ENERGY EFFICIENT LOCATION DETECTION

• US 20120268249A1
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Published: 10/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kansal, Aman, Garcia, Gerardo, Cross, Brian D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,880,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In a device, one or more low energy sensors are used to determine a mobility state of the device. Based on both the mobility state of the device and one or more places of interest for the device, a determination is made as to when to use a high energy sensor to determine a location of the device. One of the one or more places of interest for the device within which the device is located at any particular time can be determined based on the mobility state of the device and/or the location of the device as determined by the high energy sensor.

Claims

1. A method in a device, the method comprising:

using, at the device, one or more low energy sensors to determine a mobility state of the device; and

determining, based on both the mobility state of the device and one or more places of interest for the device, when to use a high energy sensor to determine a location of the device.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, the determining further comprising determining, based on how close the device is to a perimeter of at least one of the one or more places of interest, when to use the high energy sensor to determine the location of the device.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, at least one of the one or more places of interest comprising a place of interest that the device is within, and the determining further comprising determining, based on how close the device is to a perimeter of another one of the one or more places of interest, when to use the high energy sensor to determine the location of the device.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, the mobility state of the device comprising one of a stationary state, a pedestrian state, and a vehicle state.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising varying a frequency at which data is collected from the one or more low energy sensors based on the mobility state of the device.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the location of the device determined by the high energy sensor, one of the multiple places of interest that the device is within.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the mobility state of the device, one of the multiple places of interest that the device is within.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, a specific geographic location of the one of the multiple places of interest that the device is within being unknown.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising outputting an indication of the mobility state of the device to activate a component of the device based on the mobility state of the device.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, the one or more low energy sensors being part of the device.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, the low energy sensors comprising sensors that use less than a threshold amount of energy to provide data for use by a location estimation system that performs the using and determining.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, the high energy sensor comprising a sensor that uses greater than a threshold amount of energy to provide data for use by a location estimation system that performs the using and determining.

13. One or more computer storage media having stored thereon multiple instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:

receive data from one or more low energy sensors;

determine, based on the data, a mobility state of the device; and

determine, based on both the mobility state of the device and one or more places of interest for the device, when to use a high energy sensor to determine a location of the device.

14. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 13, the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine when to use the high energy sensor comprising instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine, based on how close the device is to a perimeter of at least one of the one or more places of interest, when to use the high energy sensor.

15. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 13, at least one of the one or more places of interest comprising a place of interest that the device is within, and the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine when to use the high energy sensor comprising instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine, based on how close the device is to a perimeter of another one of the one or more places of interest, when to use the high energy sensor.

16. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 13, the multiple instructions further causing the one or more processors to determine, based on the location of the device determined by the high energy sensor, one of the multiple places of interest that the device is within.

17. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 13, the multiple instructions further causing the one or more processors to determine, based on the mobility state of the device, one of the multiple places of interest that the device is within.

18. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 17, the mobility state of the device comprising one of a stationary state, a pedestrian state, and a vehicle state.

19. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 13, the low energy sensors comprising sensors that use less than a threshold amount of energy to provide data for use by a location estimation system of the device, and the high energy sensor comprising a sensor that uses at least the threshold amount of energy to provide data for use by a location estimation system of the device.

20. A method of implementing a location estimation system in a device, the method comprising:

receiving data from one or more low energy sensors, each of the one or more low energy sensors using less than a threshold amount of energy to provide data for use by the location estimation system;

determining, at the device, a mobility state of the device based on the data, the mobility state of the device being one of multiple different states, the multiple different states including a stationary state, a pedestrian state, and a vehicle state; and

determining, based on both the mobility state of the device and how close the device is to a perimeter of at least one of one or more places of interest for the device, when to use a high energy sensor to determine a location of the device.