APPARATUS FOR MANAGING INDOOR MOVING OBJECT BASED ON INDOOR MAP AND POSITIONING INFRASTRUCTURE AND METHOD THEREOF

• US 20140113661A1
• Filed: 08/26/2013
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: YOO, Jae-Jun, Ha, Su-Wook, Lee, So Yeon, Kim, Kyong-Ho, Lim, Dong-Sun
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

An apparatus for managing an indoor moving object based on an indoor map and positioning infrastructure and a method thereof, the apparatus including a database configured to store an indoor map and positioning information, and a controller configured to divide an indoor space into indoor partition spaces in semantic units by use of the indoor map and the positioning information, and to store and manage an index that defines a relationship between the indoor partition space in the semantic unit and a moving object.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing an indoor moving object, the apparatus comprising:

a database configured to store an indoor map and positioning information; and

a controller configured to divide an indoor space into indoor partition spaces in semantic units by use of the indoor map and the positioning information, and to store and manage an index that defines a relationship between the indoor partition space in the semantic unit and a moving object.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indoor map comprises information about a constraint that limits movement of the moving object due to a structure of the indoor space.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the positioning information comprises at least one of position information, an identifier, installation information, and information about a coverage of a positioning device configured to measure a position of the moving object in the indoor space.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indoor partition space in the semantic unit represents a space in which movement of the moving object is not limited due to a structure of the indoor space and which is included in a coverage of sets of the same positioning device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller recognizes movement of the moving object among the indoor partition spaces by determining a moving object, which is located in a predetermined indoor partition space, or an indoor partition space, in which a predetermined moving object is located, from the index between the indoor partition space and the moving object stored in the database.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises:

an indoor map manager configured to manage the indoor map;

a positioning information manager configured to manage the positioning information;

an indoor partition space manager configured to divide an indoor space into indoor partition spaces in semantic units by use of information about the indoor map and the positioning information, and to manage the indoor partition spaces divided in the semantic units; and

an index manager configured to store and manage a position relationship between the indoor partition space and the moving object as an index.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the indoor partition space manager determines movement of the moving object among the indoor partition spaces, and

the index manager stores and manages an index that defines a position relationship between the indoor partition space and the moving object that is determined through the indoor partition space manager in the database.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the indoor partition space manager, if a predetermined positioning device senses a new moving object, receives sensing information from the predetermined positioning device, and determines that the new moving object has moved from an indoor partition space corresponding to a coverage of a previous positioning device to an indoor partition space corresponding to a coverage of the predetermined positioning device.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the indoor partition space manager, if a predetermined moving object senses a new positioning device, receives sensing information from the predetermined moving object, and determines that the predetermined moving object has moved from an indoor partition space corresponding to a coverage of a previous positioning device to an indoor partition space corresponding to a coverage of the new positioning device.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the index manager, if determined by the indoor partition space manager that the moving object has moved among the indoor partition spaces, updates the index between the moving object and the indoor partition space according to the movement of the moving object in the database.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the index manager searches for a moving object located in a predetermined indoor partition space or an indoor partition space in which a predetermined moving object is located, by use of the index between the indoor partition space and the moving object stored in the database.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the index between the indoor partition space and the moving object managed by the index manager is a spatial index or a spatiotemporal index.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a communicator configured to receive an inquiry and a service request from a service requester to provide a processed result, and to receive position information about the moving object from the moving object or the positioning device.

14. A method of managing an indoor moving object, the method comprising:

receiving an indoor map and positioning information;

dividing an indoor space into indoor partition spaces in semantic units by use of the received indoor map and positioning information; and

generating an index that defines a relationship between the indoor partition space in the semantic unit and a moving object, and storing and managing the index in a database.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the indoor partition space in the semantic unit represents a space in which movement of the moving object is not limited due to a structure of the indoor space and which is included in a coverage of sets of the same positioning device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising

recognizing movement of the moving object among the indoor partition spaces by determining a moving object, which is located in a predetermined indoor partition space, or an indoor partition space, in which a predetermined moving object is located, from the index between the indoor partition space and the moving object stored in the database.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein further comprising, if recognized that the moving object has moved among the indoor partition spaces, updating the index between the moving object and the indoor partition space according to the movement of the moving object.