Method for configuring a location location system and location location system - Patents.com

Abstract

A method for configuring a location system (1), the location system (1) comprising a number of fixed wireless transmitters (2) and at least one mobile wireless transmitter (3), the location system (1) determining a number of relative position references (4) between the mobile wireless transmitters (3) and the at least one fixed wireless transmitter (2) by ultra-wideband radio technology, the number of fixed wireless transmitters (2) each comprising a mobile wireless module, positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter (5) having the mobile wireless module is performed using coarse and fine location determination, the coarse location determination is performed by mobile radio, the positioning using the coarse location determination is improved using fine location determination, and the positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter (2) from the fine location determination is used to determine the position of the mobile wireless transmitter (3).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for configuring a location system and to a location system.

[0002] A location system is known from EP 3002603 A1.

[0003] In a location system, a relative position reference, e.g., distance or angle, is determined between a fixed unit and a mobile unit. The position of the mobile unit is determined from the known position of the fixed unit by the relative position reference. Accurate knowledge of the position of the fixed unit is important for accurate positioning of the mobile unit. Determining the position of the fixed unit when setting up a location system has previously been very time-consuming.

[0004] The present invention is based on the object of providing a method as mentioned at the beginning, which simplifies the configuration of a location system. Furthermore, a location system using which such a method can be implemented is provided.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention in a location system, comprising a number of fixed wireless transmitters and at least one mobile wireless transmitter, the location system determining a number of relative position references between the mobile wireless transmitters and the at least one fixed wireless transmitter by ultra-wideband radio technology, the fixed wireless transmitters each comprising a mobile radio module, positioning of the fixed wireless transmitters with the mobile radio modules is performed by coarse location determination and fine location determination, the coarse location determination being performed by the mobile radio, The positioning via the coarse location determination is improved by the fine location determination, and the positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter from the fine location determination is used to determine the position of the mobile wireless transmitter.

[0006] In principle, the fixed and mobile radio transmitters can have the same design. The radio transmitters can exchange signals with each other by ultra-wideband radio technology. The relative position reference between the radio transmitters can be determined from the received signals. The relative position reference can be determined not only between a fixed radio transmitter and a mobile radio transmitter, but also between different fixed radio transmitters or different mobile radio transmitters.

[0007] At least a number of fixed wireless transmitters can be located by mobile radio. Here, mobile radio is understood as wireless communication according to one of the standards, for example GSM, UMTS, LTE or 5G. In this respect, wireless communication according to the LTE standard is preferred, and wireless communication according to the 5G standard is particularly preferred. It is understood that future mobile wireless standards can also be used. Since this location determination is typically only accurate to a few meters, this location determination is improved in a second stage by fine location determination. The positions of these fixed wireless transmitters can thus be determined in a fully automatic manner. Based on these positions, the positions of other fixed wireless transmitters and mobile wireless transmitters can be determined. In this way, the location system is set up in a fully automatic manner.

[0008] Preferably, the location system comprises a computing unit, which communicates via mobile radio with at least one of the fixed radio transmitters having a mobile radio module.

[0009] Communication via mobile radio means that the mobile radio module is not only used for location determination. A radio transmitter without a mobile radio module can communicate with other radio transmitters by ultra-wideband radio technology or another radio technology such as WLAN or Bluetooth. In this way, the computing unit can communicate directly or indirectly with all the radio transmitters without the need for cables. This further simplifies the setup of the location system. The use of fixed radio transmitters using wired communication is still possible but not necessary.

[0010] Preferably, the computing unit is part of a data center. The computing unit may also be a virtual computer. At least the last part of the communication path between the computing unit and the radio transmitter is preferably handled via mobile radio.

[0011] Preferably, the coarse and / or fine localization is performed on the computing unit. By performing the localization on the computing unit, a consistent quality of localization of all fixed radio transmitters with mobile radio modules is ensured.

[0012] In one embodiment, at least some of the fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules determine at least two relative position references with respect to at least one other fixed wireless transmitter with mobile wireless module, and the fine position determination is performed by computationally combining the relative position reference with the coarse position determination, the relative position reference being determined by ultra-wideband wireless technology. Since the relative position reference can be determined within a few centimeters by ultra-wideband wireless technology, different inaccuracies in the coarse position determination of the fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules can be significantly compensated by the computational combination. The accuracy of the relative position reference can be improved by a suitable computational combination of the relative position reference and the coarse position determination, for example using a Kalman filter. Preferably, the distance and / or angle between the fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules is determined from the position of the fixed wireless transmitter with mobile wireless module determined during the coarse position determination for the computational combination.

[0013] In one embodiment, the relative position reference between the radio transmitters with the mobile radio modules is indirectly determined via the relative position reference for the radio transmitters without the mobile radio modules. The indirect determination of the relative position reference also allows the computational combination of the coarse position determination of the radio transmitters with the mobile radio modules when a direct determination of the relative position reference is not possible.

[0014] Preferably, the relative position criterion includes at least one distance information between the wireless transmitters. In this respect, the distance information can be a specific length indicator or can be a length difference. The length difference can be calculated, for example, from a time difference of arrival (TdoA) algorithm.

[0015] Preferably, the relative position reference includes at least one angle between the wireless transmitters.

[0016] The relative position of the mobile radio module and the fixed radio transmitter can be calculated based on multiple distances by trilateration, based on multiple angles by triangulation, or based on a combination of distances and angles. Fixed radio transmitters are often mounted at the same height. In this case, two relative position references are already sufficient to determine the relative position of the fixed radio transmitter with the mobile radio module. By using multiple relative position references, the accuracy of the fine localization can be further improved.

[0017] In one embodiment, all fixed wireless transmitters that have determined a relative position reference for each other are treated as a group on the computation unit, whereby the computation unit can be used for multiple groups of fixed wireless transmitters, the groups having no association with each other.

[0018] The fine location is preferably performed jointly for all fixed wireless transmitters of the group. Joint fine location ensures that the positions of all fixed wireless transmitters of the group are determined in the same manner.

[0019] In one embodiment, the fine location is performed by comparing the coarse location to a map, which allows for correction of deviations in the coarse location that affect all fixed radio transmitters with a mobile radio module equally.

[0020] In one embodiment, a number of possible positions of the fixed wireless transmitters are present in the map, and the fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules are each assigned to a possible position based on a coarse positioning. The possible positions indicate the exact positions of the fixed wireless transmitters. The fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules can each be assigned to a possible position very simply, preferably automatically, using the coarse positioning. In a preferred embodiment, the fixed wireless transmitters without mobile wireless modules can each be assigned to a possible position via a relative position reference to the fixed wireless transmitters with mobile wireless modules. The number of possible positions can be greater than, equal to, or less than the number of fixed wireless transmitters. If the number of positions is large, some positions are not assigned to fixed wireless transmitters. If the number is small, the positions of the fixed wireless transmitters not assigned to a possible position are determined in another way, for example via a fine positioning including a computational combination with the relative position reference.

[0021] In one embodiment, at least one environmental boundary, in particular a building boundary, is present in a map, at least some of the fixed wireless transmitters are treated as a group, and the fine localization is performed in such a way that the positions of all fixed wireless transmitters of the group are present within the environmental boundary. In this respect, the assignment of fixed wireless transmitters to groups can be predefined or performed based on relative position criteria, as described above. The groups of fixed wireless transmitters are typically located in a fixed environment. Deviations in the coarse localization that lead to out-of-area positions can be corrected by comparison with the map. The environmental boundary is preferably determined from a publicly accessible map. Such maps are available from various providers via the Internet. The environmental boundary can also be determined from satellite images, in particular in the case of building boundaries.

[0022] Fine localization through computational combination with relative position criteria and comparison to maps are preferably combined.

[0023] In one embodiment, the location system comprises at least one mobile radio transmitter having a mobile radio module, and a coarse location of the mobile radio transmitter having the mobile radio module is performed by the mobile radio; The deviation between the positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module via the coarse positioning and the positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module via the fine positioning is used to improve the coarse positioning of the mobile wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module. For example, the deviation of the nearest fixed wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module can be used to improve the coarse positioning. Alternatively, the average deviation of a number of fixed wireless transmitters with mobile radio modules can be used to improve the coarse positioning. In this respect, the deviation can be weighted according to the distance between the fixed wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module and the mobile wireless transmitter with a mobile radio module. Alternatively, a suitable Kalman filter can be used for the weighting.

[0024] The invention also relates to a location system comprising a number of fixed wireless transmitters, each of which comprises a mobile wireless module, the location system being provided and designed to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0025] Preferably, the location system comprises a computing unit, which is connected via a mobile radio to a fixed radio transmitter having a mobile radio module.

[0026] Preferably, one or more additional information is known to the computing unit. Alternatively or additionally, the additional information may be provided by a user. The additional information can be used to improve the fine localization. Preferably, the computing unit comprises a user interface, for example in the form of a website. In this respect, access to the user interface can preferably be provided by information of a radio transmitter, for example in the form of a QR code. The additional information can be entered by the user via the user interface. In this respect, the additional information can preferably be queried via the user interface in a guided manner. Preferred additional information is: - Information about which fixed wireless transmitters are in direct visual contact - Information about which fixed radio transmitters are located on one level - Selection of alternatives with many possible fine-grained localizations - Information about environmental boundaries on the map, especially buildings - information about the floor of one or more fixed wireless transmitters

[0027] The following description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings serves to explain the invention in more detail. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a localization system after coarse localization. [Diagram 2] 2 shows a schematic diagram of the location system from FIG. 1 with fine location using relative position references; [Diagram 3] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a location system and a map. [Figure 4] 4 shows a schematic diagram of the localization system from FIG. 3 after fine localization using comparison with a map's environmental boundaries. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a location system and a map with possible positions. [Figure 6]6 shows a schematic diagram of the location system from FIG. 5 after fine location determination using comparison with possible map positions. [Figure 7] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a location system with coarse location of a mobile radio transmitter having a mobile radio module.

[0029] In all exemplary embodiments, elements that are the same or have equivalent functions are designated with the same reference symbols.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a location system 1. In this example, the location system 1 comprises four fixed wireless transmitters 2 and one mobile wireless transmitter 3. By means of ultra-wideband radio technology, a relative position reference 4 between the fixed wireless transmitters 2 is determined. In this example, a relative position reference is determined from each fixed wireless transmitter 2 to all other fixed wireless transmitters 2. A relative position reference 4 is also determined between the mobile wireless transmitter 3 and a number of fixed wireless transmitters 2. In this example, three relative position references 4 are determined between the mobile wireless transmitter 3 and three fixed wireless transmitters 2. Three of the four fixed wireless transmitters 2 are fixed wireless transmitters 5 with a mobile wireless module. The fixed wireless transmitters 5 with a mobile wireless module communicate with a calculation unit 6 via the mobile radio. For the fixed wireless transmitters 5 with a mobile wireless module, a coarse location determination is performed by the mobile radio. In this example, a coarse location determination is performed by the calculation unit 6. The fourth fixed wireless transmitter 2 and the mobile wireless transmitter 3 are radio transmitters 7 without a mobile wireless module. The wireless transmitter 7 without a mobile wireless module and the fixed wireless transmitter 5 with a mobile wireless module can communicate by ultra-wideband wireless technology. In this example, the relative position reference 4 includes the distance 8 between the wireless transmitter 2 and the wireless transmitter 3, respectively. The fixed wireless transmitter 2 additionally determines two angles 9 relative to the other fixed wireless transmitter 2. The positions of the fixed wireless transmitter 7 without a mobile wireless module and the mobile wireless transmitter 3 are determined from the coarse position determination and relative position reference of the fixed wireless transmitter 5 with a mobile wireless module. It should be understood that in a position determination system 1 having more fixed wireless transmitters 2 than those shown here, it is not necessary to determine all possible relative position references 4 between the fixed wireless transmitters.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the location system 1 from FIG. 1 with fine location using a relative position reference 4. Only the differences with respect to FIG. 1 are described below. In the case of fine location, in this example the relative position reference 4 is computationally combined with the coarse location. In this example the computational combination is performed by a computation unit 6. It should be understood that the computational combination can also be performed using computation units other than the computation unit used for the coarse location. For simplicity, only one computation unit 6 is shown here. The circle indicates the position determined during the coarse location of the fixed radio transmitter 5 with a mobile radio module. The position determined during the fine location is partially offset from the position determined during the coarse location. Since the position of the fixed radio transmitter 5 with a mobile radio module has been determined more accurately, the position of the radio transmitter 7 without a mobile radio module, in particular the position of the mobile radio transmitter 3, can also be determined more accurately.

