Systems and methods for determining urban locations for mobile devices

Abstract

The embodiments described herein provide components for determining the urban location of a target mobile device using crowdsourced information from other mobile devices. This information may include information obtained from other mobile devices regarding the locations of access points (APs) and / or other access nodes, as well as the corresponding locations of other mobile devices. For example, a server may use this information to determine a coverage heatmap for each AP. The coverage heatmap, along with urban location information, may be used to determine the urban location of the target mobile device based on detection of the target mobile device and possible measurements of wireless signals from one or more APs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to determining the location of a mobile device in a wireless network. Background Technology

[0002] Obtaining the location of a mobile device or user equipment (UE) accessing a wireless network can be useful or necessary for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family members. Often, the mobile device's city address may be more useful than its geodetic coordinates (e.g., X, Y, and Z coordinates). This is especially true for emergency services, where a user can make an emergency call (e.g., an E911 call in the US) using a mobile device within the wireless network. This call is routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), whose service area includes the user's current location. The PSAP operator may then require the user's accurate and meaningful location in order to dispatch a public safety answering person to the user as quickly as possible.

[0003] For emergency services, attempts were made to standardize and deploy a solution for locating mobile devices based on previously known locations of Wi-Fi access points (WLANs) or wireless access points (APs) visible to the user's mobile device. This solution used the previously configured city locations of WiFi APs stored in the National Emergency Address Database (NEAD). However, this solution has been abandoned due to an insufficient number of APs in the NEAD. If there is no other way to provide reliable city locations to the PSAP, the PSAP will continue to receive the geodetic location of the mobile device making the emergency call, which may result in longer public safety response times. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments described herein provide a method for determining the urban location of a target mobile device using information crowdsourced from other mobile devices. This information may include information about access points (APs) from other mobile devices (e.g., wireless local area networks (WLANs) or WiFi APs), and the corresponding locations of other mobile devices. For example, a server can use this information to determine a coverage heatmap for each AP. The coverage heatmap, along with urban location information, can be used to determine the location of the target mobile device based on detection of the target mobile device and possible measurements of wireless signals from one or more APs.

[0005] According to the description, an example of determining the urban location of a mobile device performed by a location server includes: receiving information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs; determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates: the geographic area or geographic volume where wireless signals can be received from the respective AP, and the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the mobile device receives wireless signals from the respective AP. The method also includes determining the urban location of the mobile device based on the location.

[0006] According to the description, an example method for determining a coverage heatmap of each of one or more access points (APs) includes: receiving information about the one or more APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices, wherein for each of the multiple mobile devices, the information includes indications of one or more locations from a plurality of locations, and for each of the one or more locations, includes the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signals are received by each mobile device at each location. The method further includes, for each of the one or more APs, determining a coverage heatmap of the respective AP based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and a location density of multiple locations within that geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the multiple mobile devices.

[0007] According to the description, an example method for obtaining the city location of a mobile device includes detecting wireless signals from one or more access points (APs), obtaining information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs, and sending the information to a location server. The method also includes receiving the city location of the mobile device from the location server in response to sending information to the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the information sent to the location server and a coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0008] According to the description, an example server for determining the city location of a mobile device includes a communication interface, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface. The one or more processors are configured to receive information about one or more access points (APs) from the mobile device via the communication interface, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs. The one or more processors are also configured to determine the location of the mobile device based on this information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates: the geographic area or geographic volume where wireless signals can be received from the respective AP, and the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the mobile device receives wireless signals from the respective AP. The one or more processors are further configured to determine the city location of the mobile device based on this location.

[0009] According to the description, an example server for determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more APs includes a communication interface, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface. The one or more processors are configured to receive information about the one or more APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices via the communication interface. For each of the plurality of mobile devices, the information includes, for each of the plurality of mobile devices, indications of one or more locations from a plurality of locations, and for each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signals are received by each mobile device at each location. The one or more processors are also configured to, for each of the one or more APs, determine a coverage heatmap for that AP based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and a location density of multiple locations within that geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0010] According to the description, the example mobile device includes a communication interface, memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface. The one or more processors are configured to detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs) using the communication interface and obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each AP. The one or more processors are also configured to transmit information to a location server via the communication interface, and in response to transmitting information to the location server, receive the city location of the mobile device from the location server via the communication interface, wherein the city location is determined based on the information transmitted to the location server and a coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0011] According to the description, an example device for determining the urban location of a mobile device includes components for receiving information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs. The device also includes components for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates a geographic area or geographic volume in which wireless signals can be received from the respective AP, and the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume in which the mobile device receives wireless signals from the respective AP. The device also includes components for determining the urban location of the mobile device based on this location.

[0012] According to the description, an example device for determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more access points (APs) includes components for receiving information about the one or more APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices. For each of the multiple mobile devices, the information includes indications of one or more locations from a plurality of locations, and for each of the one or more locations, includes the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signals are received by each mobile device at each location. The device also includes components for determining a coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and a location density of multiple locations within that geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the corresponding AP are received by the multiple mobile devices.

[0013] According to the description, an example device for obtaining the city location of a mobile device includes components for detecting wireless signals from one or more access points (APs), and components for obtaining information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each AP. The device also includes components for sending the information to a location server, and components for receiving the city location of the mobile device from the location server in response to sending the information, wherein the city location is determined based on the information sent to the location server and a coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0014] According to this specification, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for determining the urban location of a mobile device. The instructions include code for receiving information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs. The instructions also include code for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates a geographic area or geographic volume in which wireless signals can be received from the respective AP, and the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume in which the mobile device receives wireless signals from the respective AP. The instructions also include code for determining the urban location of the mobile device based on this location.

[0015] According to the description, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for determining a coverage heatmap of each of one or more access points (APs). The instructions include code for receiving information about the one or more APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices, wherein, for each mobile device, the information includes indications of one or more locations from a plurality of locations, and, for each location, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signals are received by each mobile device at each location. The instructions also include code for determining a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and a location density of multiple locations within that geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0016] According to the description, an exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions for obtaining the city location of a mobile device. The instructions include code for detecting wireless signals from one or more access points (APs), and code for obtaining information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each AP. The instructions also include code for sending the information to a location server, and code for receiving the city location of the mobile device from the location server in response to sending the information to the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the information sent to the location server and a coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) positioning system, illustrating a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication system (e.g., Figure 1 An example of a positioning system.

[0019] Figure 3A and 3B This is a diagram illustrating an example of how information from the UE can be used to crowdsource the coverage area of ​​the AP.

[0020] Figure 4A and 4B This is an additional diagram illustrating an example of how information from the UE can be used to crowdsource the coverage area of ​​the AP.

[0021] Figure 5A and 5B This is an illustration of a coverage heatmap according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 6A This is a diagram illustrating the mapping of structures from an example overlay heatmap to a city map.

[0023] Figure 6B This is shown according to the example by Figure 6A A diagram illustrating the probability generated by the mapping.

[0024] Figure 7A and 7B This is a simplified diagram illustrating how overlapping AP coverage areas can be used to provide higher accuracy in determining the location of a target UE, according to an embodiment.

[0025] Figure 8 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating an example of how a server can process information collected from crowdsourcing.

[0026] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a method for determining the city location of a mobile device according to an embodiment.

[0027] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a method for determining a coverage heatmap of each of one or more WiFi APs according to an embodiment.

[0028] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a method for determining the city location of a mobile device according to an embodiment.

[0029] Figure 12 This is a block diagram of an embodiment of the UE that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0030] Figure 13 This is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0031] According to certain exemplary embodiments, the same reference numerals in the various figures denote the same elements. Furthermore, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by adding a hyphen and letters or numbers after a first digit of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 can be indicated as 110-a, 110-b, or 110-1, 110-2, etc. When only the first digit is used to refer to such an element, any instance of that element will be understood (e.g., element 110 can refer to element 110-a and / or 110-b). Detailed Implementation

[0032] Several illustrative embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are also part of the embodiments. While some embodiments that may implement one or more aspects of this disclosure have been described below, other embodiments may be used, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0033] During an emergency call in a wireless communication network (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, or NR (also referred to herein as fifth-generation (5G) NR)), a communication link (also called a connection or session) can be established between a mobile device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) and a public safety answering point (PSAP). To help determine the location of the mobile device, the operator of the wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile service provider) can also provide the PSAP with a location estimate of the mobile device. The determination of the location estimate can be done in any of a variety of ways (some of which are described below) and can be based on location-related information received from the mobile device. However, as mentioned above, the location estimate is typically provided to the PSAP in the form of geodetic coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude). These coordinates typically need to be converted to a corresponding urban location (e.g., street address, and possibly building and / or room name) in order to deploy emergency response services (e.g., ambulances, fire departments, police, etc.). Conventional techniques for converting geodetic coordinates to urban locations are often inaccurate and unreliable. This is more pronounced when there are significant errors in geodetic location (e.g., 50 meters or more), and even precise transformation processing can result in incorrect urban locations being assigned in areas where buildings and residences are close together (e.g., urban or suburban areas).

[0034] To address this and other issues, this paper describes an embodiment of reverse geocoding of geodetic locations into urban locations (also known as urban addresses) using wireless access points (referred to herein as “WiFi APs” or simply APs) and other types of access nodes (ANs) (e.g., small cell NR gNBs). According to some embodiments, mobile devices can crowdsource data about visible APs and ANs (e.g., AP Media Access Control (MAC) addresses and signal measurements) and the current location of the mobile device. Furthermore, a server can construct heatmaps (or thermal volumes) corresponding to the wireless coverage of a specific AP or AN, and include reports of mobile device density in the area (or volume) surrounding the AP or AN. The heatmap or volume can then be compared with a map containing building and street address information to determine the wireless coverage area (also known as signal coverage area, reasonable coverage area) of the AP or AN based on the urban location. When the entire coverage area or volume is located within a single building, the corresponding urban location can be assigned to the AP or AN. When the coverage area or volume spans more than one building and / or includes outdoor areas, the urban location of each building (or outdoor area) can be assigned probabilities based on a score of the included heatmap or volume. According to some embodiments, measurements such as average round-trip time (RTT) and / or received signal strength indication (RSSI) values ​​can also be used to associate each building or outdoor area (and its corresponding city location) with an RSSI range and / or RTT range. When a mobile device reports receiving signals from multiple WiFi APs or ANs, the city location (and probability) associated with each WiFi AP and / or AN can be used to determine the most likely city location of the mobile device. The RTT and RSSI reported by the mobile device can also be compared with the expected RSSI and RTT ranges for each candidate city location to further determine the most likely city location. Additional details regarding these embodiments are provided below.

[0035] It should be noted that although the embodiments described in detail below are mostly applications for determining the location of mobile devices to provide emergency services (e.g., providing city location to a PSAP), the embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, the technology of using crowdsourced WiFi AP information to determine the city location of mobile devices can be used in other applications and scenarios (e.g., navigation, people finding, location tracking, etc.). It should also be noted that while the embodiments described in detail below may be more typically applied to WiFi APs that may be more common in buildings, these embodiments can also be applied to small ANs (e.g., femtocells) that may be deployed by operators or users within buildings and may not always have a known city location or a known wireless coverage area.

[0036] As used herein, radio frequency (RF) signals or “wireless signals” include electromagnetic waves that transmit information through space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. Furthermore, as described herein, when a receiving device (e.g., a mobile device / UE) receives RF / wireless signals from a transmitting device, the transmitting device (e.g., a WiFi AP) may be described as “visible,” “seen,” etc. Because a receiving device can receive signals from multiple transmitting devices at a given location, the receiving device can “see” many transmitting devices at a given location.

[0037] As used herein, the terms "mobile device" and "UE" are used interchangeably. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms "crowdsourced UE" or "crowdsourced mobile device" refer to a device used to collect information (e.g., at a server) that can be collected and analyzed for subsequent use. Details regarding the types of information used in this crowdsourcing are provided herein. Additionally, the terms "target UE" and "target mobile device" refer to the device whose location is to be determined. It can be noted that in some cases, a single mobile device may act as both a crowdsourced mobile device and a target mobile device at different times. Furthermore, the server used to collect information from the crowdsourced UE may be the same as or different from the server used to determine the location of the target mobile device. Again, additional details are provided below.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to an embodiment, wherein a UE 105, a location server (LS) 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 may use the techniques provided herein to determine the estimated location of the UE 105. The techniques described herein may be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include: a UE 105; one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as spacecraft (SV)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou; a base station 120; an access point (AP) 130; an LS 160; a network 170; and an external client 180. Typically, the positioning system 100 may estimate the location of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105 and the known locations of other components transmitting and / or receiving RF signals (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, base station 120, AP 130). Reference will be made below. Figure 2Further details regarding location-specific estimation techniques will be discussed.

