Enhanced reliability of terminal geographic location based on the identifiers of one or more adjacent transmitting devices.

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the geographical location of a terminal (20) of a wireless communication system (10). The terminal detects one or more identifiers (ID1, ID2, ID3) of neighbouring transmitting devices (40). The terminal transmits the detected identifiers in a message to an access network (30). A server (32) of the access network determines for each identifier a score representative of the reliability of said identifier with respect to a geographical location database (51). For this purpose, the server (32) uses an identifier reliability database (33) which stores the identifiers of the transmitting devices (40) and their respective scores. The geographical location database (51) stores the identifiers of the transmitting devices (40) and their respective geographical locations. The server (32) selects the identifier with the best score to determine the geographical location of the terminal (20) using the geographical location database (51).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of identifying the geographical location of a terminal in a wireless communication system. The identification of the geographical location of a terminal is carried out using a geographical location identification server based on one or more identifiers of adjacent transmission devices. The adjacent transmission devices are detected by the terminal, and the geographical location identification server includes a database that associates the transmission devices with their geographical locations.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, there are multiple geographical location identification systems based on a database that associates the identifiers of transmission devices (such as WiFi or Bluetooth access points, or RFID tags) with their geographical locations.

[0003] In such a geographical location identification system, the terminal detects the identifier of a transmission device based on a message transmitted by the transmission device, such as a beacon signal, for at least one transmission device. The terminal then transmits a query message to the geographical location identification server. The query message includes the identifier of the transmission device. The geographical location identification server includes a geographical location identification database that associates the identifier of the transmission device with its respective geographical location. The geographical location identification server then determines the geographical location associated with the transmission device and then transmits this information to the terminal in a response message. The geographical location of the transmission device corresponds to the estimated geographical location of the terminal.

[0004] The geographical location of the terminal can potentially be refined according to the power level of the beacon signal received by the terminal. It is also possible to estimate the geographical location of the terminal according to the geographical locations of a plurality of different transmission devices, and the terminal for a plurality of different transmission devices is receiving beacon signals at a given moment.

[0005] However, the geographical location of a transmitting device may change over time. In this case, the geolocation database must be updated to ensure that the association between the transmitting device identifier and its geographical location remains correct. If the association between the transmitting device identifier and its geographical location is incorrect in the geolocation database, the estimation of the device's geographical location based on the identifier will be distorted.

[0006] Geographic location database update campaigns are particularly expensive, and the frequency of updates is sometimes insufficient to guarantee satisfactory reliability in the geolocation of devices. Furthermore, these update campaigns are rarely comprehensive.

[0007] It is possible that two different transmitting devices located in different geographical locations may share the same identifier. A geolocation database may associate the identifier with only one of the two geographical locations. This association is accurate in some use cases, particularly when a terminal is within range of a transmitting device and the geographical location of that transmitting device is stored in the geolocation database. On the other hand, this association is inaccurate in other use cases, particularly when a terminal is within range of another transmitting device and the geographical location of that other transmitting device is not stored in the geolocation database. Depending on the case, the estimation of the terminal's geographical location based on the identifier may be distorted.

[0008] Multiple different geolocation databases are sometimes available for estimating a device's geographical location (these databases are managed by various service providers). However, there is currently no solution for determining which database to use to obtain the best estimate of a device's location on a case-by-case basis.

[0009] Therefore, a satisfactory solution should be found to increase the reliability of geographic location determination of a terminal based on the identifiers of one or more adjacent transmitting devices detected by the terminal. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0010] An object of the present invention is to improve upon all or some of the shortcomings of the prior art, particularly the prior art disclosed above, by proposing a solution for increasing the reliability of geographic location determination of a terminal based on the identifiers of one or more adjacent transmitting devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] For this purpose, according to a first aspect, the present invention proposes a method for determining the geographical location of a terminal of a wireless communication system. The terminal is adapted to exchange messages with the access network of the wireless communication system in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol. The method is: -The terminal detects the identifier of at least one transmitting device based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol (101), -The terminal transmits to the access network at least one message containing one or more detected identifiers in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol (102), - The access network determines the geographic location of the terminal by sending a request containing at least one of the received identifiers to a geolocation server (106) The geolocation server includes storing a geolocation database containing a list of identifiers for transmitting devices and the geographic location of each of the transmitting devices, and the request is defined using a database known as the “identifier confidence database,” which allows any identifier to be associated with at least one value representing the confidence level of the identifier with respect to the geolocation server, and the identifier confidence database is stored by one or more servers separate from the geolocation server.

[0012] In this application, the expression "geographic location" of an object (terminal or transmitting device) can broadly correspond to location information representing the precise geographic location of the object. Therefore, "geographic location" may directly relate to the coordinates of the geographic location (longitude, latitude, and possibly altitude), but may also relate to background information that enables the estimation of the precise geographic location of the object (e.g., postal address, store name, district, region, or country name).

[0013] This invention is based on the idea that a database separate from a geolocation database provides information about the confidence value associated with each identifier detected by a terminal.

[0014] In the identifier confidence database, confidence values ​​are associated with identifiers and geolocation servers. The confidence value represents the level of trust that can be given to an identifier in order to enable the precise geographic location of a device using that identifier in conjunction with the geolocation server. The identifier confidence database may be configured to provide information about the confidence level of an identifier with respect to a single geolocation server or to a group of different geolocation servers.

[0015] However, it should be noted that the confidence value of an identifier may be weighted according to further criteria, such as the service costs of the associated geolocation server.

[0016] Therefore, this confidence value can, in particular, enable filtering of identifiers to be considered when estimating the geographic location of a device using a geolocation database, depending on the confidence value of the identifier. For example, a low confidence value is assigned to identifiers in the confidence database that are considered to have an incorrect geographic location associated with them in the geolocation database, and identifiers with too low a confidence value are not considered when estimating the geographic location of a device.

[0017] As an alternative or additional measure, when considering multiple different geolocation servers, confidence values ​​may allow the selection of the geolocation server that appears most reliable for determining the device's geolocation from among the multiple geolocation servers. This selection may even be made by using confidence values ​​associated with identifiers different from those detected by the device. Therefore, the term “any identifier” should be understood to include not only identifiers within the set of identifiers detected and transmitted by the device seeking geolocation, but also identifiers that are not part of this set of identifiers detected and transmitted by the device.

[0018] Therefore, the confidence database is used to determine which geolocation servers to use and / or select for identifiers that should be included in the request (i.e., it defines the recipient and / or content of the request).

[0019] In certain implementations, the present invention may further include one or more of the following features, taken individually or in any technically possible combination:

[0020] In certain implementations, determining the geographical location of a device is done by: - The access network uses an identifier confidence database to determine the confidence value of at least one of the received identifiers. - If at least one of the received identifiers has a satisfactory confidence value, the geolocation server will estimate the geographic location of the terminal based on the identifier. Includes.

[0021] In certain implementations, for each identifier from the received identifiers, the reliability value is compared with a threshold value to determine whether the identifier must be used to estimate the geographical location of the terminal using a geographical location server.

[0022] In certain implementations, the maximum predetermined number of identifiers from the received identifiers having the best reliability values are used to estimate the geographical location of the terminal using a geographical location server.

[0023] In certain implementations, the method further includes estimating an approximate geographical location of the terminal without using a geographical location server if none of the received identifiers have an acceptable reliability value.

[0024] In certain implementations, the identifier reliability database includes, for at least one of the received identifiers, an approximate geographical location of the transmitting device holding the identifier, and the approximate geographical location is determined in advance without using a geographical location server. Next, the estimation of the approximate geographical location of the terminal is performed according to the approximate geographical location associated with the identifier.

[0025] In certain implementations, at least one of the received identifiers is associated with a plurality of reliability values in an identifier reliability database, and the plurality of reliability values are each associated with a different value of discrimination information (the term "discrimination key" may also be used instead of the term "discrimination information" and has the same meaning).

[0026] In certain implementations, the value of the discrimination information is determined by an access network based on at least one message received from the terminal, and the geographical location method includes obtaining a reliability value for at least one of the received identifiers, and the reliability value is considered for estimating the geographical location of the terminal based on the value of the discrimination information.

[0027] In a particular implementation, the discrimination information enables the identification of a geolocation server, and the geolocation method includes selecting a geolocation server to be used to estimate the geolocation of the terminal, depending on at least one of various confidence values ​​of the received identifier.

[0028] In a specific implementation, any identifier is associated with multiple confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database, each of which is associated with a different value of discrimination information, and the geographic location method is: - The access network determines the value of the discrimination information based on the at least one message received from the terminal, - In the identifier confidence database, determine a plurality of confidence values ​​associated with the discrimination information value, -Calculate a collective confidence value based on the confidence value determined for each of the multiple geolocation servers, - Select a geolocation server to be used to estimate the terminal's geographic location based on the calculated aggregate values. Includes.

[0029] In certain implementations, the first wireless communication protocol is a wireless wide-area network or wireless low-power wide-area network communication protocol, and the second wireless communication protocol is a wireless local area network communication protocol, a wireless personal area network communication protocol, or a short-range communication protocol.

[0030] According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for updating an identifier confidence database defined in any one of the prior implementations. The method is: -The terminal detects the identifier of at least one transmitting device based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol. - Depending on the terminal, a message containing the identifier is transmitted to the access network in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol, - Based on the identifier, the geographic location server (50) is used to estimate the geographic location of the terminal, - Determining the approximate geographical location of a terminal without using a geolocation server, - To verify the consistency between the approximate geographic location of the terminal and the geographic location of the terminal estimated using the geolocation server (50), - The identifier confidence database for the identifier will be updated according to the results of the consistency check. Includes.

[0031] In certain implementations, the present invention may further include one or more of the following features, taken individually or in any technically possible combination:

[0032] In certain implementations, consistency checks include calculating the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database.

[0033] In certain implementations, the update includes calculating a new confidence value based on the distance between the terminal's approximate geographic location and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database.

[0034] In certain implementations, the new confidence value is further calculated based on the confidence value previously assigned to the identifier in the identifier confidence database.

[0035] In a particular implementation, the identifier confidence database includes the last update date of the confidence value for the identifier, and a new confidence value is further calculated based on the current date and the last update date of the confidence value for the identifier.

[0036] In certain implementations, the update method further includes determining the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device holding the identifier without using a geolocation server, and associating the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device with the identifier in the identifier confidence database.

[0037] According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to a server for an access network of a wireless communication system. The system includes at least one terminal, which is adapted to exchange messages with the access network in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol and to receive messages transmitted by a transmitting device in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol. The server, -Receive at least one message from the terminal that includes at least one identifier of a transmitting device detected by the terminal, - The access network determines the geographic location of the terminal by sending a request containing at least one of the received identifiers to a geolocation server. The system is configured such that the geolocation server stores a geolocation database containing a list of identifiers for transmitting devices and the geographic location of each of the transmitting devices, and the request is defined using a database known as the “identifier confidence database,” which allows any identifier to be associated with at least one value representing the confidence level of that identifier with respect to the geolocation server, and the identifier confidence database is stored by one or more servers separate from the geolocation server.

[0038] The server is configured to implement any one of the above implementations of the geolocation method and / or any one of the above implementations of the identifier confidence database update method. In particular, the server may further include one or more of the following features, either alone or in any possible technical combination:

[0039] In a particular embodiment, the server is - For at least one of the received identifiers, determine a confidence value using the identifier confidence database. - If at least one of the received identifiers has a satisfactory confidence value, the geolocation server estimates the geographic location of the terminal based on the identifier. It is configured in this way.

[0040] In certain implementations, the server is further configured to estimate the approximate geographic location of the terminal without using a geolocation server if none of the received identifiers have a satisfactory confidence value.

[0041] In certain embodiments, the server is further configured to estimate the approximate geographic location of a terminal for at least one of the received identifiers, based on the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device holding the identifier, the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device being determined in advance by the server without using a geolocation server and stored in an identifier confidence database.

[0042] In a particular embodiment, at least one of the received identifiers is associated with a plurality of confidence values ​​in an identifier confidence database, each of which is associated with a different value of discrimination information, enabling the identification of a geolocation server, and the server is further configured to select a geolocation server to be used to estimate the geolocation of a terminal according to the various confidence values ​​associated with the identifier.

[0043] In a particular embodiment, an arbitrary identifier can be associated with multiple confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database, each of which confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information, and the server, - Based on the at least one message received from the terminal, determine the value of the discrimination information. - In the identifier confidence database, determine a number of confidence values ​​associated with the discrimination information value, - For each of the multiple geolocation servers, calculate the collective confidence value based on the determined confidence value, - Select the geolocation server to use to estimate the device's geographic location based on the calculated aggregate values. It is configured in this way.

[0044] In a particular embodiment, the server is - Determine the approximate geographical location of the terminal without using a geolocation server. - Verify the consistency between the approximate geographic location of the terminal and the geographic location of the terminal estimated using a geolocation server. - Depending on the results of the consistency check, update the identifier confidence database for at least one of the received identifiers. It is further configured in this way.

[0045] In certain embodiments, the server is further configured to calculate a new confidence value for at least one of the received identifiers, based on the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal and the geographic location associated with the identifier within the geolocation server.

[0046] According to a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to an access network including an access network server according to any one of the prior embodiments.

[0047] In certain embodiments, the access network is a wireless wide-area network or a wireless low-power wide-area network.

[0048] The present invention is presented as a non-limiting example and will be better understood by reading the following description with reference to Figures 1 to 6. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0049] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an example of an embodiment of a wireless communication system used for geolocation of a terminal using a geolocation server. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of an example of a terminal embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of the main steps of the geographic location determination method according to the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram outlining the main steps of a specific implementation of a geographic location method. [Figure 5] This is a diagram illustrating an example of an implementation of a geographic location determination method. [Figure 6] This is a diagram illustrating an example of a possible structure for an identifier confidence database. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram outlining the main steps in updating the identifier confidence database. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram outlining the main steps of a specific implementation of a geographic location method. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram outlining the main steps of a specific implementation of a geographic location method. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0050] In these drawings, the same reference numerals between drawings refer to the same or similar elements. For clarity, the elements shown are not necessarily drawn to the same scale unless otherwise noted.

[0051] Figure 1 schematically represents a wireless communication system 10, which includes at least one terminal 20 and an access network 30 including a plurality of base stations 31.

[0052] Terminal 20 is adapted to send messages to the access network 30 over the uplink. Each base station 31 is adapted to receive messages from terminal 20 if the terminal is within its range. As before, messages sent by terminal 20 include the identifier of terminal 20. Each message received by a base station is sent, for example, to a server 32 on the access network 30, and the message may include other information such as the identifier of the base station 31 that received the message, the received power level of the received message, the time of arrival of the message, and the frequency on which the message was received. The server 32 processes all messages received from various base stations 31, for example.

[0053] The wireless communication system 10 is designed to allow only one-way message exchange, i.e., message exchange toward the access network 30 on the uplink of the terminal 20. However, other examples do not rule out the possibility of two-way exchange. If necessary, the access network 30 can also be adapted by the base station 31 to send messages downlink to terminals 20 adapted to receive messages.

[0054] Message exchange to the access network 30 over the uplink uses a first wireless communication protocol.

[0055] In certain embodiments, the first wireless communication protocol is a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) communication protocol. For example, the first wireless communication protocol is a standardized communication protocol such as Universal Mobile Communications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced Pro, or 5G.

[0056] Alternatively, the first wireless communication protocol is the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) communication protocol. Such wireless communication systems are long-range access networks (over 1 kilometer, or even tens of kilometers), have low power consumption (for example, power consumption during message transmission is less than 100mW, or even less than 50mW, or even less than 25mW), and transmission / reception speeds are generally below 1Mbps. Examples of LPWAN networks include Sigfox, LoRaWAN, Ingenu, Amazon Sidewalk, and Helium. Such wireless communication systems are particularly suitable for IoT or M2M type applications.

[0057] In IoT or M2M type communication systems, data exchange is primarily unidirectional, and in this example, it is over the uplink of terminal 20 to the access network 30 of wireless communication system 10. To minimize the risk of message loss transmitted by terminal 20, the access network is generated such that a given geographical area is simultaneously covered by multiple base stations 31, and messages transmitted by transmitting device 20 can be received by multiple base stations 31.

[0058] For the remainder of this specification, as a non-limiting example, the first wireless communication protocol is considered to be an ultra-narrowband wireless low-power wide-area network communication protocol. The term "ultra-narrowband (UNB)" should be understood herein to mean that the instantaneous frequency spectrum of the radioelectric signal transmitted by the terminal has a frequency bandwidth of less than 2 kilohertz or even less than 1 kilohertz.

[0059] As shown in Figure 1, terminal 20 is also adapted to receive messages transmitted by at least one transmitting device 40 located in the vicinity of terminal 20. The messages transmitted by transmitting device 40 use a second wireless communication protocol different from the first wireless communication protocol. Note that transmitting device 40 can be completely independent of the wireless communication system 10 and does not need to support the first wireless communication protocol.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the second wireless communication protocol has a shorter range than the first wireless communication protocol. In such cases, the geographical location of the transmitting device 40 provides more accurate information about the geographical location of the terminal 20 than, for example, the geographical location of the base station 31 that receives messages transmitted by the terminal 20, within the range in which the terminal 20 is located.

[0061] However, it should be noted that, as other examples show, a second wireless communication protocol may have a range that is not shorter than the range of the first wireless communication protocol.

[0062] The second wireless communication protocol is, for example, a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication protocol such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 standard), or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communication protocol such as Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). In another example, the second wireless communication protocol may be, for example, a short-range communication protocol based on short-range communication (NFC) technology or radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

[0063] The geolocation server 50 includes a database known as a "geographic location database" which contains a table that stores identifiers of the transmitting devices 40. Each identifier of the transmitting device 40 is associated in the table with at least one location piece representing the geographic location of the transmitting device 40.

[0064] The identifier of the transmitting device 40 corresponds, for example, to the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the transmitting device 40. However, other parameters may act as identifiers for the transmitting device 40, such as the Service Set Identifier (SSID) or Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) of a WiFi access point, an identifier for a Bluetooth or BLE access point, an identifier for an RFID tag, etc.

[0065] The location information may directly be the coordinates (longitude, latitude, and possibly altitude) of the geographical location of the transmitting device 40. However, the location information may also be background information that enables the estimation of the geographical location of the transmitting device 40, such as a postal address, store name, district, region, or country name.

[0066] The geolocation server 50 is connected to the server 32 of the access network 30, for example, via an internet connection.

[0067] As shown in Figure 1, multiple geolocation servers 50 may be available. These various geolocation servers may be operated, for example, by various geolocation service providers.

[0068] Figure 2 schematically shows an example of an embodiment of terminal 20.

[0069] As shown in Figure 2, terminal 20 includes a first communication module 21, which is adapted to exchange messages with base station 31 according to a first wireless communication protocol. The first communication module 21 is in the form of a radio electrical circuit, including, for example, equipment (antenna, amplifier, local oscillator, mixer, analog filter, etc.).

[0070] Terminal 20 also includes a second communication module 22, which is adapted to receive messages transmitted by the target transmitting device 40 in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol. The second communication module 22 is in the form of an electro-radio circuit, including, for example, equipment (antenna, amplifier, local oscillator, mixer, analog filter, etc.).

[0071] Furthermore, the terminal 20 includes a processing circuit 23 connected to a first communication module 21 and a second communication module 22. The processing circuit 23 includes, for example, one or more processors and storage means (magnetic hard drive, electronic memory, optical disc, etc.), the storage means which stores computer program products in the form of program code instruction sets, the program code instruction sets to be executed to carry out steps of the method for geographically locating the terminal (see below).

[0072] The server 32 of the access network 30 also includes one or more processors and storage means, the storage means storing computer program products in the form of program code instruction sets, the program code instruction sets to be executed to perform all or part of the steps of a method for geographically locating terminals and / or updating an identifier reliability database (see below).

[0073] Figure 3 schematically shows the main steps of the geographic location determination method 100 for terminal 20 according to the present invention.

[0074] Method 100 includes step 101, for at least one transmitting device 40, the terminal 20 detects an identifier of the transmitting device 40 based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device 40 in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol.

[0075] Method 100 then includes step 102, in which terminal 20 transmits at least one message containing the identifier(s) detected in step 101 to access network 30 in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol. Note that the detected identifier(s) may be transmitted in a single message or in multiple messages (in which case each message may contain a portion of the identifier(s). The same message may potentially contain multiple identifier(s).

[0076] Method 100 then includes step 106 of determining the geographic location of terminal 20 using a database known as the “Identifier Trust Database” and a geolocation server 50 based on at least one of the identifiers received by the access network 30. This determination step 106 includes, in particular, sending a request to the geolocation server 50 that includes at least one of the identifiers received.

[0077] The identifier confidence database enables the association of confidence values ​​with identifiers. The confidence value represents the level of trust that can be given to an identifier in order to use that identifier in conjunction with a geolocation server to determine the precise geographical location of a device.

[0078] Note that the identifier confidence database can be configured to provide information about the confidence level of an identifier for a single geolocation server or for multiple different geolocation servers. If there are multiple different geolocation servers, each confidence value is further associated with a specific geolocation server.

[0079] The identifier confidence database can filter identifiers to be considered when estimating the terminal's geolocation using the geolocation server 50, based on the confidence value of the received identifier. For example, a low confidence value is assigned in the confidence database to identifiers whose associated geolocation in the geolocation database is considered incorrect, and identifiers with too low a confidence value are not considered when estimating the terminal's geolocation.

[0080] When considering multiple different geolocation servers as an alternative or addition, the confidence value may allow the selection of the geolocation server that appears most reliable for determining the device's geolocation from among the multiple geolocation servers.

[0081] Figure 4 shows, as an example, a specific implementation of the geolocation method 100 described above with reference to Figure 3. The specific implementation described in Figure 4 enables filtering of identifiers to be considered when estimating the geolocation of a terminal using the geolocation server 50.

[0082] As shown in Figure 4, in this particular implementation, method 100 repeats steps 101 and 102 described above with reference to Figure 3.

[0083] Method 100 then includes step 103 of determining a confidence value for each received identifier. The confidence value represents the trust given to the identifier by the geolocation server 50 to determine the geographic location of the terminal 20. For each identifier, the confidence value is determined using a database known as the “Identifier Confidence Database”. The Identifier Confidence Database is stored by one or more servers different from the geolocation server 50. In particular, the Identifier Confidence Database may be stored by a server 32 of the access network 30. However, the Identifier Confidence Database can also be shared among multiple servers belonging to the access network 30. In another variant, the Identifier Confidence Database is stored by one or more third-party servers connected to the access network 30, but may be managed by an operator different from the operator managing the access network 30.

[0084] The identifier confidence database allows for the association of confidence values ​​with identifiers. Confidence values ​​correspond to values ​​(scores) between zero and one, for example. The closer an identifier's confidence value is to 1, the more reliable the geographic location of the transmitting device associated with that identifier in the geographic location database is considered to be. Conversely, the closer an identifier's confidence value is to zero, the more likely the geographic location of the transmitting device associated with that identifier in the geographic location database is to be inaccurate.

[0085] However, this does not prevent defining confidence values ​​as percentages (between zero and 100). Nor does it prevent assigning low confidence values ​​to reliable identifiers (instead of assigning high confidence values ​​to reliable identifiers).

[0086] In another example, the identifier confidence database corresponds to a list of identifiers that are considered sufficiently trustworthy. If an identifier is not in the identifier confidence database, it may be assigned a confidence value equal to zero. If an identifier is in the identifier confidence database, it may be assigned a confidence value equal to 1.

[0087] In another example, the identifier confidence database corresponds to a list of identifiers that are not considered sufficiently trustworthy. If an identifier is not in the identifier confidence database, it may be assigned a confidence value equal to 1. If an identifier is in the identifier confidence database, it may be assigned a confidence value equal to zero.

[0088] Therefore, there are numerous different ways to assign a certain confidence value to a certain identifier and store this information in an identifier confidence database. However, the selection of one particular method from among the others represents only one variation of the present invention.

[0089] If at least one of the received identifiers has a satisfactory confidence value (i.e., for example, the confidence value is higher than a predetermined threshold), method 100 includes step 104 of using the geolocation server 50 to estimate the geographic location of terminal 20 according to the confidence value thus determined.

[0090] In a particular implementation, the confidence value from each received identifier is compared to a threshold to determine whether the identifier should be used to estimate the geographic location 104 of terminal 20 using a geolocation server.

[0091] In a specific implementation, a maximum predetermined number of identifiers with the highest confidence value are used to estimate the geographic location 104 of the terminal 20 using the geolocation server 50.

[0092] Such a provision allows for filtering of identifiers to be considered when estimating the geographic location of a terminal using a geolocation database, based on the confidence value of the identifier (i.e., it allows for filtering of identifiers to be included in requests sent to the geolocation server 50). For example, in a trusted database, if an identifier is assigned a low confidence value because its associated geographic location in the geolocation database is considered incorrect, it becomes possible to prioritize identifiers with a high confidence value.

[0093] In the example considered, steps 103 and 104 are performed by the server 32 of the access network 30. However, it should be noted that in one variant, these steps may be performed by a third-party server, for example, a third-party server hosting the identifier confidence database. However, this is the case when the server(s) storing the identifier confidence database are different from the geolocation server 50. This allows the operator of the identifier confidence database to maintain the database independently of the operator of the geolocation server 50. Furthermore, these servers may contain information that the geolocation server 50 does not know (for example, personal information that only the access network 30 knows and should not be transmitted to the geolocation server 50).

[0094] In the first example, server 32 of access network 30 sends identifiers (or more) that it considers to be sufficiently reliable to geolocation server 50, and geolocation server 50 estimates the location of terminal 20 based on geographic locations associated with various identifiers in the geolocation database. In the second example, geolocation server 50 only returns the geographic locations associated with each identifier in the geolocation database, and it is server 32 that estimates the location of terminal 20 based on the geographic locations associated with various identifiers.

[0095] In the example shown and considered in Figure 4, method 100 includes a step 105 to estimate the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 without using the geolocation server 50 if none of the received identifiers have a satisfactory confidence value. This step is performed, for example, by a server 32 on the access network 30. However, it should be noted that in one variant, this step may also be performed by a third-party server, for example, a third-party server hosting an identifier confidence database. It should also be noted that this step is optional (if none of the received identifiers have a satisfactory confidence value, it may be considered that the location of terminal 20 cannot be reliably determined).

[0096] The approximate geographical location of terminal 20 corresponds to the coordinates (longitude, latitude, and possibly altitude) of the estimated location of terminal 20, and may indicate the accuracy of this estimated location. However, the approximate geographical location may also be background information that enables the estimation of terminal 20's location, such as a postal address, store name, district, region, or country name. This background information can be directly determined, in particular, based on one or more parameters contained in a message transmitted by terminal 20 and / or based on information available within the access network associated with terminal 20 that sent the message and obtained from the message. For example, if access network 30 has knowledge that terminal 20 belongs to a customer company that operates only in a certain region or country, it can determine which region or country terminal 20 is located in based on terminal 20's identifier.

[0097] The access network 30 is configured to estimate the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 in response to a message received from terminal 20. In a particular implementation, the approximate geographic location is estimated based on the received message, which includes the identifier of the transmitting device 40. However, other examples do not exclude the estimation of the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 based on other messages previously transmitted by terminal 20.

[0098] Various methods can be used to estimate the approximate geographical location of terminal 20. For example, the access network 30 can estimate the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 as the geographical location of the base station 31 that received the message transmitted by terminal 20. If multiple base stations 31 can receive the message transmitted by terminal 20, it is possible to estimate the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 based on the geographical locations of all the base stations 31 that received the message transmitted by terminal 20 (for example, by defining the centroid of these geographical locations).

[0099] In another example, the access network 30 may estimate the distance from one or more base stations 31 to terminal 20 by calculating the propagation time of the message transmitted by terminal 20 to base stations 31 based on time-of-arrival (TOA) or time-of-arrival difference (TDOA) measurements of the message to various base stations 31. In this case, if the geographical location of base station 31 is known, it is then possible to estimate the location of terminal 20 by multilateration.

[0100] In another example, for a message sent by terminal 20 to the access network 30, the location of terminal 20 can be estimated by multilatency by determining the distance from multiple base stations 31 to terminal 20 based on RSSI measurements for each base station 31.

[0101] In another example, a method for estimating the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 by access network 30 may be based on machine learning techniques that associate radio fingerprints with geographic locations in a geographic area under consideration. Such a method is based on the assumption that the power level received by base station 31 for messages transmitted by terminal 20 located at a given geographic location is stable over time. In practice, this involves building a database during a first calibration phase that associates known geographic locations with “radio signatures,” where “radio signatures” correspond to all RSSI measurements obtained for terminal 20 at geographic locations under consideration by the set of base stations 31. Then, during a search phase, observed radio signatures for terminal 20 whose approximate geographic location is to be estimated are compared with all radio signatures in the database, and the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 is estimated based on the geographic location(s) corresponding to the radio signature(s) most similar to terminal 20's radio signature(s).

[0102] In certain implementations, the estimation of the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 is performed by the access network 30 without any explicit information contributing to this estimation being sent to the access network in a message by the terminal (in other words, the terminal does not send to the access network a message containing information that enables the estimation of the terminal's geographical location in binary data). Such a provision allows for limiting the amount of data exchanged between the terminal and the access network that identifies the geographical location of terminal 20.

[0103] In certain implementations, an approximate geographical location can be assigned to the transmitting device 40 within the identifier confidence database. This approximate geographical location of the transmitting device 40 can be determined in advance without using the geolocation server 50. This approximate geographical location of the transmitting device 40 may correspond, for example, to the approximate geographical location of a terminal 20 that previously sent a message containing the identifier of the transmitting device 40, as estimated by the access network 30. The approximate geographical location can also be estimated by the access network 30 based on the estimated locations of multiple terminals 20 that previously sent messages containing the identifier of the transmitting device 40. Therefore, it is possible to establish temporal smoothing (central, weighted average, exponential smoothing, etc.) of the estimated location of the terminal that detected and transmitted this identifier.

[0104] Please note that, due to legal issues, it is not possible to store the location of the transmitting device 40 provided by the geolocation database within the identifier confidence database. However, if the location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database is unreliable, it is advantageous to store the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device 40 in the identifier confidence database and then help determine the geographic location of the terminal 20 that detects this identifier.

[0105] Therefore, in a particular implementation, the identifier confidence database includes, for at least one of the received identifiers, the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device 40 that holds the identifier (the approximate geographic location is determined in advance without using the geolocation server 50), and the approximate geographic location of the terminal 20 is estimated in step 105 according to the approximate geographic location associated with the identifier.

[0106] Figure 5 shows an example of an implementation of the geographic location determination method 100 according to the present invention.

[0107] In this example, terminal 20 is assumed to detect three transmitting devices 40, each associated with identifiers ID1, ID2, and ID3 (in step 101). Each identifier is detected on a beacon signal transmitted by each transmitting device 40 according to a second wireless communication protocol.

[0108] Next, terminal 20 transmits a message containing the identifiers ID1, ID2, and ID3 detected (in step 102). This message is transmitted to access network 30 according to the first wireless communication protocol.

[0109] In the example considered and shown in Figure 5, the server 32 of the access network 30 determines a confidence value in the identifier confidence database 33 for each identifier received (in step 103). In the example considered, the identifier confidence database 33 is stored by the server 32. This identifier confidence database 33 associates scores (Score1, Score2, Score3, etc.) with each identifier (ID1, ID2, ID3, etc.).

[0110] A geolocation server 50, distinct from server 32, stores a geolocation database 51 that associates identifiers (ID1, ID2, ID3, etc.) with the geographic locations associated with each identifier (pos1, pos2, pos3, etc.).

[0111] In the example considered, the identifier confidence database score corresponds to a value between zero and one, and the higher the score value associated with an identifier, the more reliable the confidence of the geographic location associated with the identifier is considered to be within the geographic location database 51.

[0112] For example, consider that the score Score2 associated with identifier ID2 has a low value, e.g., 0.2. This means that location pos2 associated with identifier ID2 in the geolocation database 51 is considered incorrect. Also, for example, consider that scores Score1 and Score3 are equal to 0.8 and 0.9, respectively. This means that locations pos1 and pos3 associated with identifiers ID1 and ID3, respectively, in the geolocation database 51 are considered accurate.

[0113] As a non-restrictive example, consider that only identifiers with a confidence score of 0.7 or higher must be used to geolocate terminal 20 using the geolocation database 51. Therefore, server 32 sends a request to the geolocation database 50 containing only identifiers ID1 and ID3 to estimate the location of terminal 20.

[0114] Next, the geographic location (pos) of terminal 20 is estimated (in step 104) using the geolocation server 50 based on selected identifiers ID1 and ID3, according to the confidence value. In the example shown in Figure 5, the location pos is determined by the geolocation server 50. In one variant, the geolocation server 50 can return locations pos1 and pos3, associated with identifiers ID1 and ID3, respectively, and then the server 32 can determine the geographic location of terminal 20 based on locations pos1 and pos3 (for example, by calculating the centroids of locations pos1 and pos3).

[0115] The location of terminal 20 estimated based on the positions pos1 and pos3 of identifiers ID1 and ID3 is more reliable and accurate than the location determined by also considering the position pos2 of identifier ID2 (since this position pos2 is inaccurate).

[0116] The structure of the identifier confidence database 33 shown in Figure 5 is quite basic, as it only associates confidence values ​​with identifiers. However, it is possible to associate each identifier stored in the identifier confidence database 33 with other information.

[0117] In particular, as already mentioned above, it is possible to associate each identifier with the approximate geographical location of the transmitting device 40 that holds the identifier, and the approximate geographical location is determined in advance without using the geolocation server 50.

[0118] Other information may be associated with the identifier within the identifier confidence database 33.

[0119] In a specific implementation, an identifier can be associated with multiple confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database 33, and each of these multiple confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information.

[0120] In this case, the geolocation method 100 may further include the steps of determining a value of discrimination information for terminal 20 based on a received message, and obtaining a confidence value for at least one of the received identifiers to be considered in the estimation of the geolocation of terminal 20 104. This involves, for example, selecting a confidence value from a variety of confidence values ​​available for the identifier (this selection is performed depending on the determined value of discrimination information). In another example, the confidence value to be considered for the identifier can be obtained through a calculation based on a plurality of confidence values.

[0121] This discrimination information may correspond to information representing the group of terminals to which terminal 20 belongs (for example, the name of the customer company to which terminal 20 belongs, the type of equipment corresponding to terminal 20, etc.).

[0122] The discrimination information may also correspond to the geographical region where the terminal 20 is located. It is possible that two transmitting devices 40 sharing the same identifier are located at two geographical locations that are considerably far apart from each other, and only one of the two geographical locations is associated with the identifier in the geographic location database 51. In this case, the identifier confidence database 33 may associate a high confidence value with the identifier for terminal 20 located in a geographical region that also includes transmitting devices whose locations are stored in the geographic location database 51. On the other hand, the identifier confidence database 33 may associate a low confidence value with the identifier for terminal 20 located in a geographical region that also includes transmitting devices whose locations are not stored in the geographic location database 51. In this case, the use of the discrimination information may make it possible to determine whether the identifier in question should be used in estimating the geographical location 104 of terminal 20.

[0123] The discrimination information may also correspond to information representing at least one other identifier of the transmitting device 40 detected by terminal 20. In fact, transmitting devices 40 that are geographically close to each other are generally detected simultaneously by terminal 20. This information can enable the selection of confidence values ​​to consider for a given identifier. For example, if two transmitting devices share the same identifier, but only one of these two transmitting devices has already been detected simultaneously along with another transmitting device indicated in a message sent by terminal 20, the confidence database 33 may assign a first confidence value to the identifier if the other identifier is also detected, and a second confidence value to the identifier if the other identifier is not detected.

[0124] In certain implementations, the discriminant information enables the identification of the geolocation server 50 (e.g., via the server's internet address, domain name, the name of the operator managing the server, etc.). In this case, the geolocation method 100 may include the step of selecting a geolocation server 50 (from a variety of available geolocation servers) to be used for estimating the geolocation of the terminal 20 104. This selection is performed according to various confidence values ​​associated with at least one of the received identifiers. This selection makes it possible to define the recipient of the request sent to the geolocation server for estimating the terminal's location.

[0125] In fact, it is possible that the geographic location of a transmitting device stored in the first geolocation server is inaccurate, while the geographic location of the transmitting device stored in the second geolocation server is accurate. In this case, the identifier confidence database 33 may associate a low confidence value with the identifier for the first geolocation database 51 and a high confidence value with the identifier for the second geolocation database 51. In this case, the discrimination information may make it possible to know which of the two geolocation databases should be used preferentially in estimating the geographic location 104 of the terminal 20.

[0126] Numerous other examples of discrimination information can be assumed and determined based on information explicitly contained in the message received from terminal 20, or based on message metadata known to the access network 30. The selection of one particular item of discrimination information is merely one variation of the present invention.

[0127] Discrimination information can also handle combinations of multiple pieces of information with various properties.

[0128] Various configurations can be envisioned for storing data within the identifier confidence database 33. The selection of a specific structure for the identifier confidence database 33 is merely one variation of the present invention.

[0129] Figure 5 shows a first example in which the identifier confidence database 33 simply stores the score assigned to each identifier.

[0130] Figure 6 shows another possible structure of the identifier confidence database 33 as a non-restrictive example.

[0131] In the example considered and shown in Figure 6, each column contains an identifier ID (or possibly a tuple of identifiers) of the transmitting device 40 that has already been given as information in at least one previously received message that has come from the terminal 20 of the communication system 10. Multiple pieces of information related to the message are stored in association with the identifier (or tuple of identifiers). For example, pieces of information C1, C2, ...CK correspond to features related to the terminal 20 determined by the access network 30 based on the received message. This relates in particular to explicit data contained in the message or metadata associated with the message or the terminal 20 that sent the message (e.g., the terminal identifier, the name of the customer company to which the terminal belongs, a specific type of terminal, a specific service associated with the terminal, information about the geographical location of the terminal as determined by the access network, etc.). Some pieces of information C1, C2, ...CK may also enable the identification of a specific geolocation server (if multiple geolocation servers 50 are available, a reliable value may be associated with a specific geolocation server), or the characterization of the geolocation server 50 (e.g., the type or cost of the proposed service). For each identifier ID, the identifier confidence database 33 also stores a confidence value (score) associated with the identifier. If multiple transmitting devices are detected by the terminal 20 and provided as information in a message sent to the access network 30, the column may contain multiple identifiers and their associated scores. The method for calculating the scores will be described in detail later.

[0132] When a message arrives from terminal 20, which requires geographical location estimation, discrimination information can be determined based on the message. The discrimination information may correspond to specific characteristics determined for the received message, or a combination of specific characteristics determined for the received message.

[0133] For example, if an identifier ID (ID=A) with value A is included in a message, and the access network 30 can determine that terminal 20 belongs to customer company B (C1=B) and is located in country C (C2=C), then it is possible to request the identifier confidence database 33 to obtain various scores for the conditions (ID=A), (C1=B), and (C2=C), and to determine the confidence value of identifier A based on the obtained scores.

[0134] In another example, a feature (e.g., C3) may correspond to the coordinates of the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 determined by the access network 30 (C3=D). In this case, it is possible to request various scores from the identifier confidence database 33, where these scores are such that, on the one hand, the condition (ID=A) is satisfactory, and on the other hand, the location indicated for feature C3 belongs to a geographical location with a specific diameter centered on C.

[0135] Therefore, in step 103, it is possible to develop various strategies for determining the confidence value for the identifier of the transmitting device 40 detected by the terminal 20. However, the selection of one particular strategy constitutes only one variant of the present invention.

[0136] Now, please consider how to construct and keep up-to-date the identifier confidence database 33.

[0137] Figure 7 schematically shows the main steps of an example implementation of method 200 for updating the identifier confidence database 33 (or generating it if it does not yet exist).

[0138] The update method 200 includes a step 201 in which a terminal 20 of the wireless communication system 10 detects the identifier of at least one transmitting device 40. The identifier of the transmitting device 40 is detected based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device 40 in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol. Note that this may relate to the same terminal 20, or to terminals 20 other than those described above in the description of the geographic location method 100. Furthermore, this may relate to the same transmitting device 40, or to transmitting devices 40 other than those described above in the description of the geographic location method 100. This step 201 is the same as step 101 described above with reference to Figure 3.

[0139] The update method 200 then includes step 202, in which terminal 20 transmits a message containing the identifier to the access network 30. This message is transmitted by terminal 20 in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol. Step 202 is similar to step 102 described above with reference to Figure 3.

[0140] The update method 200 includes a step 203 in which the approximate geographic location of the terminal 20 is determined without using the geolocation server 50. This step is the same as step 105 described above with reference to Figure 4. The various methods for determining the approximate geographic location of the terminal 20 proposed above in the description of step 105 are also valid in this step 203.

[0141] The update method 200 includes a step 204 in which the geographic location server 50 is used to estimate the geographic location of the terminal 20 based on the received identifier. In this step, the confidence value associated with the identifier in the identifier confidence database 33 is not necessarily taken into consideration.

[0142] Next, the update method 200 includes step 205, which verifies the consistency between the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 (determined in step 203) and the geographic location of terminal 20 estimated using the geolocation server 50 (in step 204).

[0143] Finally, the update method 200 includes a step 206 to update the identifier confidence database 33 for the identifier in accordance with the result of the consistency check 205.

[0144] In the example considered, steps 203, 204, 205, and 206 are performed by the server 32 of the access network 30. However, it should be noted that in one variant, all or part of these steps may be performed by a third-party server hosting the identifier confidence database (however, this still applies to cases where the server(s) storing the identifier confidence database are different from the geolocation server 50).

[0145] The consistency verification step 205 may include calculating the distance between the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 (determined in step 203) and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database 51 (this location generally corresponds to the location of terminal 20 estimated in step 204, especially when considering only one identifier).

[0146] For example, if P1 is the approximate geographic location of terminal 20, R1 is a value representing the estimation accuracy level of this geographic location P1 (the radius around P1 where the terminal is assumed to exist with a certain level of probability, e.g., 90%), P2 is a geographic location associated with an identifier in the geolocation database 51, R2 is a value representing the accuracy level of this geographic location P2, and dist(P1,P2) is the distance between P1 and P2, then the following formula: dist(P1,P2)≦f(R1,R2) Equation 1 Depending on the circumstances, the result of consistency check 205 can be determined.

[0147] If this formula is incorrect, there is an inconsistency between the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 (determined in step 203) and the geographical location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database 51. On the other hand, if this formula is correct, the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 determined in step 203 is consistent with the geographical location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database 51. Thus, as an unrestricted example, a function f can be defined (for example, the result of dist and the function f are values ​​in meters): f(R1,R2)=3×(R1+R2)+500 Equation 2

[0148] If the geographic location is background information (not coordinates), the background information representing the geographic location of terminal 20 determined in step 203 can be compared with background information associated with the identifier of transmitting device 40 in the geolocation database 51. This comparison can potentially be performed using a reverse geocoding application.

[0149] If multiple different identifiers of the transmitting device 40 detected by terminal 20 are received by the access network 30 within the same message (or multiple messages sent at similar moments), in step 204, the geographical location of terminal 20 can be estimated based on the received set of identifiers. For at least one of the received identifiers known as the “target identifier”, consistency check 205 is performed as follows: - A first step of confirming the consistency between the geographic location of terminal 20 estimated in step 204 using the geographic location server 50 and the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 determined in step 203, -If the first consistency check indicates an inconsistency, the second step is to check the consistency between the geographic location associated with the target identifier in the geographic location identification database 51 and the approximate geographic location of the terminal 20. It may include.

[0150] In other words, the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 is first compared with a tuple of geographic locations determined for a tuple of one or more identifiers. The tuple of one or more identifiers is constructed based on the received identifiers. In this case, the first consistency check is performed between the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 (determined in step 203 without using the geolocation server 50) and the geographic location(s) determined using the geolocation server 50, based on the tuple of identifiers. If an inconsistency is found, a second consistency check may be performed for each identifier in the tuple under consideration. Note that further information may be used to weight the various identifiers that make up the tuple. This further information may, for example, correspond to the power levels at which various messages containing identifiers arriving from various transmitting devices 40 being detected were received by terminal 20.

[0151] Such provisions could, in particular, allow for a reduction in the number of requests sent to the geolocation server 50 (first, one request containing multiple identifiers is sent to the geolocation server 50, and individual requests relating to a single identifier are sent only if an inconsistency is observed).

[0152] If an inconsistency is observed with respect to an identifier, this means that the identifier is unreliable, or at least not very reliable, and this information should be indicated in the identifier reliability database 33.

[0153] For this purpose, if the identifier confidence database 33 stores only identifiers that it deems trustworthy, the identifier should be deleted from the identifier confidence database 33.

[0154] In another example, if the identifier confidence database 33 stores only identifiers that are considered untrustworthy, then such identifiers should be added to the identifier confidence database 33.

[0155] In another example, if the identifier confidence database 33 associates each identifier stored in the identifier confidence database 33 with a confidence value between zero and one (a value closer to one indicates good confidence), the update step 206 may include calculating a new confidence value for this identifier. The new confidence value may be calculated, in particular, based on the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal 20 and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geolocation database 51.

[0156] For example, by using the scores used above for Equations 1 and 2, a new confidence value S can be obtained. N This can be calculated as follows (where α is the normalization coefficient):

[0157] JPEG0007887188000001.jpg15170

[0158] In a specific implementation, the new confidence value is the confidence value S that has been pre-assigned to the identifier in the identifier confidence database 33. P Further calculations are performed accordingly.

[0159] In certain implementations, the identifier confidence database 33 includes the last update date of the confidence value for each identifier. In this case, the new confidence value S N This is the current date T N , and the last update date T of the confidence value of the identifier. P It can be calculated accordingly (γ is the normalization coefficient): β = exp(-γ × |TN - TP|)

[0160] JPEG0007887188000002.jpg20170

[0161] As already shown above, it is also possible to update the approximate geographical location of the transmitting device 40 that holds the identifier in the identifier confidence database 33 (the approximate geographical location is determined without using the geolocation server 50).

[0162] Update method 200 is described above in a scenario where consistency check step 205 and update step 206 are performed in response to the receipt of a message sent by terminal 20. However, it should be noted that update method 200 is not necessarily performed for each message. The server performing update method 200 may be configured to collect multiple messages, in particular, before consistency check step 205 and update step 206. In fact, continuously updating a database can be complex and expensive, and it may be more advantageous to group the checks and / or modifications performed on the database.