[0032] Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a location system 1 and a map 10. Coarse location determination for the fixed wireless transmitters is performed by a mobile wireless module 5. In this example, the coarse location determination is performed by a calculation unit 6. Relative position references are determined between the fixed wireless transmitters 2. In this example, no direct relative position reference 4 is determined from each fixed wireless transmitter 2 to every other fixed wireless transmitter 2. Some relative position references can only be determined indirectly via other relative position references 4. When determining the relative position reference 4 indirectly, the relative position reference 4 to the mobile wireless transmitter 3 can also be used.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the location system from FIG. 3 after fine location determination using a comparison with the environmental boundary 12 of the map 10. In this example, it is known that all fixed wireless transmitters 2 are located in the same building. All fixed wireless transmitters 2 are treated as a group by the calculation unit 6. In this example, the group is determined via the relative position criterion 4. From the comparison of the positions from the coarse location and the environmental boundary 12, the calculation unit 6 realizes that the position of the fixed wireless transmitter 5 with a mobile wireless module from the coarse location and the position of the fixed wireless transmitter 7 without a mobile wireless module determined from the coarse location and the relative position criterion 4 are not within the same environmental boundary 12, as shown in FIG. 3. To correct this, the calculation unit 6 shifts all the positions of the fixed wireless transmitters 2 in the same manner during the fine location determination, so that their positions are within the same environmental boundary 12. Based on the relative position criterion 4 in addition to the comparison with the map 10, the positions of the fixed wireless transmitters 2 can be improved during the fine location determination.

[0034] Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the location system 1 and a map 10 with possible positions 11. In contrast to the diagram of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 shows possible positions 11 of fixed wireless transmitters 2 in the map 10. By comparing the positions from the coarse location with the possible positions 11, the calculation unit 6 realizes that a number of fixed wireless transmitters 2 can be assigned to each possible position 11. Since there exists a relative position reference 4 between the fixed wireless transmitters 2, the assignment is made by the calculation unit 6 in such a way that the relative position reference 4 matches the assigned possible positions 11 as much as possible.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the location system from FIG. 5 after fine location determination using a comparison with possible positions 11 of a map 10. The fixed wireless transmitter 2 was not assigned to the possible position 11. In this example, the assignment is not consistent with the relative position criteria 4 between the fixed wireless transmitters 2. The fixed wireless transmitter 2 was not assigned to the possible position 11, but its position was determined via the relative position criteria 4.

[0036] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a location system 1 with coarse location of a mobile radio transmitter 13 with a mobile radio module. The calculation unit 6 uses the coarse location by mobile radio to determine the position of the mobile radio transmitter 13 with a mobile radio module. In the case of a fixed radio transmitter with a mobile radio module of the location system 1, the calculation unit 6 first determines the position via coarse location and then improves the position via fine location. The calculation unit 6 determines the improvement of the position of the mobile radio transmitter 13 with a mobile radio module from the difference between the position of the fixed radio transmitter after the coarse location and the position of the fixed radio transmitter after the fine location. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] List of reference symbols 1 Location System 2 Fixed wireless transmitters 3 Mobile radio transmitter 4 Relative Position Reference 5 Fixed radio transmitter with mobile radio module 6 Computational Units 7 Radio transmitters without mobile radio modules 8 distance 9 angles 10. Map 11 Available Positions 12 Environmental boundaries 13 Mobile radio transmitter having a mobile radio module

Claims

1. A method for configuring a location system (1), comprising: The location system (1) comprises a number of fixed radio transmitters (2) and at least one mobile radio transmitter (3); The location system (1) determines a number of relative position references (4) between the mobile radio transmitter (3) and at least one fixed radio transmitter (2) by ultra-wideband radio technology; A plurality of said fixed radio transmitters (2) each include one mobile radio module; The positioning of the fixed radio transmitter (5) having a mobile radio module is performed by coarse and fine localization, said coarse location is performed by mobile radio; the positioning via the coarse localization is improved by a fine localization; A method, wherein the positioning of the fixed wireless transmitter (2) from the fine location determination is used to determine a position of the mobile wireless transmitter (3).

2. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the location system (1) comprises a computing unit (6) which communicates via mobile radio with at least one of the fixed radio transmitters (5) having a mobile radio module.

3. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the coarse localization and / or the fine localization is performed on a computing unit (6).

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least some of the fixed radio transmitters (5) having a mobile radio module determine at least two relative position references (4) with respect to at least one other fixed radio transmitter (5) having a mobile radio module, and that the fine localization is performed by computationally combining the relative position references (4) with the coarse localization, the relative position references (4) being determined by the ultra-wideband radio technology.

5. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the relative position reference (4) between the fixed radio transmitters (5) having a mobile radio module is determined indirectly via a relative position reference to a radio transmitter (7) without a mobile radio module.

6. 6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the relative position reference (4) comprises at least one distance information (8) between radio transmitters (2, 3, 5, 7).

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the relative position reference (4) comprises at least one angle (9) between radio transmitters (2, 3, 5, 7).

8. Method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterised in that all fixed radio transmitters (2) which have determined a relative position reference (4) with respect to one another are treated as a group on the calculation unit (6).

9. 9. A method according to claim 8, characterized in that the fine localization is performed jointly for all fixed wireless transmitters (2) of a group.

10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fine localization is performed by comparing the coarse localization with a map (10).

11. 11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that a plurality of possible positions (11) of the fixed radio transmitters (2) are present in the map (10) and the fixed radio transmitters (5) having mobile radio modules are each assigned to a possible position (11) based on the coarse localization.

12. 12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that at least one environmental boundary (12), in particular a building boundary, is present in the map (10), at least some of the fixed wireless transmitters (2) are treated as a group, and the fine localization is performed in such a way that the positions of all fixed wireless transmitters (2) of the group are present within the environmental boundary (12).

13. said location system (1) comprising at least one mobile radio transmitter (13) having a mobile radio module, and a coarse location determination of said mobile radio transmitter (13) having a mobile radio module is performed by mobile radio, 13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the deviation between the positioning of the fixed radio transmitter (5) having a mobile radio module via the coarse localization and the positioning of the fixed radio transmitter (5) having a mobile radio module via the fine localization is used to improve the coarse localization of the mobile radio transmitter (13) having a mobile radio module.

14. A location system comprising a number of fixed wireless transmitters (2), each of said plurality of fixed wireless transmitters (2) comprising one mobile wireless module, said location system being provided and designed to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. 15. The location system according to claim 14, characterized in that the location system comprises a calculation unit (6), the calculation unit (6) being connected via mobile radio to the fixed radio transmitter (5) having a mobile radio module.

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