[0039] It should be noted that, Figure 1 Only a general description of the various components is provided; any or all of them can be used appropriately, and each can be copied as needed. Specifically, although only one UE105 is shown, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can utilize positioning system 100. Similarly, positioning system 100 may include more than Figure 1 The diagram shows a greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or access points 130. The illustrated connections of the various components in the positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, an external client 180 may connect directly to the LS 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize numerous modifications to the illustrated components.

[0040] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. Network 170 may include, for example, any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks (LANs) and / or wide area networks (WANs). Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may include, for example, cellular or other mobile networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also known as New Radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), WiFi WLANs, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network.

[0041] Base station 120 and AP 130 are communicatively coupled to network 170. In some embodiments, base station 120 may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described below. Depending on the technology of network 170, base station 120 may include a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a basic transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NR Node B (gNB), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. Base station 120, as a gNB or ng-eNB, may be part of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN), which may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC) if network 170 is a 5G network. AP 130 may include, for example, a WiFi AP or a Bluetooth AP. Therefore, by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using a first communication link 133, UE 105 can send and receive information with network-connected devices such as LS 160. Additionally or alternatively, because AP 130 can also be communicatively coupled to network 170, UE 105 can use a second communication link 135 to communicate with network-connected and Internet-connected devices, including LS 160.

[0042] As used herein, the term "base station" can generally refer to a single physical transmission point, or multiple physical transmission points located in the same location at base station 120. A transmit / receive point (TRP) (also called a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term "TRP" is used interchangeably here with the terms "gNB," "ng-eNB," and "base station." In some cases, base station 120 may include multiple TRPs, for example, each TRP associated with a different antenna or different antenna array of base station 120. A physical transmission point may include the antenna array of base station 120 (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or where base station 120 employs beamforming). The term "base station" may also refer to multiple physical transmission points not located in the same location; physical transmission points may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a spatially separated antenna network connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0043] As used herein, the term "cell" generally refers to a logical communication entity used to communicate with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells and may be configured with different cell types based on different protocol types that can provide access to different types of devices (e.g., Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others). In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area on which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0044] LS 160 may include a server and / or other computing devices configured to determine the estimated location of UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “auxiliary data”) to UE 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination. According to some embodiments, LS 160 may include a Home Security Subscriber Plane Positioning (SUPL) positioning platform (H-SLP) that can support SUPL Subscriber Plane (UP) positioning solutions defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can support location services for UE 105 based on subscription information of UE 105 stored in LS 160. In some embodiments, LS 160 may include a Discovered SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). LS 160 may also include an Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) that supports the positioning of UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) positioning solution for LTE radio access by UE 105. The LS 160 may also include a location management function (LMF), which uses a control plane (CP) positioning solution for NR or LTE radio access by the UE 105 to support the positioning of the UE 105.

[0045] In the CP positioning solution, from the perspective of network 170, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE 105 can be exchanged as signaling between components of network 170 using existing network interfaces and protocols, as well as with UE 105. In the UP positioning solution, from the perspective of network 170, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE 105 can be exchanged as data (e.g., data transmitted using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)) between LS 160 and UE 105.

[0046] As previously described (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of UE 105 can be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by UE 105. Specifically, these measurements can provide information about the relative distance and / or angle between UE 105 and one or more components in positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, AP 130, base station 120). Based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known locations of one or more components, the estimated location of UE 105 can be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle and / or multi-point positioning).

[0047] While ground components such as AP 130 and base station 120 can be fixed, the embodiments are not limited thereto. Mobile components can be used. Furthermore, in some embodiments, it may be at least partially based on UE 105 and one or more other UEs that may be mobile. Figure 1 The location of UE 105 is estimated by measuring the RF signals transmitted between (not shown in the image) and other UEs. Direct communication between one or more other UEs and UE 105 may include sidechains and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. A sidechain, as defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication based on cellular LTE and NR standards.

[0048] The estimated location of UE 105 can be used in various applications, such as assisting the user of UE 105 in direction finding or navigation, or assisting another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating UE 105. "Location" is also referred to herein as "location estimate," "estimated location," "location," "site," "location estimate," "site fixed," "estimated location," "site fixed," or "fixed." The location of UE 105 can include the absolute location of UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possible altitude) or the relative location of UE 105 (e.g., represented as north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below a certain known fixed location or a distance from another location (e.g., the location of UE 105 at a certain known previous time)). A location can be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates, which can be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optional altitude), relative (e.g., relative to a certain known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optional Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined relative to a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, sports field, or conference center). The location can also be a city location, which may include street addresses (e.g., names or labels including country, state, county, city, road and / or street, and / or road or street numbers), and / or labels or names of places, buildings, parts of buildings, floors of buildings, and / or rooms within buildings, etc. As previously described, embodiments of this document can be used to reliably map geodetic locations to city locations, which can then be provided to external client 180. The location may also include indications of uncertainty or error, such as horizontal and possibly vertical distances from which the location is expected to be erroneous, or an indication of the area or volume (e.g., circular or elliptical) where the expected UE 105 is located with a certain degree of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0049] External client 180 may be a web server or remote application that is associated with UE 105 in some way (e.g., accessible by a user of UE 105), or it may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to other users, including obtaining and providing the location of UE 105 (e.g., enabling services such as friend or relative finder, asset tracking, or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of UE 105 to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc. Therefore, in some embodiments, external client 180 may include PSAP.

[0050] As previously mentioned, the example positioning system 100 can be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200, illustrating an embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., positioning system 100) implementing 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 can be configured to use access nodes 210, 214, 216 (which may correspond to...) Figure 1 The 5G NR positioning system 200 uses base station 120 and access point 130 and (optionally) LMF 220 (which may correspond to LS 160) to perform one or more positioning methods to determine the location of UE 105. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network including a next-generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G core network (5GCN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network; the NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN; and the 5GCN 240 may be referred to as an NG core network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 from GNSS systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, IRNSS). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0051] It should be noted that, Figure 2 This is only a general description of the various components; any or all of them can be used appropriately, and each can be copied or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a larger (or smaller) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility management function (AMF) 215, external client 230, and / or other components. The connections of the various components in the illustrated 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components can be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0052] UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Positioning Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or other names. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a mobile phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, personal data assistant (PDA), tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as “Wi-Fi”), Bluetooth, Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX). TM ), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5GCN 240), etc. UE 105 can also support wireless communication using WLAN 216, which (like one or more RATs, and as previously referenced) Figure 1 The RATs described above can connect to other networks, such as the Internet. The use of one or more of these RATs can allow the UE 105 to communicate with an external client 230 (e.g., via...). Figure 2 The 5GCN 240 components not shown in the diagram, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) and / or allow an external client 230 to receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 225). Figure 2 The external client 230 can correspond to Figure 1 External client 180, such as those implemented in or communicatively coupled to a 5G NR network. External client 230 may include PSAP.

[0053] Figure 2 The base station shown in NG-RAN 235 can correspond to Figure 1 The base station 120 in the NG-RAN 235 may include NRNodeB (gNB) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to here as gNB 210). Pairs of gNB 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as shown in the image). Figure 2 (As shown, a direct connection or an indirect connection via other gNBs 210). Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more gNBs 210. The gNBs 210 can use 5G NR to provide wireless communication access to the 5GCN 240 on behalf of UE 105. 5G NR radio access can also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. Figure 2 In this context, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 210-1. However, if UE 105 moves to another location, other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) can act as serving gNBs or as auxiliary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0054] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown may also, or alternatively, include Next Generation Evolved Node B, also known as ng-eNB 214. Ng-eNB 214 may connect to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235, for example, directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. Ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. Figure 2 Some gNB 210s (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNB 214s can be configured to act as positioning-only beacons, which can transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast auxiliary data to assist the positioning of UE 105, but cannot receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs. Note that although in Figure 2 Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown, but some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations 210 and 214 can communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, base stations 210 and 214 can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as LMF 220 and AMF 215.

[0055] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216, which can connect to the non-3GPP interoperability function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5GCN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs (e.g., Figure 1(AP 130). Here, N3IWF 250 can connect to other components in 5GCN 240, such as AMF 215. In some embodiments, WLAN 216 can support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. N3IWF 250 can support secure access of UE 105 to other components in 5GCN 240, and / or can support interoperability between one or more protocols used by WLAN 216 and UE 105 and one or more protocols used by other components of 5GCN 240 (e.g., AMF 215). For example, N3IWF 250 can support establishing an IPSec tunnel with UE 105, terminating the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with UE 105, terminating the N2 and N3 interfaces to 5GCN 240 for the control plane and user plane respectively, and relaying uplink and downlink control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between UE 105 and AMF 215 via the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, WLAN 216 can be directly connected to components in 5GCN 240 (e.g., Figure 2 The dashed line indicates AMF 215), not via N3IWF 250. For example, if WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for 5GCN 240, and Trusted WLAN Interoperability (TWIF) can be used (… Figure 2 (Not shown in the image) When enabled, a direct connection between WLAN 216 and 5GCN 240 can occur, assuming the WLAN interoperability function is an internal component of WLAN 216. Note that although... Figure 2 Only one WLAN 216 is shown, but some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0056] The access node may include any of a variety of network entities capable of enabling communication between UE 105 and AMF 215, including gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, the access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include entities capable of communicating with... Figure 2 An entity communicating with any of the various RATs not shown may include non-cellular technologies. Therefore, the term "access node" as used in the embodiments described below may include, but is not limited to, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216.

[0057] In some embodiments, an access node, such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216 (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200), can be configured to obtain location measurements of uplink (UL) signals received from UE 105 and / or downlink (DL) location measurements from UE 105 in response to a location information request received from LMF 220, the measurements being obtained by UE 105 for DL ​​signals received by UE 105 from one or more ANs. As described above, although Figure 2 Access nodes 210, 214, and 216 are depicted, configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and WiFi communication protocols, respectively. However, access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may also be used, such as a node B using the WCDMA protocol for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or a Bluetooth beacon using the Bluetooth protocol for WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an E-UTRAN, which may include a base station, and the base station includes an eNB supporting LTE radio access. The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may include an E-UTRAN and an EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 235, and the EPC corresponds to... Figure 2 The method and techniques described in this paper for obtaining the city location of UE 105 can be applied to other networks like this one.

[0058] GNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 can communicate with AMF 215, which in turn communicates with LMF 220 for location functionality. AMF 215 can support UE 105 mobility, including cell changes and handovers from access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the first RAT to access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the second RAT. AMF 215 can also participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and may support UE 105's data and voice bearers. When UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 235 or WLAN 216, LMF 220 can support the use of CP positioning solutions to locate UE 105, and can support positioning procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (which can be called DL Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID) Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), WLAN positioning, Round-Trip Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. LMF 220 can also handle, for example, positioning service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 215 or GMLC 225. LMF 220 can connect to AMF 215 and / or GMLC 225. In some embodiments, networks such as 5GCN 240 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Evolved Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) or SUPL Location Platform (SLP). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the location functionality (including determining the location of UE 105) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216, and / or using auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 220).

[0059] Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) 225 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 230 and can forward such location requests to AMF 215, which in turn forwards them to LMF 220. Location responses from LMF 220 (e.g., containing location estimates for UE 105) can similarly be returned to GMLC 225, either directly or via AMF 215, and then GMLC 225 can return the location response (e.g., containing location estimates) to external client 230.

[0060] The network exposure function (NEF) 245 can be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 can support the secure exposure of capabilities and events related to the 5GCN 240 and UE 105 to an external client 230; this can be referred to as an access function (AF), and information can be securely provided from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 can connect to the AMF 215 and / or GMLC 225 to obtain the location of the UE 105 (e.g., city location) and provide that location to the external client 230.

[0061] like Figure 2 As further illustrated, the LMF 220 can communicate with the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.445. NRPPa messages can be transmitted between the gNB 210 and LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and LMF 220 via the AMF 215. Figure 2 As further illustrated, LMF 220 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 for UE 105. For example, LPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 220 and AMF 215 using service-based operation messages (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and can be transmitted between AMF 215 and UE 105 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol can be used to support positioning of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods, such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, multi-cell RTT, AOD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based location methods (such as ECID, AOA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA)), and / or can be used by LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as defining parameters of DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0062] When UE 105 accesses WLAN 216, LMF 220 can obtain the location of UE 105 using NRPPa and / or LPP in a manner similar to that described above when UE 105 accesses gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Therefore, NRPPa messages can be transmitted between WLAN 216 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 and / or the transmission of other location information from WLAN 216 to LMF 220. Optionally, NRPPa messages can be transmitted between N3IWF 250 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known or accessible to N3IWF 250 and transmitted from N3IWF 250 to LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP messages can be transmitted between UE105 and LMF 220 via AMF 215, N3IWF 250 and the serving WLAN 216 for UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE 105 by LMF 220.

[0063] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send them to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) to calculate a location estimate for UE 105. For RAT-dependent positioning methods, location measurements may include Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), RTT, Reference Received Power (RSRP), Reference Received Quality (RSRQ), Reference Time Difference (RSTD), Time of Arrival (TOA), AOA, Receive Time-Transmit Time Difference (Rx-Tx), Differential AOA (DAOA), AOD, or timing advance (TA) for gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or one or more access points for WLAN 216. Location measurements may also or alternatively include measurements for RAT-independent positioning methods, such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase of GNSS satellite 110), WLAN, etc.

[0064] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to location measurements from a UE-assisted positioning method), and can further calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 220, SLP, or broadcast by gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0065] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN 216), or N3IWF 250 can obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, or TOA) of signals transmitted by UE 105, and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105 or by APs in WLAN 216 in the case of N3IWF 250, and can send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for calculating the location estimate of UE 105.

[0066] Network-based positioning methods and UE-assisted and UE-based positioning methods that rely on RATs, including WLAN-based positioning methods, typically rely on knowledge of the location of network nodes (e.g., APs and / or base stations) to enable multi-angle and / or multi-point positioning to determine the location of UE 105. However, according to embodiments herein, information from one or more crowdsourced UEs can be used to determine the coverage area of ​​each of one or more APs without needing to know or determine the precise location of each AP. As described in more detail below, the coverage area can be used to determine the urban location of the target UE.

[0067] Figures 3A-4B This diagram illustrates an example of how information from UE 105 can be used to crowdsource the coverage area of ​​AP 130. Here, the UE used for crowdsourcing purposes is referred to as the crowdsourcing UE 305, and the WiFi AP for which information is collected is referred to as the associated AP 310. As described below, the crowdsourcing UE 305 can crowdsource information from one or more associated APs 310 at one or more times and / or one or more locations. Note that the same or similar techniques can be used to collect information and determine the coverage area of ​​any access node, such as gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Therefore, without departing from the techniques described below, Figures 3A-4B The relevant AP 310 in the code can be replaced by an AN such as gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214.

[0068] Figure 3A The basic configuration for collecting information about the relevant AP 310 from the crowdsourced UE 305 is shown. Here, the crowdsourced UE 305 can determine its own location (UE location 315, such as...). Figure 3BAs shown), the system obtains the identifier (ID) of the relevant AP 310 (e.g., MAC address, Service Set ID (SSID), etc.), and optionally obtains one or more measurements of the wireless signal 320 transmitted by the relevant AP 310. The crowdsourced UE 305 can then provide the server (e.g., via NR, LTE, or WiFi-based communication) with information indicating the UE location 315, the ID of the relevant AP 310, and (optionally) the signal measurements to determine the coverage area of ​​the relevant AP 310. As described in more detail below, the server can then use this information, along with other crowdsourced information, to identify the location of the target UE. For example, the server can correspond to... Figure 2 LMF 220 or external client 230 and / or Figure 1 It can be LS160 in the middle or external client 180, and can be LMF, SLP, E-SMLC or some other server.

[0069] The UE location 315 can be determined in any of a variety of ways, depending on the desired functionality, UE capabilities, available location determination technologies, and / or other factors. In some instances, such as crowdsourced UE 305, the UE location 315 can be determined using a location method independent of RAT, such as using a GNSS receiver or sensor data. For example, sensor data may include data from sensors of the crowdsourced UE 305, such as one or more accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, cameras, etc. This can be used to provide a determination of the UE location 315 based on dead reckoning from a previously determined location (e.g., GNSS-based, RTK-based, or network-based location determination, etc.), or it can be a standalone location determination.

[0070] In other instances, as previously described, one or more RAT-dependent positioning methods associated with a wireless network (e.g., WiFi, LTE, or NR network) can be used to determine the UE location 315. Typically, for RAT-dependent positioning methods, the UE 305 obtains location measurements from DL signals received from an AN or AP (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 215, WLAN 216), and / or the AN or AP (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 215, WLAN 216) obtains location measurements from UL signals received from the UE 305, wherein the AN or AP does not include AP 310 or any other relevant AP whose coverage area is to be determined. However, when the location is already known or previously determined for AP 310 and other relevant APs, and does not depend on location measurements from a crowdsourced UE used to determine the coverage area of ​​AP 310 and other relevant APs, the location measurements obtained by the UE 305 or the location measurements of the UE 305 can be obtained using AP 310 and other relevant APs.

[0071] It can be noted that although the position measurement value of the DL signal from AP 310 obtained by UE 305 can indicate the AP position 325 of the associated AP 310 (in Figure 3B (As shown in the diagram), but it is not necessarily necessary to know and can be uncertain about AP location 325. However, it is known that the crowdsourced UE 305 is able to receive wireless signals from the associated AP 310 at UE location 315. Thus, by receiving similar information from one or more crowdsourced UEs 305 at different UE locations over a period of time, the server is able to determine the coverage area of ​​the associated AP 310. This process is in Figures 4A-4B A more detailed description is provided below. It can be noted that although a single associated AP 310 is shown, this process can be performed for many (potentially all) APs in the wireless network where the crowdsourced UE 305 receives wireless signals. Furthermore, at a given UE location 315, the crowdsourced UE 305 can see multiple APs; in this case, the crowdsourced UE 305 can provide the server with information about one or more of the multiple APs and the UE location 315.

[0072] Figure 4A It is based on Figure 3B The diagram below illustrates how, for a given associated AP 310, the server can receive multiple UE locations 315. Here, with... Figure 3B Similarly, UE location 315 indicates the location where one or more crowdsourced UEs 305 receive radio signals from the associated AP 310. AP location 325 again... Figure 4A As shown, however, as previously stated, it is not necessary to determine the coverage area of ​​the relevant AP 310.

[0073] For clarity, UE location 315 refers to the location where a crowdsourced UE 305 receives wireless signals from a related AP 310, where the location, AP identity, and, in some cases, wireless signal measurements are provided to the server. This crowdsourcing information corresponding to different UE locations 315 can be provided by different crowdsourced UEs 305, but a single crowdsourced UE 305 can provide information for multiple UE locations 315. The number of UE locations 315 can accumulate to tens, hundreds, thousands, or more over time, resulting in… Figure 4BThe accuracy of the determined coverage area 410, shown in the diagram and described below, is continuously improving. According to some embodiments, earlier crowdsourced data (e.g., data earlier than a threshold time period) can be removed or ignored to help ensure the use of current accurate data. For example, the determination of the coverage area can be improved if AP 310 is physically moved or its environment changes (e.g., by adding or removing partitions in an office environment or by building or demolishing nearby buildings). Additional information regarding information collected from crowdsourced UE 305 is referenced below. Figure 8 supply.

[0074] The server receiving crowdsourcing information may include the location server 160 as described above or another computer system communicatively coupled to one or more crowdsourcing UEs 305. The server may store the information received from one or more crowdsourcing UEs 305 in a database and use the information to determine the coverage area of ​​each associated AP 310 for which the server receives the information.

[0075] Figure 4B It shows how it is possible to get from Figure 4A An example of determining the AP coverage area 410 for all UE locations 315. (It can be noted that although often described as "coverage area" in the embodiments herein, embodiments may include an "coverage volume" extending to three dimensions. For example, determining the coverage volume may be particularly helpful when the AP is visible from multiple floors of a multi-story building.)

[0076] The technology used by the server to determine the coverage area may vary depending on the required functionality. According to some embodiments, the AP coverage area 410 can be defined simply by connecting the outermost UE locations 315. Alternatively (as shown), the AP coverage area 410 can be defined as the area surrounding all UE locations 315. According to some embodiments, the server can define the AP coverage area 410 for a specific associated AP 310 after receiving a threshold number of UE locations 315 corresponding to the associated AP 310. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, the server can implement outlier detection to filter out atypical or abnormal UE locations 315 of the associated AP 310.

[0077] To help improve system accuracy, the server can store crowdsourced information and determine the corresponding AP coverage area 410 for many relevant APs 310. For example, a wireless network operator can maintain a server that receives crowdsourced information and determines the coverage area for all APs within the operator's coverage area, ultimately enabling the operator to accurately determine the city address of a target UE within the wireless network when the coverage area is mapped to a city location. (More details on how coverage areas are mapped to city locations are provided below.)

[0078] Furthermore, according to some embodiments, additional accuracy regarding the location of a target UE can be determined by creating a coverage heatmap for the AP coverage area 410. The probability that the target UE may be located within the AP coverage area can be determined using density values ​​and / or measurements or radio signals at the UE location 315. (Reference) Figure 5A and 5B Additional details are as follows.

[0079] Figure 5A It corresponds to the example. Figure 4B An illustration of the first coverage heatmap 500-A covering the AP coverage area 410. It can be seen that the first coverage heatmap 500-A includes the coverage area 410 divided into density regions 510. Darker shaded density regions 510 represent regions 315 with higher UE location density. As described above, the coverage heatmap 500-A can be used for the location of a target UE to determine the likelihood that the target UE is within density region 510. (To avoid confusion, in...) Figure 5A Only a few density regions (510) are marked in the image.

[0080] A density region is an area within the coverage heatmap 500-A where UE locations 315 have a density falling within a specific range. Different density regions can have different ranges. For example, a high-density region 510-1 can be defined by an area with more than 100 UE locations 315 per square meter, and a low-density region 510-2 can be defined by an area with fewer than 10 UE locations 315 per square meter. Of course, the density ranges used to define these density regions 510 can be arbitrarily chosen, and the number of different density regions 510 can vary depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, the range can be redefined at a specific time (e.g., weekly, monthly, etc.) and / or at a certain threshold (e.g., for every 1000 additional UE locations 315 acquired by the server). According to some embodiments, the range can be defined by a percentage, ratio, or proportion, rather than an absolute number (e.g., a high-density region 510 corresponds to 50% of all UE locations 315 within an area less than 10% of the AP coverage area 410, and subsequent density regions 510 are defined in 10% increments). Because density region 510 depends on the density of UE locations 315 within the AP coverage area 410, density region 510 can change over time as the server collects more crowdsourced data from additional UE locations 315.

[0081] Because the density of UE locations 315 in each density region increases with the total number of UE locations 315, it may be convenient to define the density of UE locations as a fraction of the total number of UE locations 315 per unit area of ​​the entire coverage area 420. For example, suppose:

[0082] N = the total number of UE positions 315;

[0083] Nm = the number of UE locations 315 in density region m;

[0084] Am = the area of ​​density region m (e.g., in square meters).

[0085] Then the density Dm of UE position 315 in density region m can be obtained (e.g., through a server), as follows:

[0086] Dm = Nm / (N*Am). (Equation 1)

[0087] Assuming there is a sufficient number of positions N to suppress statistical fluctuations, the density Dm in Equation 1 can remain relatively static (and stable) as the total number of UE positions 315 increases. The density Dm in Equation 1 can also represent the probability that any UE position 315 lies within a specific unit area of ​​density region m. For example, when the density Dm is summed (or integrated) over the entire density region m, and then summed (or integrated) over all density regions m, the result will be 1, which is the sum of the probabilities of all possible outcomes.

[0088] As just shown, density region 510 can be defined in different ways depending on the desired function. Figure 5A As shown, similar to contour lines in a contour map, the density region 510 covering heatmap 500-A can be defined as the area within the AP coverage area 410 that has a common density or density range. Alternatively, heatmap 500 can be divided into predefined portions or sub-regions. An example of this is... Figure 5B The “pixelated” coverage heatmap 500-B is shown.

[0089] Figure 5B This is a schematic diagram of the second coverage heatmap 500-B, showing... Figure 4B How is the density within the AP coverage area of ​​410 represented in a pixelated manner (e.g., by the server)? Similar to... Figure 5A The density region 510 is represented by different shades. However, here, the AP coverage area 410 is divided into a grid of square "pixels" 520, each pixel representing a small portion (e.g., one square meter) within the AP coverage area 410. The density (shading) of each pixel represents the density of the UE position 315 within each pixel. For example, the density in each pixel can be obtained using Equation 1, where the density region m in Equation 1 corresponds to each pixel.

[0090] Figure 5BThe size and shape of the pixel 520 can vary. For example, pixel 520 can be a square, rectangle, triangle, or hexagon. The size can depend on the quantity and accuracy of the UE locations 315 provided by the crowdsourced UE 305. For example, a large number (e.g., 50,000 or more) of high-precision (e.g., location error less than 1 meter) location estimates 315 from the crowdsourced UE 305 may allow a pixel size of 1 square meter or smaller, while fewer and / or less accurate location estimates may require a pixel size larger than 1 square meter. This is because, for neighboring pixels in the same type of area (e.g., continuous indoor or outdoor areas without obstacles or large objects (e.g., furniture or walls separating pixels), the density of UE locations 315 should preferably be the same or similar. This attribute simply represents the probability that the users of UE 315 are similar or equal in each neighboring pixel. This attribute can naturally arise as a result of random statistical sampling of a large number of accurate UE locations 315, but it may not arise for a smaller number of UE locations 315 or for UE locations 315 containing errors larger than the pixel size. However, this attribute is expected to ensure that pixels with lower density are not mistakenly ignored or faded when using heatmap data to determine the location of a target UE.

[0091] Density regions 510 in coverage heatmaps 500-A or 500-B (collectively referred to herein as coverage heatmap 500) can be used (e.g., by a server) to determine the probability that a target UE is within a specific density region 510 of coverage heatmap 500. The probability can be based on the number of UE locations 315 within each density region 510. For example, if high-density region 510-1 represents 75% of all UE locations 315 in AP coverage area 410, and low-density region 510-2 represents 5%, then a target UE within AP coverage area 410 may have a corresponding 75% probability of being located in high-density region 510-1 and a 5% probability of being located in low-density region 510-2. (The percentage probability of a target UE in other regions similarly reflects the percentage of UE locations 315 within AP coverage area 410.) Therefore, if a target UE receives a radio signal from an AP, it can be assumed (e.g., by a server) that the target UE is within AP coverage area 410, and the percentage probability of the target UE being within a specific density region 510 can be determined in this way.

[0092] The density regions 510 in the coverage heatmap 500 can be further (e.g., by a server) used to determine the probability that a target UE is located in a specific sub-region of a specific density region 510 in the coverage heatmap 500. In this case, the probability can be based on Equation 1, according to the density of UE locations 315 within each density region 510. For example, if there are 2% of all UE locations 315 per unit area in high-density region 510-1, then a sub-region of region X units (e.g., where the unit area could be one square meter) within high-density region 510-1 will contain an average of 2X% of all UE locations 315. A similar determination can be performed for sub-regions within any other density region (e.g., low-density region 510-2). This allows for comparison of the probability that a target UE is located in different sub-regions of different density regions and different sub-regions of the same density region.

[0093] It can be noted that, Figure 5A and 5B In the example shown, UE locations 315 used to create density areas 510 in the coverage heatmap 500 can be provided by (a) a large number of crowdsourced UEs 305 (e.g., tens of thousands) and / or (b) a small number of crowdsourced UEs 305 (e.g., dozens), which can provide many different UE locations 315 for each UE 305 over a period of time (e.g., several months). Which approach is adopted may depend on the number of different users who frequently appear in a particular coverage area. To avoid overweighting the results of scenario (b), the number of locations 315 collected from each UE 305 can be limited when both scenarios (a) and (b) apply. As an example, a limit of only one or a few locations per UE 305 per day can be applied. An example where both scenarios (a) and (b) apply is a hotel or shopping mall, where a small number of UEs 305 used by shop or hotel staff contribute a large number of locations 315 to scenario (b), while a large number of UEs 305 used by hotel guests or shoppers contribute other locations 315 to scenario (a). Because hotel or shopping mall staff typically visit different areas frequently, it may be necessary to limit the number of locations 315 collected by UE 305 belonging to hotel or shopping mall staff to avoid biasing high-density areas 510 towards areas frequently visited by hotel or shopping mall staff rather than areas frequently visited by hotel guests or shoppers.

[0094] As a simplification of storing UE locations 315 in the overlay heatmap 500, the server may store the number of UEs located in each density region 510 or the density of UEs in each density region 510 (e.g., per unit area or per pixel). A difference in storing UE locations 315 might be that the location of a UE 305 is only used to determine the density region 510 in which the UE 305 is located. The server may then store the total number of UEs 305 located in density regions 510, but not their locations. The same simplification can be applied to storing the total number of UEs 305 located within any unit area or any pixel. The number of UEs stored in association with density regions 510, unit areas, or pixels may not distinguish the identity of the UEs and may then include multiple instances of the same UE 305 stored by the server at different times. Alternatively, the server may distinguish different UEs and, for any density region 510, unit area, or pixel, may include (e.g., count) any particular UE 305 at most once.

[0095] If the wireless signal measurements are provided by the crowdsourced UE 305, the coverage heatmap 500 may additionally include the measurements or statistical data of the measurements. The measurements may include measurements of Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), RSRP, RSRQ, Round-Trip Time (RTT) (also known as round-trip time), and Angle of Arrival (AOA) for each AP 310. The measurements may be used in the coverage heatmap 500 in a density similar to that of the UE location 315, as previously described. That is, the AP coverage area 410 may be divided into multiple zones, and the average measurements of these zones may be attributed to these zones. For example, similar to coverage heatmap 500-B, the AP coverage area 410 may be pixelated into pixels of one square meter, where statistical data of the wireless signal measurements of the relevant AP 310 obtained from the crowdsourced UE 305 within each pixel may be applied to the corresponding pixel. Such statistical data may include, for example, the average, weighted average, and / or standard deviation of the signal measurements. When the location of a target UE is subsequently determined, the measurements obtained by the target UE from the relevant AP 310 may be compared with the measurements in each pixel. The probability or likelihood that the target UE is located in any pixel of the AP coverage area 410 can then be determined based on the similarity between the statistical value determined for that pixel and the value measured for the target UE. For example, in a very simple case, the target UE might be identified as being in a pixel of the AP coverage area 410 that has the value most similar to the value measured for the target UE.

[0096] According to some embodiments, a coverage heatmap 500 having both UE location density values ​​and measurements can achieve higher accuracy in determining the location of a target UE compared to using density values ​​or measurements alone. For example, in a given density area 510, where the target UE is highly likely to be located, the server can further use measurements to identify a sub-region within the given density area 510 that has the measurement value that best matches the measurement value obtained by the target UE. Additionally or alternatively, the server can achieve a similar gain in accuracy by using coverage heatmaps 500 corresponding to multiple APs visible to the target UE to narrow down the possible location of the target UE. See below for further details. Figure 7A and 7B Additional details are provided.

[0097] When mapping AP coverage area 410 to one or more city locations, the server can use coverage heatmap 500. An example of this is... Figure 6A and Figure 6B Provided by China.

[0098] Figure 6A This is an illustration showing the mapping of a heat map 500 (corresponding to the AP coverage area 410 of the associated AP 310) to a structure in a city map, based on an example. This is accomplished by associating the geodetic coordinates associated with the heat map 500 with the geodetic coordinates of the city map. In this example, the heat map 500 overlaps with the first and second buildings (610-1 and 610-2) and the first and second regions (620-1 and 620-2). As can be seen in this example, building 610 corresponds to the higher-density portion (darker shading) of the heat map 500, while region 620 corresponds to the lower-density portion of the heat map 500. Although heatmap 500 is merely an example for illustrative purposes, it can occur in real-world scenarios, such as when AP 310 is located on an upper floor of a tall building (e.g., building 610-1) and there are other tall buildings nearby (e.g., building 610-2). In such cases, the space between buildings typically has zero or very few UE locations 315 (e.g., a few UE locations 315 might be present if balconies or drones are present). According to some embodiments, the overlay heatmap 500 can also be used to determine the probability that a target UE is located in a corresponding urban location. Examples of this include... Figure 6B As shown.

[0099] Figure 6B This is a diagram illustrating the probability of a target UE being located in each city location corresponding to the associated AP 310 when a wireless signal is detected from the associated AP 310, according to an example. (Again, darker shading indicates a higher probability.) That is, by covering city locations such as... Figure 6AOn the coverage heatmap 500 shown, the probability of each city location can be determined based on the coverage heatmap 500. Specifically, the probability that a target UE might be located at each location can be determined by summing the probabilities of all sub-regions of the coverage heatmap 500 falling within the boundaries of the city location. In this example, the target UE that detects a wireless signal from the associated AP 310 has the highest probability in the first building 610-1 and the lowest probability in the first area 620-1. Figure 6A As shown, some portions of the coverage heatmap 500 may not be within the boundaries of city locations. Therefore, the sum of all probabilities for city locations may be less than 100%. According to some embodiments, the determined location of the target UE can be provided as the city location with the highest probability among all city locations covered by the coverage heatmap 500 (e.g., building 610-1). This determination can be provided to an entity, such as the target UE itself, an external entity (e.g., PSAP), or a function / server within a wireless communication network provider. Alternatively, probabilities for multiple city locations can be provided if no city location has a probability higher than a certain percentage (e.g., 50%, 75%, etc.), or if each of multiple city locations has a probability higher than a certain minimum threshold (e.g., 20%, 30%, etc.).

[0100] In some embodiments, the most probable geodetic location of the target UE can be determined before determining the corresponding urban location. For example, based on density areas 510 within a coverage heatmap 500 and (optionally) radio signal measurements obtained from the target UE, the server can identify multiple candidate locations within the AP coverage area 410 (e.g., Figure 5B The dark shadow pixels 520 in the coverage heatmap 500-B are used to further determine the probability associated with each candidate location (e.g., based on density and, optionally, wireless signal measurements). The location with the highest probability can then be identified and mapped to the corresponding city location.

[0101] Over time, the continuous accumulation of crowdsourced information can improve accuracy. That is, crowdsourced information may initially lead to the identification of larger city locations (e.g., such as...). Figure 6B The probability of a city location (such as the buildings and larger areas shown) can be determined over time, but this may lead to determining the probability of sub-locations within a city location, such as rooms or floors within a building. According to some embodiments, if a specific threshold is met for a given city location (e.g., the density of UE location 315 exceeds the threshold), and if a map of sub-locations within the city location is available (e.g., a floor plan of a building), the server can determine the probability of a sub-location (e.g., in a manner similar to that described above for larger city locations).

[0102] It can be noted that the mapping from city location to crowdsourced information can be completed at any point. Regarding... Figure 3A-6B The examples discussed illustrate how city locations can be applied to coverage heatmaps 500 (e.g.) Figure 6A (As shown), but the embodiments are not limited thereto. According to some embodiments, the server can convert the UE location 315 to a city location before determining the AP coverage area 410. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the city location can be mapped to the AP coverage area 410, which can occur before determining the coverage heatmap 500.

[0103] Figure 7A This is a simplified diagram illustrating how overlapping AP coverage areas 410, according to an embodiment, are used to provide greater accuracy in determining the location of a target UE. In this example, three AP coverage areas 410 collectively cover four city locations: 710-1 to 710-4. However, the overlapping area 720 of all three AP coverage areas 410 only appears in two city locations: 710-2 and 710-3. Therefore, if the target UE indicates to the server that it has received radio signals from all three associated APs corresponding to the three AP coverage areas 410, the server can determine that the target UE is within city location 710-2 or 710-3.

[0104] As attributed to Figure 7A As shown by the different shades of the overlapping area 720, based on the coverage heatmap 500 corresponding to the AP coverage area 410, different probabilities can be associated with different overlapping areas 720. That is, in addition to excluding the possibility that the target UE is located in the non-overlapping portion of the AP coverage area 410, the server can also determine the probability that the target UE is located within each overlapping area 720 based on the probability associated with each overlapping area 720. Figure 7A In the example shown, for each overlapping region 720, the density of the coverage heatmap 500 corresponding to the AP coverage area 410 is combined, resulting in a higher probability that the target UE is located in the overlapping region 720 within the city location 710-3 than in the overlapping region 720 within the city location 710-2.

[0105] Probabilities can be combined in different ways. In one embodiment, as described above, the server can determine the probability of the target UE's location within each city location based on each visible AP (e.g., by summing the probabilities of the target UE's location across all sub-regions of the heatmap of visible APs located at or corresponding to a particular city location). The resulting probabilities of the individual visible APs at a particular city location can then be combined by multiplication to determine the combined probability (which may only be a relative value), for example, assuming the combined probabilities are independent of each other. The city location with the highest combined probability can then be selected as the most probable city location for the target UE.

[0106] As just described, the probabilities of all city locations 710 can also be combined, such as... Figure 7B As shown, this produces something similar to Figure 6B The combined probabilities of different city locations 710 are shown. These city locations 710 and their associated combined probabilities can be provided to a requesting entity such as PSAP, or the city location 710 with the highest combined probability can be selected as the most likely city location of the target UE and provided to a requesting entity such as PSAP.

[0107] For reference Figure 6B-7B The determination of the target UE's city location, as described above, can be performed in one or two stages. In a one-stage process, the server can determine the probability or combination probability of different city locations for the target UE as described above, and, for example, select the city location with the highest probability or highest combination probability. In a two-stage process, the server can use the techniques just described to determine the probability or combination probability of the target UE being located in different density regions, different sub-regions, and / or different pixels, where the probability or combination probability is based on... Figure 5B The coverage heatmap in the image may not necessarily contain a city location. The server can then determine the most probable density region, sub-region, or pixel for the target UE (as described for a city location, but using density regions, sub-regions, and / or pixels instead of the city location). The determined density region, sub-region, or pixel can be considered as a geodetic location (e.g., with some uncertainty in the case of density regions or sub-regions) and can be mapped to, for example, a geodetic location. Figure 6A The described city location.

[0108] Figure 8 This is a signaling flowchart illustrating an example of how server 805 can collect information from crowdsourced UE 305. (Example:) Figure 1 and 2 As shown, there may be one or more intermediate devices and / or networks between the crowdsourcing UE 305 and the server 805. As described above, the crowdsourcing UE 305 may include a mobile device performing crowdsourcing functions (e.g., Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 UE 105), and server 805 may include a logical or physical computer server, such as location server 160, LMF 220, SLP, E-SMLC, and / or another computing device remote from the crowdsourced UE 305. Furthermore, Figure 8 The process shown can be repeated by server 805 over time with one or more crowdsourced UEs 305 to accumulate crowdsourced information (e.g., UE location 315, AP identity, and optional measurements).

[0109] The process can begin with action 810, where the crowdsourcing UE 305 and server 805 establish a crowdsourcing session. According to some embodiments, the crowdsourcing session can be established on the control plane (e.g., using LPP) or on the user plane (e.g., using SUPL User Plane Location Protocol (ULP)). For example, the session can include an LPP session or a SUPL ULP session between server 805 and crowdsourcing UE 305. Establishing the session in action 810 can be initiated by UE 305 sending a request to server 805, or by server 805 sending a request to UE 305.

[0110] In action 820, server 805 may provide an information request to crowdsourced UE 305. This request may include a request for the ID (e.g., MAC address, SSID, or other identifier) ​​of any AP detected by crowdsourced UE 305, and (optionally) a request for measurements of the AP's wireless signal (e.g., RTT, RSSI, AOA, etc.). According to some embodiments, information request 820 may also explicitly request a location (e.g., UE location 315) and / or location measurements corresponding to the location where crowdsourced UE 305 obtains the AP identity and AP measurements.

[0111] The dashed arrow indicates that action 820 may be optional. This is because, according to some embodiments, an explicit measurement request may not be required. In this case, once a session is established (action 810), the crowdsourcing UE 305 can provide crowdsourcing information to the server 805 without an explicit measurement request.

[0112] In box 825, the crowdsourced UE 305 can obtain location measurements. As previously described, these may include pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase measurements of SV 110, NR measurements of nearby gNB 210 (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, AOD, AOA, DAOA, Rx-Tx, RSTD, RTT measurements), AP measurements of nearby WLAN 216, sensor-based measurements, and / or other measurements.

[0113] In box 830, the crowdsourced UE 305 may optionally determine its location based on location measurements obtained in box 825 and using a UE-based positioning method, such as A-GNSS, RTK, DL-TDOA, AOA, DAOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT, ECID, WLAN, sensors, etc. In box 830, the UE 105 may use auxiliary data to aid in determining its location, which may be received from server 805 (e.g., during or after session establishment of action 810) and / or may be received from broadcast information sent from nearby (e.g., serving) gNB 210 or WLAN 216. Box 830 is optional and may not always occur.

[0114] In box 840, the crowdsourcing UE 305 obtains AP information to provide to server 805. This information may also include each of one or more APs visible to the crowdsourcing UE 305, the corresponding AP identity, and optional measurements of the wireless signals transmitted by the respective AP. In some embodiments, boxes 825 and 840 may be combined.

[0115] In action 850, the crowdsourced UE 305 provides server 805 with one or more of the following: (i) the location obtained in box 830; (ii) AP information obtained in box 840; and (iii) some or all of the location measurements obtained in box 825. In some embodiments, the information sent to server 805 in box 850 may be sent in two or more different messages (e.g., messages for LPP or ULP), such as information in (i), (ii), and (iii) being sent in separate messages or in the same message.

[0116] In box 855, if UE 305 does not provide its location in action 850, server 805 can use the location measurements provided in action 850 and UE-assisted positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, DL-TDOA, AOA, DAOA, AOD, multi-cell RTT, ECID, WLAN, and sensors to determine the location of UE 305. Server 805 can also request and receive information from one or more gNBs 210 and / or WLANs 216 ( Figure 8 The location measurements of UE 305 (not shown in the diagram) are obtained to assist or enable the determination of the location of UE 305 using a network-based positioning method (such as UL-TDOA, AOA, or ECID) in box 855.

[0117] As previously mentioned, the location provided by the crowdsourced UE 305 in action 850 or obtained by the server 805 in frame 855 can be provided or obtained in geodetic coordinates. The server 805 can use these coordinates to help determine the AP coverage area and can convert these coordinates into urban locations in the manner indicated in the foregoing embodiments.

[0118] Optionally, as indicated by arrow 860, the crowdsourced UE 305 may repeatedly perform one or more of the following processes: obtaining location measurements, optionally determining its location, obtaining AP information, and providing this information to the server 805. These repetitions may be based on defined periodicity, triggering events (e.g., UE 305 detecting a different location), scheduling, etc., and may be determined by the server 805 and / or the crowdsourced UE 305, for example, when a session is established (action 810) and / or when information is requested (action 820). Once completed, in action 870, the crowdsourced UE 305 and the server 805 may terminate the session. In another embodiment, the UE 305 and / or the server 805 may periodically repeat these processes when certain events occur in the UE 305 (e.g., detecting a different set of visible APs), or when the UE 305 requests location-related information from the server 805, or when the server 805 requests location-related information from the UE 305 for other purposes. Figure 8 The entire process is shown.

[0119] In box 880, when box 855 occurs, server 805 uses the information received at one or more instances of action 850 and determined at one or more instances of box 855 to determine or update the coverage area and heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicated by UE 305 in action 850. The determination or update at box 880 can be as follows: Figures 3A-6A As described, and information received from other crowdsourcing UE 305 can be utilized, for which also occurs related to Figure 8 The processes shown are similar to or the same as those shown.

[0120] In order to use (e.g., according to) Figure 8 The signaling flow in the data is used to obtain the coverage area and heat map of one or more APs to obtain the city location of the target UE, the target UE (replacing the signaling flow in the data). Figure 8 UE 305 and Server 805 can use similar methods Figure 8 The signaling flow. The signaling flow can retain previous signals for... Figure 8Each action and box described, except for optional action 825, optional action 830, omitted action 860, and normally omitted box 880. Furthermore, server 805 can now always execute box 855 to determine the location of the target UE, but now determines the target UE's city location based on the AP information received in action 850 and obtained by the target UE in box 840. Determining the UE's city location in box 855 can use the previously mentioned methods... Figure 6B-7B The described techniques. For example, determining the geographic location of a UE can be done in a single stage where the geodetic location of the target UE is not obtained, or it can be done in two stages where the geodetic location of the target UE is first obtained, and then the geographic location of the target UE is obtained based on the geodetic location. The server 805 can then provide the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device (e.g., an external client 230 of PSAP).

[0121] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of a method 900 for determining the city location of a mobile device according to an embodiment. It is used for execution... Figure 9 The components illustrating the functions shown in one or more boxes can be performed by server hardware and / or software components, such as... Figure 1 Location server 160 Figure 2 LMF 220 or SLP, E-SMLC or external client 180 or 230. Example server components are in... Figure 13 As shown below, which will be described in more detail, the mobile device may include the UE as previously described (e.g., target UE 105, crowdsourced UE 305).

[0122] In box 910, the functionality includes receiving information from a mobile device about one or more WiFi APs, including the identity of each of the one or more WiFi APs. As previously described, the identity may include a unique identifier for each of the one or more WiFi APs, such as a MAC address, SSID, etc. (See previous references...) Figure 8 The information can be provided during a communication session between the mobile device and the server. Furthermore, this information may also include signal measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, and / or AOA) for each of one or more WiFi APs.

[0123] Components used to perform functions in box 910 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, communication subsystem 1330, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0124] In box 920, the function includes determining the location of a mobile device based on this information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more WiFi APs. The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more WiFi APs may indicate the geographic area or volume in which wireless signals from the respective WiFi AP can be received, and the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or volume where the additional mobile device receives wireless signals from the respective WiFi AP. As shown in the above embodiment, these additional mobile devices may include a crowdsourced UE 305. Example coverage heatmap in... Figures 5A to 6B As shown in the figure. As mentioned above, various aspects of a coverage heatmap can differ, including format, granularity, etc.

[0125] According to some embodiments, the coverage heatmap of each of one or more WiFi APs can indicate the density of mobile device locations within a geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions includes the number of mobile device locations, the number of mobile devices, the total number of mobile device locations or some or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or geographic volume, the probability of a mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume in the corresponding region, or a combination of these. As indicated in the embodiments above, probabilities can be extracted from the density, and / or some or a portion (e.g., percentage) of the total number of mobile device locations or the total number of mobile devices can be used to define different density regions. Additionally or alternatively, a region can include a sub-area, a sub-volume, a unit area, a unit volume, a pixel, or a city location.

[0126] As indicated in the previously described embodiments (e.g., for example, for...) Figure 6B , 7AAs described in 7B, some embodiments may first identify the geodetic or urban location where the target mobile device is most likely to be located. Therefore, according to some embodiments, determining the location of a mobile device based on information and a coverage heatmap of each of one or more WiFi APs may include: determining a plurality of candidate locations for the mobile device; determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device; and selecting the candidate location from the plurality of candidate locations that has the highest probability of correspondence with the actual location of the mobile device as the location. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device may be based on the density of mobile device locations at each candidate location for each of the one or more WiFi APs. In some embodiments, the information received by the server may include a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more WiFi APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more WiFi APs includes statistics on second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at the location of the mobile device within a geographic area or volume. In this case, determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device may be based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value for each candidate location. As shown in the above embodiments, the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value may include at least one or a combination of RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, RTT, and AOA. The statistical data of the second signal measurement value may include the average value of the second signal measurement value, the weighted average value of the second signal measurement value, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement value, or some combination thereof.

[0127] Components used to perform functions in box 920 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, and / or other server components, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0128] In box 930, the functionality includes determining the city location of the mobile device based on location. In some embodiments, the location may include a city location. In other embodiments, the location may include a geodetic location that can be mapped to a city location (e.g., using a map, e.g., for...). Figure 6AThe location described herein may be a building floor plan or a database that cross-references geodetic locations and urban locations. In some embodiments, when the location is a geodetic location, determining the urban location based on that location may include identifying a second location on a map or floor plan based on that location, and determining the urban location based on the second location on the map or floor plan. According to some embodiments, the urban location of a mobile device may also be provided to entities such as an entity requesting the urban location, a device within a mobile provider network, or the mobile device itself.

[0129] Components used to perform functions in box 930 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, and / or other server components, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0130] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a method 1000 for determining a coverage heatmap of each of one or more WiFi APs according to an embodiment. Similar to... Figure 9 Used to execute Figure 10 The components illustrating the functions shown in one or more boxes can be performed by server hardware and / or software components, such as... Figure 1 Location server 160 Figure 2 The LMF 220, SLP, E-SMLC, or external client 180 or 230. Although the server can be the same as the server that determines the city location of the mobile device (e.g., performing...). Figure 9 The method described in the text (but in other embodiments, it can be a different server). Example components of the server are... Figure 13 As shown in the diagram, it will be described in more detail below. Here, the mobile device may include the UE as described above (e.g., UE 105 or crowdsourced UE 305).

[0131] In box 1010, the function includes receiving information about one or more WiFi APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices. For each of the plurality of mobile devices, the information may include: an indication of one or more locations from a plurality of locations; and, for each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more WiFi APs whose wireless signal is received by each mobile device at each location. Here, each of the plurality of mobile devices may include a crowdsourcing mobile device (e.g., a mobile device configured for crowdsourcing, such as crowdsourcing UE 305), which can, for example, Figure 8 Information is provided to the server in the communication session shown. Furthermore, each of the multiple locations can be associated with a point of predetermined size, area or volume, pixel, area or volume defining a portion of a structure or part of a city location, or a combination of these.

[0132] Components used to perform functions in box 1010 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, communication subsystem 1330, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0133] In box 1020, the function includes, for each of one or more WiFi APs, determining a coverage heatmap for each WiFi AP based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume and a location density of multiple locations within the geographic area or geographic volume where multiple mobile devices receive wireless signals from the respective WiFi APs. A location density of multiple locations can be determined for each of one or more regions within the geographic area or geographic volume, at which wireless signals from the corresponding WiFi AP are received by multiple mobile devices, and for each region, the location density can include the number of locations, the number of mobile devices, some or a portion of the total number of locations or mobile devices within the geographic area or geographic volume, the probability of a mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume being located within the corresponding region, or a combination of these. For example, a region can include a sub-area, a sub-volume, a unit area, a unit volume, a pixel, or a city location.

[0134] Components used to perform functions in box 1020 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0135] In some embodiments, the information received in block 1010 may include signal measurements from one or more WiFi APs, wherein the signal measurements are obtained by each of a plurality of mobile devices at each of one or more locations from a plurality of locations. These signal measurements may include RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, RTT, AOA, or combinations thereof. In this case, the signal measurements may be used in conjunction with, and / or included in, a coverage heatmap 500 for density values ​​used for location determination. Therefore, some embodiments of method 1000 may include determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more WiFi APs by determining statistical data of the signal measurements of the respective WiFi APs at each of the plurality of locations, at which at least one of the plurality of mobile devices receives a wireless signal from the respective WiFi AP. Similarly, the statistical data may include an average of the signal measurements, a weighted average of the signal measurements, a standard deviation of the signal measurements, or some combination thereof.

[0136] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a method 1100 for obtaining the city location of a mobile device according to an embodiment. It is used for execution... Figure 11 The components illustrating the functions shown in one or more boxes can be implemented by hardware and / or software components of the mobile device, such as... Figure 1 and 2 UE 105. Specifically, Figure 11 The functions shown can be performed by the target UE, as described in the embodiments above. Example components of the mobile device are... Figure 12 As shown in the diagram, it will be described in more detail below.

[0137] In block 1110, the function includes detecting wireless signals from one or more WiFi APs, and in block 1120, the function includes obtaining information about the one or more WiFi APs, wherein the information includes the identity of each of the one or more WiFi APs. As described in the foregoing embodiments, a mobile device (e.g., a target UE) within the coverage area of ​​one or more WiFi APs can receive wireless signals broadcast by one or more WiFi APs, which may include identification information of one or more WiFi APs. This identification information may include unique identifiers, such as MAC addresses, SSIDs, etc.

[0138] Components used to perform functions in frames 1110 and 1120 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, communication subsystem 1330, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0139] The functionality at box 1130 includes sending information to a location server, such as location server 160, LMF 220, SLP, E-SMLC, or external client 180 or 230. Similarly, the information can be provided as part of a communication session with the location server, such as... Figure 8 As shown above, this information can be sent according to any management protocol and / or standard associated with the communication session, such as using the LPP or SUPL ULP protocol.

[0140] Components used to perform functions in box 1130 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, communication subsystem 1330, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0141] Finally, in box 1140, the function includes receiving the city location of a mobile device from the location server in response to sending information to the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the information sent to the location server and a coverage heatmap of at least one of one or more WiFi APs (e.g., by the location server).

[0142] In an embodiment, the function may further include obtaining a first signal measurement value from at least one of one or more WiFi APs, and including the first signal measurement value in information sent to a location server, wherein the city location is further determined based on the first signal measurement value (e.g., by the location server). For example, the first signal measurement value may include RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, RTT, AOA, or any combination thereof. The first signal measurement value may be associated with statistics in the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more WiFi APs. Therefore, the coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more WiFi APs may include statistics on second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or volume where wireless signals from at least one of the one or more WiFi APs can be received. In such an embodiment, determining the city location (e.g., by the location server) may further include determining the probability that each of the multiple candidate locations corresponds to the actual location of a mobile device based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value statistics for each candidate location. For example, the statistics may include an average, a weighted average, a standard deviation, or some combination thereof.

[0143] Components used to perform functions in frame 1130 may include, for example, bus 1305, processing unit(s) 1310, communication subsystem 1330, and / or other components of the server, such as Figure 13 As shown.

[0144] As mentioned earlier, the city location used to determine the target UE (e.g., for...) Figure 9 and 11 The above) or obtain its coverage heatmap (e.g., as for Figure 10 The various WiFi APs mentioned above can include those for... Figure 2 The WLAN 216 includes WiFi APs, such as APs supporting the IEEE 802.11 protocol. However, WiFi APs may not always be so limited, and may include APs supporting Bluetooth and / or ANs supporting NR (e.g., gNB 210) or LTE (e.g., ng-eNB 214), as well as other types of APs and ANs.

[0145] Figure 12 An embodiment of a mobile device 1200 is shown, which can be described as described above (e.g., in combination with...). Figure 1-11 This is for use with respect to mobile devices and / or UEs. For example, mobile device 1200 may correspond to... Figure 1-2 UE 105 or Figure 3A and Figure 8UE 305 in the middle, and can be executed Figure 11 One or more functions of the method shown. It should be noted that... Figure 12 This is intended only to provide a general overview of the various components; any one or all of them may be used appropriately. It can be noted that in some cases, Figure 12 The components shown can be located in a single physical device and / or distributed across various networked devices, which can be situated in different physical locations. Furthermore, as previously stated, the functionality of each UE discussed in the embodiments described above can be provided by… Figure 12 It is performed by one or more hardware and / or software components as shown.

[0146] Mobile device 1200 is shown to include hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or otherwise suitably communicated) via bus 1205. The hardware elements may include (multiple) processing units 1210, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics accelerator processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.) and / or other processing structures or components. Figure 12 As shown, depending on the desired functionality, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1220. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication can be provided in the processing unit(s) 1210 and / or the wireless communication interface 1230 (discussed below). The mobile device 1200 may also include one or more input devices 1270, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dial pads, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1215, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0147] The mobile device 1200 may also include a wireless communication interface 1230, which may include, but is not limited to, a modem, network interface card, infrared communication device, wireless communication device and / or chipset (e.g., Bluetooth device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, WiFi device, WiMAX device, WAN device and / or various cellular devices, etc.) to enable the mobile device 1200 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. As described herein, the wireless communication interface 1230 may allow data and signaling to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) with the TRP of the network, for example, via an eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types and / or other network components, computer system and / or any other electronic device communicatively coupled to the TRP. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1232 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1234. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antennas 1232 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays or any combination thereof. Multiple antennas 1232 are capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams). Beamforming can be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques with their own digital and / or analog circuitry. The wireless communication interface 1230 may include such circuitry.

[0148] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1230 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, to communicate with WiFi APs, base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs), and other terrestrial transceivers and wireless devices. The mobile device 1200 can communicate with various data networks, including those of various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000, WCDMA, etc. CDMA2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (D-AMPS), or other RATs. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, Advanced LTE, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, Advanced LTE, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. Cdma2000 is described in documents from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) can also be IEEE 802.11x networks, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) can be Bluetooth networks, IEEE 802.15x networks, or some other type of network. The technologies described herein can also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0149] The mobile device 1200 may also include multiple sensors 1240. Sensors 1240 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., multiple accelerometers, multiple gyroscopes, multiple cameras, multiple magnetometers, multiple altimeters, multiple microphones, multiple proximity sensors, multiple light sensors, multiple barometers, etc.), some of which can be used to obtain position-related measurements and / or other information, as described in the embodiments herein.

[0150] Embodiments of mobile device 1200 may further include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 1280, which is capable of receiving signals 1284 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 1282 (which may be the same as antenna 1232). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements can be used to supplement and / or combine with the techniques described herein. GNSS receiver 1280 can use conventional techniques to extract the location of mobile device 1200 from GNSS satellites 110 of GNSS systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), India's Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), etc. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1280 can be used with various augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that can be associated with or used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlap Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geo Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN).

[0151] It can be noted that although the GNSS receiver 1280 is in Figure 12 The components are shown as different, but embodiments are not limited thereto. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Thus, in some embodiments, a GNSS receiver may include a measurement engine executed (as software) by one or more processing units, such as processing units within processing unit(s) 1210, DSP 1220, and / or wireless communication interface 1230 (e.g., in a modem). A GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the location of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a hatch filter, a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processing units, such as processing unit(s) 1210 or DSP 1220.

[0152] The mobile device 1200 may further include and / or communicate with memory 1260. Memory 1260 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network-accessible memory, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices can be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0153] The memory 1260 of the mobile device 1200 may also include software elements ( Figure 12 (Not shown in the text) includes an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more applications, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more processes described with respect to the above methods may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1260, which may be executed by mobile device 1200 (and / or processing unit(s) 1210 or DSP 1220 within mobile device 1200). In one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0154] Figure 13 This is a block diagram of an embodiment of computer system 1300, which may be used, in whole or in part, to provide the functionality of one or more network components described in the embodiments herein (e.g., Figure 1 Location server 160 Figure 2 The LMF 220, SLP, E-SMLC, external client 180 or 230, and other servers described herein, including Figure 8 The server (805). It should be noted that Figure 13 This is intended only to provide a general overview of the various components; any one or all of them may be used appropriately. Therefore, Figure 13 It broadly illustrates how individual system components can be implemented in a relatively discrete or relatively more integrated manner. Furthermore, it can be noted that... Figure 13 The components shown can be limited to a single device and / or distributed across a variety of networked devices that can be located in different geographical locations.

[0155] Computer system 1300 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or otherwise suitably communicated) via bus 1305. The hardware elements may include processing units(s) 1310, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerators, etc.), and / or other processing architectures, which may be configured to perform one or more methods described herein. Computer system 1300 may also include one or more input devices 1315, which may include, but are not limited to, a mouse, keyboard, camera, microphone, etc.; and one or more output devices 1320, which may include, but are not limited to, display devices, printers, etc.

[0156] Computer system 1300 may further include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1325, which may include, but are not limited to, locally and / or network-accessible storage devices, and / or may include, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, etc. As described herein, such data storage may include multiple databases and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information that will be sent to one or more devices via a hub.

[0157] Computer system 1300 may also include a communication subsystem 1330, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by wireless communication interface 1333, as well as wired technologies (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial communication, Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc.). Wireless communication interface 1333 may transmit and receive wireless signals 1355 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via wireless antennas(s) 1350. Therefore, communication subsystem 1330 may include modems, network interface cards (wireless or wired), infrared communication devices, wireless communication devices, and / or chipsets, enabling computer system 1300 to communicate with any device on any or all communication networks described herein, including UEs, base stations, and / or other TRPs and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Thus, communication subsystem 1330 can be used to receive and transmit data as described in the embodiments herein.

[0158] In many embodiments, the computer system 1300 will further include working memory 1335, which, as described above, may include a RAM or ROM device. Software elements shown to reside within working memory 1335 may include an operating system 1340, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more application programs 1345, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more processes described with respect to the above methods may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or processing units within a computer); in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0159] A set of these instructions and / or code may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the aforementioned storage devices(s) 1325. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system, such as computer system 1300. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium such as an optical disc) and / or provided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt to a general-purpose computer on which the instructions / code are stored. These instructions may take the form of executable code executable by computer system 1300, and / or may take the form of source code and / or installable code, which, after being compiled and / or installed on computer system 1300 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), then take the form of executable code.

[0160] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications can be made to suit specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be used.

[0161] Referring to the accompanying drawings, components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable media" and "computer-readable media" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to a processing unit and / or(a plurality of) other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with a hole pattern, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), flash EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0162] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various processes or components may be appropriately omitted, substituted, or added in various embodiments. For example, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the accompanying drawings provided herein may be implemented in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, technology is evolving, and therefore many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of this disclosure to those particular examples.

[0163] It has been found that, for general reasons, it is sometimes convenient to refer to these signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerical symbols, etc. However, it should be understood that all these or similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise stated, it is apparent from the foregoing discussion that throughout this specification, discussions using terms such as “processing,” “calculation,” “operation,” “determine,” “identify,” “identify,” “associate,” “measure,” and “execute” refer to the action or processing of a specific device, such as a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device. Therefore, in the context of this specification, a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or converting signals, generally referred to as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities in the memory, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of the dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0164] The terms “and” and “or” as used herein can have a variety of meanings, which depend at least in part on the context in which they are used. Generally, “or” when used to relate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, i.e., inclusion, and A, B, or C, i.e., exclusion. Furthermore, the term “one or more” as used herein can be used in the singular to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic, or can be used to describe some combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. Additionally, the term “at least one” when used to relate a list, such as A, B, or C, can be interpreted as meaning any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0165] Several embodiments have been described, and various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, the foregoing elements may simply be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. Furthermore, numerous steps may be taken before, during, or after considering the foregoing elements. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0166] In light of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. The following numbered clauses describe implementation examples:

[0167] Clause 1: A method for determining the urban location of a mobile device, performed by a location server, the method comprising:

[0168] Receive information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0169] The location of the mobile device is determined based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates:

[0170] This includes the geographical area or volume that can receive wireless signals from the corresponding AP, and

[0171] The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP; and

[0172] The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

[0173] Clause 2: The location described in accordance with Clause 1 includes a geodetic location.

[0174] Clause 3: The method according to Clause 2, wherein the location includes the geodetic location, and wherein determining the city location based on the location includes:

[0175] A second location based on the location identifier map or floor plan; and

[0176] The city location is determined based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

[0177] Clause 4: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-3 further includes providing the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

[0178] Clause 5: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-4, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions comprises:

[0179] The number of mobile device locations,

[0180] The number of multiple mobile devices,

[0181] The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume.

[0182] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0183] These combinations.

[0184] Clause 6: As described in Clause 5, each region in one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

[0185] Clause 7: The method according to any one of Clauses 1-6, wherein determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs comprises:

[0186] Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device;

[0187] Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and

[0188] The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations as the location.

