System, method, and apparatus for determining and using the position of wireless devices or infrastructure for wireless network enhancements

• US 8,019,352 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wireless Valley Communications Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Skidmore, Roger R., Anantha, Veeraraghavan, Reifsnider, Eric, Rappaport, Theodore S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Herrera; Diego
• Application Number:
  US11/186,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20060019679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,244 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 340/988, 340/995, 342450-465
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A system and method for estimating the position of wireless devices within a wireless communication network combines measured RF channel characteristics for the wireless device with one or more predicted performance lookup tables, each of which correlates an RF channel characteristic to some higher order network performance metric and/or a position within an environmental model. Measured RF channel characteristics for wireless devices are compared against the performance lookup tables to determine the sent of lookup tables that most closely match the measured RF channel characteristics. The positions within the environmental model corresponding to the selected set of matching lookup tables are identified as possible locations for the wireless device. The performance lookup tables are uniquely constructed by site-specific location, technology, wireless standard, and equipment types, and/or the current operating state of the communications network.

Claims

1. A system for locating a position of one or more wireless communications devices within a physical environment, comprising:

a plurality of wireless or optical communications devices deployed within said physical environment;

one or more measuring devices positioned or positionable at one or more locations within said physical environment, said one or more measuring devices measuring RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics of the plurality of wireless or optical devices;

a computer comprising;

a computer controller which identifies the one or more locations of the one or more wireless or optical communication devices within said physical environment in response to measurements taken by the measurement device in conjunction with a site specific environmental model of the physical environment along with a plurality of tables, the plurality of tables having stored RF channel characteristics or stored performance metrics; and

wherein

the computer controller providing;

the site specific environmental model of said physical environment including representations of the plurality of wireless or optical communications devices deployed within said physical environment;

the plurality of tables, each associated with a specific point in the physical environment modeled by said site specific environmental model, and each containing one or more RF channel characteristics or performance metrics of at least one wireless or optical device, wherein each of the plurality of tables stores a correlation between said one or more RF channel characteristics, the performance metrics, and one or more locations within said site specific environmental model; and

the computer controller identifying the one or more locations of the one or more wireless or optical communications devices within said physical environment based on one or more closest matching tables of said plurality of tables to said RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics measured with said one or more measuring devices, and further based on the position of the specific point in the physical environment modeled by the site specific environmental model associated with said one or more closest matching tables, wherein the one or more locations are correlated locations, and the correlated locations are identified based on a comparison between the one or more measured RF channel characteristics or the measured performance metrics with the RF channel characteristics and the performance metrics values within the plurality of tables.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said site specific environmental model is two dimensional.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said site specific environmental model is three dimensional.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer controller provides signals to one or more devices or users in a network or receives signals from said one or more devices or users in said network.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said site specific environmental model includes a plurality of alternative configurations of networks of components deployed or deployable within said physical environment, and wherein said plurality of tables includes different tables of said one or more RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics of the at least one wireless or optical device, each of which is associated with said specific point and which depend on a configuration of a network of components of said plurality of alternative configurations of networks of components deployed or deployable within said physical environment.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said computer controller compares said RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics to a subset of said plurality of tables based on said configuration of said network of components.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics of at least one wireless or optical device in the each of said plurality of tables is determined by a performance prediction based on attributes of one or more wireless communication components deployed or deployable within said physical environment.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said site specific environmental model includes attribute information of one or more objects within said physical environment which affect wireless communication performance metrics, but which are not wireless communication components.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said attribute information includes one or more of physical, electrical, electromagnetic, mechanical, or aesthetic characteristics.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said one or more RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics of at least one wireless or optical device in the each of said plurality of tables are updatable.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one measuring device of said one or more measuring devices is associated with a wireless or optical communication component of said plurality of wireless or optical communication components.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one measuring application which obtains said measured RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics from said one or more measuring devices, said computer controller obtaining said measured RF channel characteristics or the performance metrics from said at least one measuring application.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said at least one measuring device is at least one of the access point, a sensor, a probe, a wireless network client, or another receiving or listening device which can detect transmissions.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said wireless or optical communications components is selected from the group consisting of antennas, base stations, base station controllers, amplifiers, cables, RF ID tags, RF ID readers, mobile or portable transmitter, receiver or transceiver devices, splitters, attenuators, repeaters, wireless access points, couplers, connectors, connection boxes, splicers, switches, routers, hubs, sensors, transducers, translators, power cables, twisted pair cables, optical fiber cables, and MIMO systems.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer controller is distributed amongst a plurality of computers.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said site specific environmental model and said plurality of tables are managed within a single software, hardware or firmware component.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein either or both said site specific environmental model and said plurality of tables are combined with said computer controller.

18. The system of claim 1 further comprising a display which displays a two dimensional or three dimensional representation of said physical environment together with said one or more locations identified with said computer controller.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more locations identified with said computer controller are communicated to an another device as position coordinates.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said position coordinates include x, y, and z coordinates.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein each specific point is an intersection point of a mesh.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein attributes of the mesh are adjustable.

23. The system of claim 21 wherein said plurality of tables step includes tables for each intersection point of said mesh.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of tables includes one or more tables which include both predicted and said measured RF channel characteristics.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more wireless or optical communications components within said physical environment includes one or more client computers, each of which is configured to allow determining whether to initiate or participate in handoffs depending on said one or more locations identified by said computer controller.

26. The system of claim 1 wherein said computer controller is configured to control network resource provisioning which is based on said one or more locations which are identified.

27. The system of claim 1 further comprising a stand alone or distributed network management system which is loaded wholly or partially on one or more of a personal computer, server, base station, switch, router, hub, access point, client or portable computing device, radio, modem, web portal or interface, home to media gateway, operating system or other device or application capable of interacting locally or remotely with other devices through a communication network.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein said network management system allows exchanging data between a plurality of computing platforms.

29. The system of claim 1 further comprising one or more devices for remotely accessing, displaying or controlling one or more of a personal computer, server, base station, switch, router, hub, access point, client or portable computing device, radio, modem, web portal or interface, home to media gateway, operating system or other device or application capable of interacting locally or remotely with other devices through a communication network.