherein one or more of the plurality of location hypotheses are selected based on a probability associated respectively therewith, and wherein a probability is computed in association with a plurality of known barriers in the physical space. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification