Methods for determining the approximate location of a device from ambient signals
First Claim
1. A method for determining device location, comprising:
- receiving a plurality of ambient signal strengths;
optimizing at least one subset of the ambient signal strengths to substantially reduce their number, optimizing the ambient signal strengths comprises calculating at least one Pearson'"'"'s correlation coefficient between pairs of ambient signals based on spatially corresponding signal sources, selecting a correlation threshold value, determining groups of signals that correlate greater than the correlation threshold value and choosing an ambient signal from each group with a highest average signal strength to represent that group; and
determining an approximate location of a device based, in part, upon relative signal strengths of at least the optimized subset of the ambient signal strengths.
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Abstract
The present invention leverages changes in the sensed strength of radio signals at different locations to determine a device'"'"'s location. In one instance of the invention, inference procedures are used to process ambient commercial radio signals, to estimate a location or a probability distribution over the locations of a device. In an instance of the invention, learning and inference methods are applied to rank vector of signal strength vectors. Moving to such rank orderings leads to methods that bypass consideration of absolute signal strengths in location calculations. The invention facilitates approximations for locating a device by providing a method that does not require a substantial number of available ambient signal strengths while still providing useful location inferences in determining locations.
86 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for determining device location, comprising:
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receiving a plurality of ambient signal strengths; optimizing at least one subset of the ambient signal strengths to substantially reduce their number, optimizing the ambient signal strengths comprises calculating at least one Pearson'"'"'s correlation coefficient between pairs of ambient signals based on spatially corresponding signal sources, selecting a correlation threshold value, determining groups of signals that correlate greater than the correlation threshold value and choosing an ambient signal from each group with a highest average signal strength to represent that group; and determining an approximate location of a device based, in part, upon relative signal strengths of at least the optimized subset of the ambient signal strengths. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification