Positioning method, device and system, communication equipment and readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a positioning method, device and system, communication equipment and a computer readable storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: sending a first signal to the Internet of Things equipment, receiving a second signal returned by the Internet of Things equipment, and determining the terminal position information of the terminal. By adopting the method, reliable positioning can still be realized when a satellite positioning signal or a 5G positioning signal is weak.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, system, apparatus, communication device and computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] At present, satellite positioning and 5G positioning are commonly used positioning technologies. In underground warehouses, tunnels, mines and other scenes with severe obstruction, satellite signal coverage is insufficient, and there are problems such as weak signal strength and poor positioning quality, which makes it difficult for terminals to obtain relatively accurate location information.

[0003] Although 5G positioning can solve the defect of satellite positioning in signal blocking to a certain extent by adjusting the deployment of base stations, it is more dependent on the network coverage and base station deployment of operators. When there are many terminals connected to the base station or there are network coverage blind spots, the terminal may have poor signal and it is difficult to achieve effective positioning. In addition, the deployment cost of 5G base stations is high and the maintenance is difficult. The additional deployment of a large number of base stations to achieve reliable terminal positioning is also costly.

[0004] Therefore, the current positioning technology has the problem of poor positioning signals and difficulty in reliable positioning. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a positioning method, system, device, communication equipment, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product that can still perform reliable positioning when the positioning signal is poor, in order to address the above technical problems.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, which is applied to a terminal, wherein an Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication range of the terminal; the method comprises:

[0007] A first signal is sent to the IoT device, a second signal returned by the IoT device is received, and the terminal location information of the terminal is determined.

[0008] In one embodiment, receiving the second signal returned by the IoT device includes:

[0009] Receive a second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal; the second signal carries device location information of the IoT device.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, determining the terminal location information of the terminal includes:

[0011] The terminal location information of the terminal is determined according to the second signal.

[0012] In one embodiment, determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal includes:

[0013] Extracting device location information of at least three of the IoT devices from the at least three received second signals;

[0014] The terminal location information of the terminal is determined based on at least three pieces of the device location information.

[0015] In one embodiment, determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal includes:

[0016] Extracting device location information from the received second signal, determining a device distance between the IoT device and the terminal according to the received second signal, and sensing a signal arrival angle of the second signal;

[0017] The terminal location information of the terminal is determined according to the device location information, the device distance and the signal arrival angle.

[0018] In one of the embodiments, the device location information includes location coordinates of the IoT device, and the IoT device determines the location coordinates by communicating with a base station and / or the terminal.

[0019] In one of the embodiments, the first signal comprises a radio frequency signal, and the second signal comprises a backscattered signal, an amplified backscattered signal, or an independently generated signal.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a positioning method, which is applied to an Internet of Things device, where the Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication distance of the terminal; the method comprises:

[0021] A first signal sent by the terminal is received, and a second signal is returned to the terminal.

[0022] In one embodiment, returning a second signal to the terminal includes:

[0023] Based on the first signal, a second signal is returned to the terminal; the second signal carries the device location information of the Internet of Things device.

[0024] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a positioning device, which is applied to a terminal, wherein an Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication range of the terminal; the device comprises:

[0025] A terminal sending module, used to send a first signal to the Internet of Things device;

[0026] A terminal receiving module, used to receive a second signal returned by the IoT device;

[0027] The terminal positioning module is used to determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a positioning device, which is applied to an Internet of Things device, and the Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication distance of the terminal; the device includes:

[0029] A device receiving module, configured to receive a first signal sent by the terminal;

[0030] The device sending module is used to return a second signal to the terminal.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a positioning system, the system comprising a terminal and an Internet of Things device, the Internet of Things device being deployed within the communication distance of the terminal;

[0032] The terminal is used to send a first signal to the Internet of Things device;

[0033] The IoT device is configured to receive the first signal and return a second signal to the terminal;

[0034] The terminal is used to receive the second signal and determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect are implemented.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect are implemented.

[0037] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0038] The above-mentioned positioning method, apparatus, system, communication equipment, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product determine the terminal location information of the terminal by sending a first signal to the Internet of Things device and receiving a second signal returned by the Internet of Things device; when the terminal needs to be positioned, a first signal can be sent to an Internet of Things device deployed nearby, and the Internet of Things device backscatters or independently generates a second signal carrying the location information of the Internet of Things device based on the received first signal, and returns it to the terminal. The terminal determines its own position based on the received second signal, ensuring that reliable positioning can still be achieved when the satellite positioning signal or the 5G positioning signal is weak. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or related technologies, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or related technical descriptions will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0040] FIG1 is a diagram of an application environment of a positioning method according to an embodiment;

[0041] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a positioning method in an embodiment;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a positioning method in another embodiment;

[0043] FIG4 is an interactive flow chart of a terminal positioning method based on a passive Internet of Things in one embodiment;

[0044] FIG5 is an interactive flow chart of a positioning method in one embodiment;

[0045] FIG6 is a structural block diagram of a positioning device in one embodiment;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a structural block diagram of a positioning device in another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0048] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present disclosure and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0049] The positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied in the application environment shown in FIG1 . Among them, an Internet of Things device 104 is set within the communication distance of the terminal 102, and the terminal 102 can communicate with the Internet of Things device 104. In addition, the Internet of Things device 104 can also be located within the coverage range of the base station 106 and communicate with the base station 106.

[0050] The terminal 102 may be a wireless terminal, which may be a device that provides voice and / or other service data connectivity to a user, or a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The wireless terminal may communicate with one or more core networks via a radio access network (Radio Access Network, referred to as RAN). The wireless terminal may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which exchanges language and / or data with the radio access network. The wireless terminal may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device or user equipment, which is not limited here.

[0051] The IoT device 104 may be a passive device or tag capable of IoT communication, including an AIoT (Ambient IoT) device and an AIoT tag attached to an object, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0052] The base station 106 can be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a base station (NodeB, NB) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), an evolutionary base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, a relay station or access point, or a base station in a 5G or NR (New Radio) network, etc., and is not limited here.

[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , a positioning method is provided. This embodiment is illustrated by applying the method to the terminal 102 in FIG. 1 , and includes the following steps:

[0054] Step S202: Send a first signal to the Internet of Things device.

[0055] The first signal may be a signal sent by the terminal to the IoT device, for example, a radio frequency signal sent by the terminal.

[0056] In a specific implementation, when positioning is required, the terminal can send a first signal to the IoT device.

[0057] In actual applications, when the terminal needs to be positioned, there is no need to attach an IoT tag to the terminal. The terminal can be positioned by setting up an IoT device near the terminal, or by using an existing IoT device near the terminal. The IoT device includes but is not limited to passive AIoT devices, or AIoT tags attached to objects near the terminal. The terminal can send a radio frequency signal (first signal) to the IoT device.

[0058] Step S204: receiving a second signal returned by the IoT device.

[0059] Among them, the second signal can be a signal sent by the Internet of Things device to the terminal, that is, a response signal of the first signal, for example, a signal formed by the Internet of Things device backscattering the received radio frequency signal, or a signal independently generated by the Internet of Things device.

[0060] In a specific implementation, when the IoT device receives the first signal, it may return a second signal to the terminal, and the terminal receives the second signal returned by the IoT device.

[0061] In actual applications, when the IoT device receives a radio frequency signal sent by a terminal, it can backscatter the radio frequency signal to form a second signal, or it can independently generate a second signal and return it to the terminal. The backscattered or independently generated second signal can carry the spatial location coordinates of the IoT device.

[0062] Step S206, determining the terminal location information of the terminal.

[0063] The terminal location information may be information representing the terminal location, for example, the spatial location coordinates of the terminal.

[0064] In a specific implementation, the terminal may determine its own terminal location information according to the received second signal.

[0065] In actual applications, the terminal can extract the spatial position coordinates of the IoT device from the received second signal, determine its own spatial position coordinates based on the spatial position coordinates of the IoT device, and obtain the terminal location information. For example, when the number of IoT devices is three or more, the terminal location information can be determined by triangulation. When the number of IoT devices is one or more, the terminal location information can be determined based on the spatial position coordinates of the IoT device, the received signal strength of the second signal, and the signal arrival angle. This application does not limit the number of IoT devices and the method for determining the terminal location information.

[0066] The above positioning method determines the terminal location information of the terminal by sending a first signal to the IoT device and receiving a second signal returned by the IoT device. When the terminal needs to be positioned, the first signal can be sent to the IoT device deployed nearby. The IoT device backscatters or independently generates a second signal carrying the location information of the IoT device based on the received first signal and returns it to the terminal. The terminal determines its own position based on the received second signal, ensuring reliable positioning when the satellite positioning signal or 5G positioning signal is weak.

[0067] In an exemplary embodiment, the above step S204 may specifically include: receiving a second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal; the second signal carries the device location information of the IoT device.

[0068] The device location information may be information characterizing the location of the IoT device, for example, the spatial location coordinates of the IoT device.

[0069] In a specific implementation, when the IoT device receives the first signal, it can obtain its own device location information, carry the device location information in the second signal, and send it to the terminal. The terminal receives the second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal.

[0070] In actual applications, the IoT device can store its own spatial position coordinates. The terminal sends a radio frequency signal (first signal) to the IoT device, and the IoT device backscatters the received radio frequency signal to form a second signal, or the IoT device independently generates a second signal and returns it to the terminal. The second signal can carry the spatial position coordinates of the IoT device.

[0071] In this embodiment, by receiving the second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal, the device location information of the IoT device can be sent to the terminal, so that the terminal can be positioned according to the device location information, thereby increasing the reliability of terminal positioning.

[0072] In an exemplary embodiment, the above step S206 may specifically include: determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal.

[0073] In a specific implementation, the terminal can extract the device location information of the Internet of Things device from the received second signal, and solve the device location information to obtain its own terminal location information.

[0074] In actual applications, the terminal can extract the spatial position coordinates of the AIoT device / tag from the received second signal, and can also extract signal characteristics such as signal strength and signal arrival angle from the received second signal, and determine its own spatial position coordinates based on the extracted spatial position coordinates and / or signal characteristics.

[0075] In this embodiment, by determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal, the terminal can be positioned using an IoT device near the terminal, thereby reducing positioning complexity and compensating for the lack of coverage blind spots in satellite positioning and 5G positioning.

[0076] In an exemplary embodiment, the above-mentioned step of determining the terminal location information of the terminal based on the second signal may specifically include: extracting device location information of at least three Internet of Things devices from at least three received second signals; and determining the terminal location information of the terminal based on the at least three device location information.

[0077] In a specific implementation, at least three IoT devices can be set within the communication distance of the terminal. The terminal can send a first signal to each IoT device. Each IoT device can return a second signal carrying device location information to the terminal based on the received first signal. The terminal obtains the device location information of each IoT device from the at least three second signals received, and determines its own terminal location information based on the at least three device location information obtained.

[0078] For example, three AIoT devices / tags can be set up near the terminal: AIoT1, AIoT2, and AIoT3. Each AIoT device / tag stores its own spatial position coordinates. , , After receiving the RF signal sent by the terminal, AIoT1 returns the The signal After receiving the RF signal sent by the terminal, AIoT2 returns the The signal After receiving the RF signal sent by the terminal, AIoT3 returns the The signal , the terminal receives , , Extract spatial position coordinates from , , , and measure , , RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) is used to determine the distance between the terminal and each AIoT device / tag. , , After that, the terminal can perform three-sided positioning based on the spatial position coordinates of the three AIoT devices / tags and the distance from the terminal to each AIoT device / tag to obtain the spatial position coordinates of the terminal. Specifically, the spatial position coordinates can be used to , , As the center of the circle, the distance , , Draw three circles with as radius, and use the coordinates of the intersection of the three circles as the spatial position coordinates of the terminal.

[0079] In this embodiment, by extracting the device location information of at least three IoT devices from the at least three second signals received, and determining the terminal location information of the terminal based on the at least three device location information, the terminal location information can be quickly determined, thereby improving the efficiency of terminal positioning.

[0080] It should be noted that the method for implementing the above-mentioned determination of the terminal location information is not unique. Exemplarily, an Internet of Things device can also be set near the terminal, and the terminal determines the terminal location information by measuring the RSSI and signal arrival angle of the second signal sent by the Internet of Things device, and referring to the device location information of the Internet of Things device. In one embodiment, the above-mentioned step of determining the terminal location information of the terminal based on the second signal specifically also includes: extracting the device location information from the received second signal, determining the device distance between the Internet of Things device and the terminal based on the received second signal, and sensing the signal arrival angle of the second signal; determining the terminal location information of the terminal based on the device location information, the device distance and the signal arrival angle.

[0081] The device distance may be the distance between the IoT device and the terminal. The signal arrival angle may be the angle at which the second signal arrives at the terminal.

[0082] In a specific implementation, at least one IoT device can be set within the communication distance of the terminal. The terminal sends a first signal to the IoT device and receives a second signal carrying the device location information returned by the IoT device. In addition to extracting the device location information of the IoT device from the second signal, the terminal can also determine the device distance between the IoT device and the terminal based on the received signal strength of the second signal, and sense the signal arrival angle of the second signal through the receiving antenna. After that, the terminal can perform a comprehensive calculation based on the device location information, device distance and signal arrival angle to obtain its own terminal location information.

[0083] For example, if there is only one AIoT device / tag near the terminal, and the spatial location coordinates are stored in it , the AIoT device / tag can return the radio frequency signal sent by the terminal after receiving it. The signal , the terminal receives Extract spatial position coordinates from , and measure RSSI, and determine the distance between the terminal and the AIoT device / tag based on the obtained RSSI , the terminal can also sense through its own antenna AoA (Angle of Arrival), and finally the spatial position coordinates of the AIoT device / tag , the distance between the terminal and the AIoT device and The AoA is calculated through trigonometric functions to obtain the spatial position coordinates of the terminal.

[0084] In this embodiment, by extracting device location information from the received second signal, determining the device distance between the IoT device and the terminal based on the received second signal, and sensing the signal arrival angle of the second signal, the terminal location information of the terminal is determined based on the device location information, device distance and signal arrival angle. The terminal position can be located through an IoT device, thereby reducing the complexity of device deployment and saving the cost of device deployment.

[0085] In an exemplary embodiment, the above-mentioned device location information includes the location coordinates of the Internet of Things device, and the Internet of Things device determines the location coordinates by communicating with the base station and / or the terminal.

[0086] The position coordinates may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial position coordinates.

[0087] In a specific implementation, the IoT device can be set within the coverage of the base station. The IoT device communicates with the base station to determine whether its own device location information has changed. If it has changed, it will update its own device location information in time. Otherwise, if it has not changed, there is no need to update its own device location information. The IoT device can also communicate with the terminal or other devices within the communication distance (for example, other AIoT devices / tags) to determine whether its own device location information has changed, and update its own device location information in time if it changes. In addition, the device location information can be set in advance in the IoT device so that the IoT device does not need to obtain the device location information through interaction.

[0088] In actual applications, AIoT devices / tags can exchange information with the base station to determine whether their own location coordinates have changed. If they have changed, they will update their own location coordinates. If they have not changed, there is no need to update the location coordinates. In addition, if the AIoT device / tag cannot connect to the base station, there is no need to perform this step. At this time, the AIoT device / tag can use the default location coordinates, or the location coordinates updated during the last communication with the base station, or exchange information with the terminal, other AIoT devices / tags, etc.

[0089] In this embodiment, by making the device location information include the location coordinates of the IoT device, the IoT device determines the location coordinates by communicating with the base station and / or the terminal. The location coordinates of the IoT device can be accurately determined through the base station, thereby improving the accuracy of terminal positioning.

[0090] In an exemplary embodiment, the first signal comprises a radio frequency signal, and the second signal comprises a backscattered signal, an amplified backscattered signal, or an independently generated signal.

[0091] The backscatter signal may be a signal formed by backscattering a received radio frequency signal. The independently generated signal may be a signal generated independently by an IoT device.

[0092] In the specific implementation, the terminal can send a radio frequency signal to the IoT device. If the IoT device is a Class A AIoT device, a backscatter signal carrying the device location information can be generated and returned to the terminal. If the AIoT device is a Class B AIoT device, a backscatter signal carrying the device location information can be generated, and the backscatter signal can be amplified and the amplified backscatter signal can be returned to the terminal. If the AIoT device is a Class C AIoT device, an independent generated signal carrying the device location information can be directly generated without backscattering and returned to the terminal.

[0093] Among them, Class A AIoT devices can be AIoT devices without energy storage, independent signal generation and amplification capabilities. Class B AIoT devices can be AIoT devices with energy storage, no independent signal generation, but with signal amplification capabilities. Class C AIoT devices can be AIoT devices with energy storage, independent signal generation and amplification capabilities.

[0094] In this embodiment, by making the first signal include a radio frequency signal, and the second signal include a backscattered signal, an amplified backscattered signal, or an independently generated signal, terminal positioning can be achieved through a variety of IoT devices to meet the needs of different types of terminal positioning.

[0095] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , another positioning method is provided. This embodiment uses the method applied to the IoT device 104 in FIG. 1 as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0096] Step S302, receiving a first signal sent by a terminal;

[0097] Step S304: Return a second signal to the terminal.

[0098] In a specific implementation, an IoT device can be deployed within the communication distance of the terminal. The terminal sends a first signal to the IoT device. When the IoT device receives the first signal, it returns a second signal to the terminal. The terminal determines its own terminal location information based on the received second signal.

[0099] Since the specific processing process of the Internet of Things device has been described in detail in the above embodiments, it will not be repeated here.

[0100] The above positioning method returns a second signal to the terminal by receiving a first signal sent by the terminal. When the terminal needs to be positioned, the first signal can be sent to an IoT device deployed nearby. The IoT device backscatters or independently generates a second signal carrying the location information of the IoT device based on the received first signal and returns it to the terminal. The terminal determines its own position based on the received second signal, ensuring reliable positioning when the satellite positioning signal or 5G positioning signal is weak.

[0101] In an exemplary embodiment, the above step S304 may specifically include: returning a second signal to the terminal according to the first signal; the second signal carries the device location information of the IoT device.

[0102] In a specific implementation, when the IoT device receives the first signal, it can carry its own device location information in the second signal and return the second signal to the terminal.

[0103] In this embodiment, by returning a second signal to the terminal based on the first signal, the second signal carries the device location information of the IoT device, and the device location information can be sent to the terminal, so that the terminal can perform positioning based on the device location information to ensure reliable positioning.

[0104] In order to facilitate those skilled in the art to have a deeper understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a specific example will be described below.

[0105] Passive IoT technology does not require battery power and can use the collected environmental energy for power supply, so it has the advantages of low cost, long life, and simple maintenance. In addition, according to the definition in the 3GPP standard, passive IoT devices can also communicate with terminals in two directions by means of backscattering, which helps to achieve fast and efficient positioning of terminals. However, the current research on passive IoT-related positioning technologies mainly focuses on the positioning of passive IoT tags or devices carrying passive IoT tags by terminals or base stations. For device terminals that do not carry passive IoT tags, the commonly used positioning technologies are mainly satellite positioning and 5G positioning. In scenarios where satellite and base station signal coverage is poor, deployment density is low, or there are many obstructions, satellite positioning or 5G positioning is difficult to achieve, and it is costly to improve the positioning effect by increasing the number of deployments.

[0106] In view of this, the present application proposes a method for positioning a terminal without a passive IoT tag using a passive IoT. A passive IoT device or tag carrying location information is deployed in an area. The terminal sends a signal to the passive IoT device or tag. The passive IoT device or tag uses backscatter communication or independently generates a signal to transmit the signal carrying its own location data information to the terminal. The terminal combines the characteristic information of the received signal and the location information of the device or tag carried by the signal to perform a calculation, thereby obtaining the location information of the terminal, solving the problem that the terminal cannot achieve positioning due to poor base station and satellite positioning signals in some environments, thereby reducing costs.

[0107] Refer to Figure 1 for the specific terminal and device architecture. Taking the terminal positioning using three passive Internet of Things (AIoT) devices / tags as an example, the AIoT device / tag 104 can use Class A, B or C tags, among which Class A tags can realize backscattering communication and have no independent signal generation and amplification capabilities; Class B tags can realize backscattering communication, can store energy, have no independent signal generation capability, but can support tag reverse signal amplification; Class C tags can store energy and can generate signals independently.

[0108] The device terminal 102 sends a signal to the AIoT device / tag 104. After receiving the signal from the device terminal 102, if a Class A or Class B tag is used, the AIoT device / tag 104 transmits its own position data and other AIoT device data (optional) to the device terminal 102 through backscattering; if a Class C tag is used, the AIoT device / tag 104 can independently generate a signal, which can carry the AIoT device / tag 104's own position data and other AIoT device data (optional) and send it to the device terminal.

[0109] When the AIoT device / tag 104 finds that it can communicate normally with the base station signal, the AIoT device / tag 104 can confirm whether the current tag position has changed by communicating with the base station 106, and update its location information in time.

[0110] FIG4 provides an interactive flow chart of a terminal positioning method based on a passive Internet of Things. According to FIG4 , the terminal positioning method based on a passive Internet of Things includes the following steps:

[0111] Step 401, when the AIoT device / tag can communicate with the base station, the AIoT device / tag exchanges information with the base station to determine whether the position of the AIoT device / tag has changed. If so, the AIoT device / tag position data is updated. If the AIoT device / tag cannot connect to the base station, this step is skipped and the default position data or the position data updated after the last communication with the base station is used.

[0112] Step 402, the terminal sends a signal, such as a radio frequency signal, to the AIoT device / tag 1;

[0113] Step 403, AIoT device / tag 1 receives the signal from the terminal, and transmits the backscattered signal or the independently generated signal to the terminal, wherein the signal carries the AIoT device / tag location data required by the terminal and other data requested by the terminal; the terminal collects characteristic information of the signal from AIoT device / tag 1;

[0114] Step 404, the terminal sends a signal, such as a radio frequency signal, to the AIoT device / tag 2;

[0115] Step 405, AIoT device / tag 2 receives the signal from the terminal, and transmits the backscattered signal or the independently generated signal to the terminal, wherein the signal carries the AIoT device / tag location data required by the terminal and other data requested by the terminal; the terminal collects characteristic information of the signal from AIoT device / tag 2;

[0116] Step 406, the terminal sends a signal, such as a radio frequency signal, to the AIoT device / tag 3;

[0117] Step 407, the AIoT device / tag 3 receives the signal from the terminal, and transmits the backscattered signal or the independently generated signal to the terminal, wherein the signal carries the AIoT device / tag location data required by the terminal and other data requested by the terminal; the terminal collects characteristic information of the signal from the AIoT device / tag 3;

[0118] In step 408, the terminal performs a comprehensive calculation on all received AIoT device / tag location data in combination with the characteristic information of the received signal to determine the terminal's positioning information.

[0119] The above-mentioned terminal positioning method based on passive Internet of Things applies passive Internet of Things devices / tags to the positioning of terminals without passive Internet of Things tags deployed. Passive Internet of Things devices / tags do not need to be powered by batteries, and the collected environmental energy can be used for power supply. The terminal obtains the location data fed back by the passive Internet of Things devices / tags by sending signals to the passive Internet of Things devices / tags, and calculates the location information of the device terminal according to the characteristic information and location data of the received signal, thereby ensuring the rapid positioning of the terminal in an environment where it cannot be connected to a base station or the base station has poor satellite positioning coverage, and saving the positioning cost to a certain extent.

[0120] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG5 , an interactive flow chart of a positioning method is provided, including the following steps:

[0121] Step 501: The IoT device communicates with a base station and / or a terminal, and the device location information of the IoT device is determined through the base station and / or the terminal;

[0122] Step 502: The terminal sends a first signal to the IoT device;

[0123] Step 503: The IoT device receives the first signal and returns a second signal to the terminal;

[0124] Step 504: The terminal receives the second signal and determines the terminal location information.

[0125] In a specific implementation, the IoT device can communicate with a base station and / or a terminal and determine its own device location information through the base station and / or the terminal. When the terminal needs to be positioned, it can send a first signal to the IoT device. The IoT device returns a second signal carrying the device location information to the terminal based on the received first signal. The terminal extracts the device location information from the second signal and determines the terminal location information based on the extracted device location information.

[0126] The above positioning method communicates with the base station and / or the terminal through the IoT device, determines the device location information of the IoT device through the base station and / or the terminal, the terminal sends a first signal to the IoT device, the IoT device receives the first signal, returns a second signal to the terminal, the terminal receives the second signal, and determines the terminal location information; when the terminal needs to be positioned, a first signal can be sent to an IoT device deployed nearby, the IoT device backscatters or independently generates a second signal carrying the location information of the IoT device based on the received first signal, and returns it to the terminal, the terminal determines its own position based on the received second signal, ensuring that reliable positioning can still be achieved when the satellite positioning signal or the 5G positioning signal is weak.

[0127] In an exemplary embodiment, a positioning system is provided, including a terminal and an Internet of Things device, wherein the Internet of Things device is deployed within a communication distance of the terminal;

[0128] A terminal, configured to send a first signal to an IoT device;

[0129] The Internet of Things device is used to receive the first signal and return a second signal to the terminal;

[0130] The terminal is used to receive the second signal and determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

[0131] In a specific implementation, the IoT device can communicate with a base station and / or a terminal and determine its own device location information through the base station and / or the terminal. When the terminal needs to be positioned, it can send a first signal to the IoT device. The IoT device returns a second signal carrying the device location information to the terminal based on the received first signal. The terminal extracts the device location information from the second signal and determines the terminal location information based on the extracted device location information.

[0132] The above-mentioned positioning system sends a first signal to the IoT device through the terminal, the IoT device receives the first signal and returns a second signal to the terminal, the terminal receives the second signal, and determines the terminal location information of the terminal; when the terminal needs to be positioned, the first signal can be sent to the IoT device deployed nearby, the IoT device backscatters or independently generates a second signal carrying the location information of the IoT device based on the received first signal, and returns it to the terminal, the terminal determines its own position based on the received second signal, ensuring that reliable positioning can still be achieved when the satellite positioning signal or the 5G positioning signal is weak.

[0133] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear explanation in this article, the execution of these steps does not have a strict order restriction, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments can include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0134] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application also provides a positioning device for implementing the positioning method involved above. The implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the device is similar to the implementation scheme recorded in the above method, so the specific limitations in one or more positioning device embodiments provided below can refer to the limitations of the positioning method above, and will not be repeated here.

[0135] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG6 , a positioning device 600 is provided, which is applied to a terminal and includes: a terminal sending module 602, a terminal receiving module 604 and a terminal positioning module 606, wherein:

[0136] The terminal sending module 602 is used to send a first signal to the Internet of Things device;

[0137] The terminal receiving module 604 is used to receive the second signal returned by the IoT device;

[0138] The terminal positioning module 606 is used to determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

[0139] In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal receiving module 604 is further used to receive a second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal; the second signal carries the device location information of the IoT device.

[0140] In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal positioning module 606 is further configured to determine the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal.

[0141] In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal positioning module 606 is further used to extract device location information of at least three IoT devices from at least three received second signals; and determine the terminal location information of the terminal based on the at least three device location information.

[0142] In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal positioning module 606 is also used to extract device location information from the received second signal, determine the device distance between the Internet of Things device and the terminal based on the received second signal, and sense the signal arrival angle of the second signal; determine the terminal location information of the terminal based on the device location information, the device distance and the signal arrival angle.

[0143] In an exemplary embodiment, the device location information includes location coordinates of the IoT device, and the IoT device determines the location coordinates by communicating with a base station and / or the terminal.

[0144] In an exemplary embodiment, the first signal comprises a radio frequency signal, and the second signal comprises a backscattered signal, an amplified backscattered signal, or an independently generated signal.

[0145] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 , a positioning device 700 is provided, which is applied to an IoT device and includes: a device receiving module 702 and a device sending module 704, wherein:

[0146] A device receiving module 702, configured to receive a first signal sent by the terminal;

[0147] The device sending module 704 is configured to return a second signal to the terminal.

[0148] In an exemplary embodiment, the device sending module 704 is further configured to return a second signal to the terminal according to the first signal; the second signal carries the device location information of the IoT device.

[0149] Each module in the above positioning device can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware or a combination thereof. Each module can be embedded in or independent of a processor in a communication device in the form of hardware, or can be stored in a memory in the communication device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to each module.