[0189] Clause 8: The method according to Clause 7, wherein determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device is based on the density of the mobile device location at each candidate location for each of the one or more APs.

[0190] Clause 9: The method described in Clause 7, wherein:

[0191] The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs;

[0192] The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and

[0193] The probability of corresponding each of the plurality of candidate locations to the actual location of the mobile device is determined based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location.

[0194] Clause 10: The method according to Clause 9, wherein the first signal measurement and the second signal measurement include at least one of the following:

[0195] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0196] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0197] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0198] These combinations.

[0199] Clause 11: The method according to Clause 9 or 10, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 12: A method for determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more access points (APs), performed by a location server, the method comprising:

[0201] Information about the one or more APs is received from each of a plurality of mobile devices, wherein the information for each of the plurality of mobile devices includes:

[0202] Indications from one or more locations from multiple locations, and

[0203] For each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signal is received by each mobile device at each location; and

[0204] For each of the one or more APs, a coverage heatmap of the corresponding AP is determined based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes: a geographic area or geographic volume, and the location density of the plurality of locations within the geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the corresponding AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0205] Clause 13: The method described in accordance with Clause 12, wherein:

[0206] The location density of the multiple locations where wireless signals from the respective APs are received by the multiple mobile devices is determined for each of one or more areas within the geographic area or geographic volume;

[0207] For each region, the density includes:

[0208] The number of positions,

[0209] The number of mobile devices,

[0210] Some or a portion of the total number of locations or mobile devices within the geographical area or volume.

[0211] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0212] These combinations.

[0213] Clause 14: The method described in Clause 13, wherein each region includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location.

[0214] Clause 15: The method according to any one of Clauses 12-14, wherein the information includes signal measurements of the one or more APs, the signal measurements being obtained by each of the plurality of mobile devices at each of the one or more locations from the plurality of locations, further comprising:

[0215] The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs is determined by determining statistical data of the signal measurements of the corresponding AP at each of the plurality of locations, where at least one of the plurality of mobile devices receives a wireless signal from the corresponding AP.

[0216] Clause 16: The method according to Clause 15, wherein the signal measurement value includes at least one of the following:

[0217] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0218] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0219] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0220] These combinations.

[0221] Clause 17: The method according to Clause 15 or 16, wherein the statistical data for determining the signal measurement value of the corresponding AP includes determining at least one of the following:

[0222] The average value of the signal measurements,

[0223] The weighted average of the signal measurements,

[0224] The standard deviation of the signal measurement value, or

[0225] These combinations.

[0226] Clause 18: A method for obtaining the city location of a mobile device, performed by the mobile device, the method comprising:

[0227] Detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs);

[0228] Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0229] Send the information to the location server; and

[0230] In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the following:

[0231] The information sent to the location server, and

[0232] Coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0233] Clause 19: The methods described pursuant to Clause 18 further include:

[0234] Obtain a first signal measurement value for at least one of the one or more APs; and

[0235] The first signal measurement value is included in the information sent to the location server, wherein the city location is further determined based on the first signal measurement value.

[0236] Clause 20: The method described pursuant to Clause 19, wherein:

[0237] The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistics of second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume that can receive wireless signals from at least one of the one or more APs;

[0238] Determining the city location further includes: based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, determining the probability that each candidate location among the multiple candidate locations corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

[0239] Clause 21: The method described in Clause 20, wherein the statistical data includes the mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

[0240] Clause 22: The method according to any one of Clauses 19-21, wherein the first signal measurement value includes:

[0241] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0242] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0243] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0244] These combinations.

[0245] Clause 23: A server for determining the urban location of a mobile device, said server comprising:

[0246] Communication interface;

[0247] Memory; and

[0248] One or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the one or more processors being configured to:

[0249] Receive information about one or more access points (APs) from the mobile device via the communication interface, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0250] The location of the mobile device is determined based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates:

[0251] The geographic area or geographic volume that can receive wireless signals from the corresponding AP, and

[0252] The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP; and

[0253] The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

[0254] Clause 24: The server as described in Clause 23, wherein the location includes a geodetic location.

[0255] Clause 25: The server pursuant to Clause 24, wherein the location includes the geodetic location, and wherein, in order to determine the city location based on the location, the one or more processors are configured to:

[0256] A second location based on the location identifier map or floor plan; and

[0257] The city location is determined based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

[0258] Clause 26: A server pursuant to any one of Clauses 23-25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

[0259] Clause 27: A server pursuant to any one of Clauses 23-26, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations for each of the one or more regions comprises:

[0260] The number of mobile device locations,

[0261] The number of mobile devices,

[0262] The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume.

[0263] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0264] These combinations.

[0265] Clause 28: The server as described in Clause 27, wherein each region in the one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

[0266] Clause 29: A server according to any one of Clauses 23-28, wherein, in order to determine the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, the one or more processors are configured to:

[0267] Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device;

[0268] Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and

[0269] The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations as the location.

[0270] Clause 30: The server according to Clause 29, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device based on the density of the mobile device location for each of the one or more APs at each candidate location.

[0271] Clause 31: The server as described in Clause 29, wherein:

[0272] The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs;

[0273] The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and

[0274] The one or more processors are configured to determine the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value at each candidate location.

[0275] Clause 32: The server as described in Clause 31, wherein the first signal measurement and the second signal measurement include at least one of the following:

[0276] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0277] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0278] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0279] These combinations.

[0280] Clause 33: The server as described in Clause 31 or 32, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0281] Clause 34: A server for determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more access points (APs), said server comprising:

[0282] Communication interface;

[0283] Memory; and

[0284] One or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the one or more processors being configured to:

[0285] Information about the one or more APs is received from each of a plurality of mobile devices via the communication interface, wherein the information for each of the plurality of mobile devices includes:

[0286] Indications from one or more locations from multiple locations, and

[0287] For each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signal is received by each mobile device at each location; and

[0288] For each of the one or more APs, a coverage heatmap of the corresponding AP is determined based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and the location density of the plurality of locations within the geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the corresponding AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0289] Clause 35: The server pursuant to Clause 34, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine, for each of one or more areas within the geographic area or geographic volume, the location density of the plurality of locations where wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices, wherein, for each area, the density includes:

[0290] The number of positions,

[0291] The number of multiple mobile devices,

[0292] Some or a portion of the total number of locations or mobile devices within the geographical area or volume.

[0293] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0294] These combinations.

[0295] Clause 36: A server as described in Clause 35, wherein each region includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location.

[0296] Clause 37: A server pursuant to any one of Clauses 34-36, wherein the information includes signal measurements of the one or more APs, the signal measurements being obtained by each of the plurality of mobile devices at each of the one or more locations from the plurality of locations, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

[0297] The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs is determined by determining statistical data of the signal measurements of the corresponding AP at each of the plurality of locations, where at least one of the plurality of mobile devices receives a wireless signal from the corresponding AP.

[0298] Clause 38: The server pursuant to Clause 37, wherein the signal measurement value includes at least one of the following:

[0299] Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI);

[0300] Round-trip time (RTT);

[0301] Angle of Arrival (AOA); or

[0302] These combinations.

[0303] Clause 39: A server pursuant to Clause 37 or 38, wherein, in order to determine the statistical data of the signal measurement value of the corresponding AP, the one or more processors are configured to determine at least one of the following:

[0304] The average value of the measured signal values;

[0305] The weighted average of the signal measurements;

[0306] The standard deviation of the signal measurement value; or

[0307] These combinations.

[0308] Clause 40: A mobile device comprising:

[0309] Communication interface;

[0310] Memory; and

[0311] One or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the one or more processors being configured to:

[0312] The communication interface is used to detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs);

[0313] Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0314] The information is sent to the location server via the communication interface; and

[0315] In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server via the communication interface, wherein the city location is determined based on the following:

[0316] The information sent to the location server, and

[0317] Coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0318] Clause 41: The mobile device pursuant to Clause 40, wherein said one or more processors are further configured to:

[0319] Obtain a first signal measurement value for at least one of the one or more APs; and

[0320] The first signal measurement value is included in the information sent to the location server, wherein the city location is further determined based on the first signal measurement value.

[0321] Clause 42: The mobile device described in Clause 41, wherein:

[0322] The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistics of second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume that can receive wireless signals from at least one of the one or more APs;

[0323] In order to determine the city location, the one or more processors are further configured to determine the probability that each of the plurality of candidate locations corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location.

[0324] Clause 43: Mobile devices as described in Clause 42, wherein the statistical data includes average, weighted average, standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

[0325] Clause 44: The mobile device pursuant to any one of Clauses 41-43, wherein the first signal measurement includes:

[0326] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0327] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0328] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0329] These combinations.

[0330] Clause 45: A device for determining the urban location of a mobile device, said device comprising:

[0331] A component for receiving information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0332] A component for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates:

[0333] The geographical area or volume that can receive wireless signals from the corresponding AP, and

[0334] The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP; and

[0335] Components for determining the city location of the mobile device based on the location.

[0336] Clause 46: The device as described in Clause 45, wherein the location includes a geodetic location.

[0337] Clause 47: The device according to Clause 46, wherein the location includes the geodetic location, and wherein the components for determining the city location based on the location include:

[0338] Components for use on a second location on a map or floor plan based on the location; and

[0339] Components for determining the location of the city based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

[0340] Clause 48: The device pursuant to any one of Clauses 45-47 further includes components for providing the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

[0341] Clause 49: A device pursuant to any one of Clauses 45-48, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions comprises:

[0342] The number of mobile device locations,

[0343] The number of mobile devices,

[0344] The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume.

[0345] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0346] These combinations.

[0347] Clause 50: The device according to Clause 49, wherein each region in the one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

[0348] Clause 51: The device according to any one of Clauses 45-50, wherein the components for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs include:

[0349] Components for determining multiple candidate locations of the mobile device;

[0350] A component for determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device; and

[0351] A component for selecting the candidate location from the plurality of candidate locations that has the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device as the location.

[0352] Clause 52: The device according to Clause 51, wherein the probability of determining the correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device is based on the density of the mobile device location for each of the one or more APs at each candidate location.

[0353] Clause 53: The equipment pursuant to Clause 51, wherein:

[0354] The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs;

[0355] The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and

[0356] The probability of corresponding each of the plurality of candidate locations to the actual location of the mobile device is determined based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location.

[0357] Clause 54: The device according to Clause 53, wherein the first signal measurement and the second signal measurement include at least one of the following:

[0358] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0359] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0360] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0361] These combinations.

[0362] Clause 55: The device according to Clause 53 or 54, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes: the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0363] Clause 56: An apparatus for determining a coverage heatmap for each of one or more access points (APs), said apparatus comprising:

[0364] A component for receiving information about the one or more APs from each of a plurality of mobile devices, wherein the information includes, for each of the plurality of mobile devices:

[0365] Indications from one or more locations from multiple locations, and

[0366] For each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signal is received by each mobile device at each location; and

[0367] Components for determining, based on the information, the coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap includes a geographic area or geographic volume, and the location density of the plurality of locations within the geographic area or geographic volume where wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0368] Clause 57: The device pursuant to Clause 56, wherein:

[0369] For each of one or more regions within the geographic area or geographic volume, determine the location density of the plurality of locations where wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices;

[0370] For each region, the density includes:

[0371] The number of positions,

[0372] The number of mobile devices,

[0373] Some or a portion of the total number of locations or mobile devices within the geographical area or volume.

[0374] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0375] These combinations.

[0376] Clause 58: The device as described in Clause 57, wherein each region includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location.

[0377] Clause 59: A device according to any one of Clauses 56-58, wherein the information includes signal measurements of the one or more APs, the signal measurements being obtained by each of the plurality of mobile devices at each of the one or more locations in the plurality of locations, and the device further comprises:

[0378] Components for determining the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs by determining statistical data of the signal measurements of the respective AP at each of the plurality of locations, where at least one of the plurality of mobile devices receives a wireless signal from the respective AP.

[0379] Clause 60: The device according to Clause 59, wherein the signal measurement value includes at least one of the following:

[0380] Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI);

[0381] Round-trip time (RTT);

[0382] Angle of Arrival (AOA); or

[0383] These combinations.

[0384] Clause 61: The device according to Clause 59 or 60, wherein the component for determining the statistical data of the signal measurement value of the corresponding AP includes a component for determining at least one of the following:

[0385] The average value of the signal measurements,

[0386] The weighted average of the signal measurements,

[0387] The standard deviation of the signal measurement value, or

[0388] These combinations.

[0389] Clause 62: A device for obtaining the urban location of a mobile device, said device comprising:

[0390] Components used to detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs);

[0391] Components for obtaining information about the one or more APs, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0392] Components for sending the information to the location server; and

[0393] A component for receiving the city location of the mobile device from the location server in response to sending the information to the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on:

[0394] The information sent to the location server, and

[0395] Coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0396] Clause 63: The device pursuant to Clause 62 further includes:

[0397] Components for obtaining a first signal measurement value of at least one of the one or more APs; and

[0398] Components for including the first signal measurement value in the information sent to the location server, wherein the city location is further determined based on the first signal measurement value.

[0399] Clause 64: The device pursuant to Clause 63, wherein:

[0400] The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes statistics of second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume that can receive wireless signals from at least one of the one or more APs.

[0401] Determining the city location further includes: based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, determining the probability that each candidate location among the multiple candidate locations corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

[0402] Clause 65: The device as described in Clause 64, wherein the statistical data includes the average, weighted average, standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

[0403] Clause 66: The device according to any one of Clauses 63-65, wherein the first signal measurement value includes:

[0404] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0405] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0406] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0407] These combinations.

[0408] Clause 67: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for determining the urban location of a mobile device, the instructions including code for the following operations:

[0409] Receive information from the mobile device about one or more access points (APs), the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0410] The location of the mobile device is determined based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates:

[0411] The geographical area or volume that can receive wireless signals from the corresponding AP, and

[0412] The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP; and

[0413] The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

[0414] Clause 68: Non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 67, wherein the location includes a geodetic location.

[0415] Clause 69: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to Clause 68, wherein the location includes the geodetic location, and wherein the code for determining the location of the city based on the location includes code for:

[0416] A second location based on the location identifier map or floor plan; and

[0417] The city location is determined based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

[0418] Clause 70: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 67-69 further includes code for providing the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

[0419] Clause 71: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 67-70, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions comprises:

[0420] The number of mobile device locations,

[0421] The number of mobile devices,

[0422] The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume.

[0423] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0424] These combinations.

[0425] Clause 72: The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 71, wherein each region in the one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

[0426] Clause 73: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 67-72, wherein the code for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes code for the following operations:

[0427] Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device;

[0428] Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and

[0429] The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations as the location.

[0430] Clause 74: The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 73, wherein the probability of determining the correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device is based on the density of the mobile device location at each candidate location for each of the one or more APs.

[0431] Clause 75: A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 73, wherein:

[0432] The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs;

[0433] The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and

[0434] The probability of corresponding each of the plurality of candidate locations to the actual location of the mobile device is determined based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location.

[0435] Clause 76: The non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to Clause 75, wherein the first signal measurement and the second signal measurement include at least one of the following:

[0436] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0437] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0438] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0439] These combinations.

[0440] Clause 77: A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 75 or 76, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0441] Clause 78: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for determining a coverage heatmap of each of one or more access points (APs), the instructions comprising code for:

[0442] Information about the one or more APs is received from each of a plurality of mobile devices, wherein the information for each of the plurality of mobile devices includes:

[0443] Indications from one or more locations from multiple locations, and

[0444] For each of the one or more locations, the identity of at least one of the one or more APs whose wireless signal is received by each mobile device at each location; and

[0445] For each of the one or more APs, a coverage heatmap of the corresponding AP is determined based on the information, wherein the coverage heatmap includes: a geographic area or geographic volume, and the location density of the plurality of locations within the geographic area or geographic volume where the wireless signals from the corresponding AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices.

[0446] Clause 79: A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 78, wherein:

[0447] For each of one or more regions within the geographic area or geographic volume, determine the location density of the plurality of locations where wireless signals from the respective AP are received by the plurality of mobile devices;

[0448] For each region, the density includes:

[0449] The number of positions,

[0450] The number of mobile devices,

[0451] Some or a portion of the total number of locations or mobile devices within the geographical area or volume.

[0452] The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or

[0453] These combinations.

[0454] Clause 80: A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 79, wherein each region includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location.

[0455] Clause 81: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to any one of Clauses 78-80, wherein the information includes signal measurements of the one or more APs, the signal measurements being obtained by each of the plurality of mobile devices at each of the one or more of the plurality of locations, and the instructions further include code for:

[0456] The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs is determined by determining statistical data of the signal measurements of the corresponding AP at each of the plurality of locations, where at least one of the plurality of mobile devices receives a wireless signal from the corresponding AP.

[0457] Clause 82: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to Clause 81, wherein the signal measurement value includes at least one of the following:

[0458] Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI);

[0459] Round-trip time (RTT);

[0460] Angle of Arrival (AOA); or

[0461] These combinations.

[0462] Clause 83: A non-transitory computer-readable medium pursuant to Clause 81 or 82, wherein the code for determining the statistical data of the signal measurement of the corresponding AP includes code for determining at least one of the following:

[0463] The average value of the measured signal values;

[0464] The weighted average of the signal measurements;

[0465] The standard deviation of the signal measurement value; or

[0466] These combinations.

[0467] Clause 84: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for obtaining the urban location of a mobile device, the instructions including code for:

[0468] Detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs);

[0469] Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs;

[0470] Send the information to the location server; and

[0471] In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the following:

[0472] The information sent to the location server, and

[0473] Coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs.

[0474] Clause 85: The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 84 also includes code for the following operations:

[0475] Obtain a first signal measurement value for at least one of the one or more APs; and

[0476] The first signal measurement value is included in the information sent to the location server, wherein the city location is further determined based on the first signal measurement value.

[0477] Clause 86: A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 85, wherein:

[0478] The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistics of second signal measurements obtained by additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume that can receive wireless signals from at least one of the one or more APs;

[0479] Determining the city location further includes: based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, determining the probability that each candidate location among the multiple candidate locations corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

[0480] Clause 87: Non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 86, wherein the statistical data includes the mean, weighted mean, standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

[0481] Clause 88: A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 85-87, wherein the first signal measurement includes:

[0482] Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI)

[0483] Round-trip time (RTT),

[0484] Angle of arrival (AOA), or

[0485] These combinations.

Claims

1. A method for determining the urban location of a mobile device, performed by a location server, the method comprising: Receive information from the mobile device about one or more access point (AP) devices, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs; Determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes: Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device; Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations; and The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs indicates: The geographical area or volume from which wireless signals can be received from the corresponding AP, and The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP, wherein reports from the attached mobile device regarding wireless signal reception are received by the location server; and The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location includes a geodetic location.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining the city location based on the location comprises: A second location on the location-identified map or floor plan; as well as The city location is determined based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions comprises: The number of mobile device locations, The number of mobile devices, The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume. The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or These combinations.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein each region in the one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device is based on the density of the mobile device location at each candidate location for each of the one or more APs.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs; The coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and The probability of corresponding each of the plurality of candidate locations to the actual location of the mobile device is determined based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value comprise at least one of the following: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Round trip time (RTT) Arrival angle AOA, or These combinations.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

11. A method for obtaining the city location of a mobile device, performed by the mobile device, the method comprising: Detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs); Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs and a first signal measurement value of at least one of the one or more APs; Send the information to the location server; as well as In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the following: The information sent to the location server, the information including the first signal measurement value, and The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs, wherein: The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained from additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume from which wireless signals can be received from at least one of the one or more APs; The city location is determined based on the probability that each of the multiple candidate locations, determined by the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the statistical data includes the average, weighted average, standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first signal measurement value comprises: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Round trip time (RTT) Arrival angle AOA, or These combinations.

14. A server for determining the urban location of a mobile device, the server comprising: Communication interface; Memory; as well as One or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the one or more processors being configured to: Receive information about one or more access point (AP) devices from the mobile device via the communication interface, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs; The location of the mobile device is determined based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein, in order to determine the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, the one or more processors are configured to: Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device; Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations; and The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs indicates: The geographical area or volume from which wireless signals can be received from the corresponding AP, and The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP, wherein reports from the attached mobile device regarding wireless signal reception are received by the location server; and The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the location includes a geodetic location.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein, in order to determine the city location based on the location, the one or more processors are configured to: A second location based on the location identifier map or floor plan; and The city location is determined based on the second location on the map or floor plan.

17. The server of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide the city location of the mobile device to the mobile device or an entity requesting the city location of the mobile device.

18. The server of claim 14, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations for each of the one or more regions comprises: The number of mobile device locations, The number of mobile devices, The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume. The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or These combinations.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein each region in the one or more regions includes a corresponding sub-area, sub-volume, unit area, unit volume, pixel, or city location within the geographic area or geographic volume.

20. The server of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device based on the density of the mobile device location for each corresponding AP of the one or more APs at each candidate location.

21. The server according to claim 20, wherein: The information includes a first signal measurement value for each of the one or more APs; The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained by the additional mobile device at the location of the mobile device within the geographic area or geographic volume; and The one or more processors are configured to determine the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device based on the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value at each candidate location.

22. The server of claim 14, wherein the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value include at least one of the following: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Round trip time (RTT) Arrival angle AOA, or These combinations.

23. The server of claim 21, wherein the statistical data of the second signal measurement includes the average of the second signal measurement, the weighted average of the second signal measurement, the standard deviation of the second signal measurement, or a combination thereof.

24. A mobile device, comprising: Communication interface; Memory; as well as One or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the one or more processors being configured to: The communication interface is used to detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs). Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs and a first signal measurement value of at least one of the one or more APs; The information is sent to the location server via the communication interface; as well as In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server via the communication interface, wherein the city location is determined based on the following: The information sent to the location server, the information including the first signal measurement value, and The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs, wherein: The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained from additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume from which wireless signals can be received from at least one of the one or more APs; The city location is determined based on the probability that each of the multiple candidate locations, determined by the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

25. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the statistical data includes an average, a weighted average, a standard deviation, or a combination thereof.

26. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the first signal measurement value includes: Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) Round trip time (RTT) Arrival angle AOA, or These combinations.

27. An apparatus for determining the urban location of a mobile device, the apparatus comprising: A component for receiving information from the mobile device about one or more access point (AP) devices, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs; A component for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and a coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs, wherein the component for determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes: Components for determining multiple candidate locations of the mobile device; A component for determining the probability of correspondence between each of the plurality of candidate locations and the actual location of the mobile device; and A component for selecting the candidate location from the plurality of candidate locations that has the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device as the location; and The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs indicates: The geographical area or volume from which wireless signals can be received from the corresponding AP, and The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP, wherein reports from the attached mobile device regarding wireless signal reception are received by the location server; and Components for determining the city location of the mobile device based on the location.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs indicates the density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume, wherein the geographic area or geographic volume comprises one or more regions, and wherein the density of mobile device locations in each of the one or more regions comprises: The number of mobile device locations, The number of mobile devices, The total number of mobile device locations or a portion of the total number of mobile devices within the geographic area or volume. The probability of a mobile device within the geographical area or volume being located in the corresponding region, or These combinations.

29. An apparatus for obtaining the urban location of a mobile device, the apparatus comprising: A component used to detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs); Components for obtaining information about the one or more APs, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs and a first signal measurement value of at least one of the one or more APs; Components used to send the information to a location server; and Components for responding to sending the information to the location server and receiving the city location of the mobile device from the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on: The information sent to the location server, the information including the first signal measurement value, and The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs, wherein: The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained from additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume from which wireless signals can be received from at least one of the one or more APs; The city location is determined based on the probability that each of the multiple candidate locations, determined by the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for determining the urban location of a mobile device by a location server, the instructions including code for the following operations: Receive information from the mobile device about one or more access point (AP) devices, the information including the identity of each of the one or more APs; The location of the mobile device is determined based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs. Determining the location of the mobile device based on the information and the coverage heatmap of each of the one or more APs includes: Determine multiple candidate locations for the mobile device; Determine the probability of each candidate location among the plurality of candidate locations corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device; and The candidate location with the highest probability of corresponding to the actual location of the mobile device is selected from the plurality of candidate locations; and The coverage heatmap for each of the one or more APs indicates: The geographical area or volume from which wireless signals can be received from the corresponding AP, and The density of mobile device locations within the geographic area or geographic volume from which the attached mobile device receives wireless signals from the corresponding AP, wherein reports from the attached mobile device regarding wireless signal reception are received by the location server; and The city location of the mobile device is determined based on the location.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for obtaining the urban location of a mobile device, the instructions including code for the following operations: Detect wireless signals from one or more access points (APs); Obtain information about the one or more APs, including the identity of each of the one or more APs and a first signal measurement value of at least one of the one or more APs; Send the information to the location server; as well as In response to sending the information to the location server, the city location of the mobile device is received from the location server, wherein the city location is determined based on the following: The information sent to the location server, the information including the first signal measurement value, and Coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs, wherein: The coverage heatmap of at least one of the one or more APs includes: statistical data of second signal measurements obtained from additional mobile devices at multiple locations within a geographic area or geographic volume from which wireless signals can be received from at least one of the one or more APs; The city location is determined based on the probability that each of the multiple candidate locations, determined by the correspondence between the first signal measurement value and the second signal measurement value of each candidate location, corresponds to the actual location of the mobile device.

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