[0150] In an exemplary embodiment, a communication device is provided, which may be a terminal. The communication device includes a processor, a memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, a display unit, and an input device. The processor, the memory, and the input / output interface are connected via a system bus, and the communication interface, the display unit, and the input device are connected to the system bus via the input / output interface. The processor of the communication device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the communication device includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system and a computer program. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The input / output interface of the communication device is used to exchange information between the processor and an external device. The communication interface of the communication device is used to communicate with an external terminal in a wired or wireless manner, and the wireless manner can be implemented through WIFI, a mobile cellular network, near field communication (NFC) or other technologies. When the computer program is executed by the processor, a positioning method is implemented. The display unit of the communication device is used to form a visually visible picture, which may be a display screen, a projection device, or a virtual reality imaging device. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display screen or an electronic ink display screen, and the input device of the communication device can be a touch layer covering the display screen, or a button, trackball or touchpad set on the communication device housing, or an external keyboard, touchpad or mouse.

[0151] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above structure is merely a block diagram of a partial structure related to the scheme of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the communication device to which the scheme of the present application is applied. The specific communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

[0152] In one embodiment, a communication device is further provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor implements the steps in the above method embodiments when executing the computer program.

[0153] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the above-mentioned method embodiments are implemented.

[0154] In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program, which implements the steps in the above method embodiments when executed by a processor.

[0155] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with relevant regulations.

[0156] A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment method can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to the memory, database or other medium used in the embodiments provided in the present application can include at least one of non-volatile memory and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The database involved in each embodiment provided in this application may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. Non-relational databases may include distributed databases based on blockchains, etc., but are not limited to this. The processor involved in each embodiment provided in this application may be a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device, a data processing logic device based on quantum computing, an artificial intelligence (AI) processor, etc., but are not limited to this.

[0157] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this application.

[0158] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A positioning method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal, wherein an Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication range of the terminal; the method comprises: A first signal is sent to the IoT device, a second signal returned by the IoT device is received, and the terminal location information of the terminal is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The receiving a second signal returned by the IoT device includes: Receive a second signal returned by the IoT device based on the first signal; the second signal carries device location information of the IoT device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining the terminal location information of the terminal includes: The terminal location information of the terminal is determined according to the second signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal includes: Extracting device location information of at least three of the IoT devices from the at least three received second signals; The terminal location information of the terminal is determined based on at least three pieces of the device location information.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The determining the terminal location information of the terminal according to the second signal includes: Extracting device location information from the received second signal, determining a device distance between the IoT device and the terminal according to the received second signal, and sensing a signal arrival angle of the second signal; The terminal location information of the terminal is determined according to the device location information, the device distance and the signal arrival angle.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The device location information includes the location coordinates of the IoT device, and the IoT device determines the location coordinates by communicating with a base station and / or the terminal.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first signal includes a radio frequency signal, and the second signal includes a backscattered signal, an amplified backscattered signal, or an independently generated signal.

8. A positioning method, characterized in that: Applied to an Internet of Things device, the Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication distance of a terminal; the method comprises: A first signal sent by the terminal is received, and a second signal is returned to the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The returning a second signal to the terminal includes: Based on the first signal, a second signal is returned to the terminal; the second signal carries the device location information of the Internet of Things device.

10. A positioning device, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal, wherein an Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication distance of the terminal; the device comprises: A terminal sending module, used to send a first signal to the Internet of Things device; A terminal receiving module, used to receive a second signal returned by the IoT device; The terminal positioning module is used to determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

11. A positioning device, characterized in that: Applied to an Internet of Things device, the Internet of Things device is deployed within the communication distance of a terminal; the device comprises: A device receiving module, configured to receive a first signal sent by the terminal; The device sending module is used to return a second signal to the terminal.

12. A positioning system, characterized in that: The system includes a terminal and an IoT device, wherein the IoT device is deployed within the communication distance of the terminal; The terminal is used to send a first signal to the Internet of Things device; The IoT device is configured to receive the first signal and return a second signal to the terminal; The terminal is used to receive the second signal and determine the terminal location information of the terminal.

13. A communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, characterized in that: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 9 are implemented.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 9 are implemented.

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