[0163] In other words, consistency check step 205 and update step 206 (and possibly step 203, which determines the approximate geographic location of terminal 20 without using geolocation server 50, and / or step 204, which estimates the geographic location of terminal 20 using geolocation server 50) may be delayed until certain criteria are met. These criteria may, in particular, correspond to the expiration of a waiting period due to the reception of a certain number of messages containing the transmitting device identifier, or the reception of a certain number of transmitting device identifiers. However, other criteria may be conceivable for delaying, and therefore grouping, the implementation of these steps for multiple different identifiers of the transmitting device. In relation to consistency check step 205, update step 206 may also be delayed.

[0164] It should be noted that if multiple geolocation servers 50 are available, it is possible to query various geolocation servers 50 and update the identifier confidence database. In particular, it is possible to define multiple different confidence values ​​for the same identifier, and each confidence value is associated with a specific geolocation server 50 (each confidence value can be calculated based on the results of an integrity check 205 performed on the associated geolocation server 50). In another example, for a given identifier, it is possible to define that the confidence value is calculated based on the results of multiple integrity checks 205 performed by multiple geolocation servers 50 (for example, the confidence value may correspond to the average of multiple confidence values ​​calculated individually for each geolocation server 50).

[0165] In certain implementations, it is further possible to send a message to one or more terminals 20 of the wireless communication system 10 containing a list of identifiers selected according to the confidence value associated with the identifier in the identifier confidence database 33. For example, it is possible to provide terminals with a list of identifiers considered untrustworthy so that they do not unnecessarily transmit these identifiers in messages destined for the access network 30. In another example, it is possible to provide terminals with a list of identifiers considered trustworthy so that they do not transmit these identifiers in messages destined for the access network 30.

[0166] It should be noted that the method 200 for updating the identifier confidence database 33 is not generally performed for every message received from the terminal 20. However, the identifier confidence database must be updated periodically, because it may be possible to correct the incorrect geographic location of the transmitting device 40 in the geographic location database 51 at the end of a certain period of time. Therefore, if an identifier is deemed less trustworthy in the identifier confidence database 33, the method 200 for updating the confidence database 33 for that identifier should be performed periodically.

[0167] Any type of interface can be assumed between the server 32 of the access network 30 and the geolocation server 50, and between the server 32 and the server hosting the identifier confidence database (if the identifier confidence database is hosted by a server different from server 32). In particular, the use of files, program interfaces, reminder functions, etc., can be assumed.

[0168] Figure 8 shows, as an example, another specific implementation of the geolocation method 100 described above with reference to Figure 3. In this specific implementation, it is considered that multiple different geolocation servers 50 are available for geolocation of the terminal 20. In the identifier confidence database, an identifier is associated with multiple confidence values, each confidence value is associated with a specific geolocation server. Furthermore, each confidence value is associated with a specific value of discrimination information.

[0169] The specific implementation described in Figure 8 allows for the selection of the geolocation server 50 that appears most reliable for determining the geolocation of the terminal from among various available geolocation servers 50.

[0170] In this particular implementation, method 100 includes determining a value of discrimination information 107 based on a message received from terminal 20 by the access network 30 (the message includes at least a portion of the identifier of a transmitting device 40 detected by terminal 20).

[0171] For example, the discrimination information may correspond to the approximate geographical location of terminal 20 when it sends a message (the geographical area in which terminal 20 is estimated to be located when it sends a message). The approximate location of terminal 20 can be estimated by the access network 30 according to the various methods already described above. In another example, the discrimination information may correspond to the name of the customer company to which terminal 20 belongs, the type of equipment corresponding to terminal 20, etc.

[0172] Method 100 then includes determining a number of confidence values ​​associated with the discrimination information value in the identifier confidence database 33 108. Note that these confidence values ​​are not necessarily associated with identifiers corresponding to one (or more) identifiers detected by the terminal 20 and provided as information.

[0173] Method 100 then includes calculating a collective confidence value 109 for each of the available geolocation servers 50 based on the determined confidence value. The collective value can be calculated according to various methods (mean, median, quantile, etc.). The collective value can be calculated by considering a set of identifiers that satisfy the discriminant value, or by considering only a subset of identifiers that satisfy the discriminant value. In particular, it is possible to consider identifiers that satisfy the discriminant value for all geolocation servers under consideration.

[0174] Method 100 then includes selecting a geolocation server 50 to be used for estimating the geographic location 104 of terminal 20, depending on the calculated aggregate value (for example, the geolocation server 50 for which the highest aggregate value was calculated is selected).

[0175] Finally, the geographic location of terminal 20 is determined in step 106 using a selected geolocation server based on at least one of the received identifiers.

[0176] In this particular implementation, even if one or more identifiers detected by terminal 20 and transmitted to access network 30 do not exist in identifier confidence database 33, it becomes possible to select a geolocation server 50 that appears to be the most reliable for geolocating terminal 20.

[0177] It should be noted that other criteria may be considered in calculating the aggregate value. For example, the service costs associated with the geolocation server 50 can be considered in order to prioritize the least expensive geolocation server 50. Another example is the number of identifiers in the confidence database 33 that satisfy the discrimination value. Another example is the weighting of the confidence values ​​of identifiers in the calculation of the aggregate value according to the last update date of the confidence value (to give greater importance to recently updated confidence values). It is also possible to weight the aggregate value calculated for the geolocation server 50 according to the average last update date of the confidence values ​​of the identifiers used in the calculation of the aggregate value (to prioritize the geolocation server 50 that has the most recent information).

[0178] It should be noted that, with respect to given discrimination information, the aggregate value can be calculated directly when the location of terminal 20 is required (i.e., when the access network 30 receives one or more messages from terminal 20 containing one or more identifiers of the transmitting device 40), or it can be calculated at a different time according to specific criteria (e.g., the aggregate value can be updated periodically, or after receiving a certain number of messages, etc.). In particular, if the discrimination information is the geographical area where terminal 20 is located, this geographical area can be defined according to the estimated approximate location of terminal 20 when the access network 30 receives one or more messages from terminal 20. However, this geographical area can also be identified from multiple geographical areas corresponding to a predetermined division of the geographical space covered, depending on the estimated approximate location of terminal 20 (in this case, the aggregate value can be calculated in advance for each geographical area of ​​the predetermined division at a time unrelated to the reception of messages arriving from terminal 20).

[0179] Step 106, which determines the geographic location of terminal 20, can be carried out in various ways, particularly as described above with reference to Figure 4. In particular, as shown in Figure 9, after selecting a geolocation server 50, it is possible to select one or more identifiers from the identifiers received by terminal 20, depending on the confidence value of the identifiers for the selected geolocation server 50. The geographic location of terminal 20 can then be estimated in step 104 using the selected geolocation server 50 based on the selected identifiers.

[0180] The description provided above clearly demonstrates that the present invention achieves its objectives through various features and advantages. In particular, the present invention enables the reliable geolocation of terminals based on the identifiers of one or more adjacent transmitting devices. This reliable geolocation of terminals is achieved, in particular, by selecting the geolocation server 50 to be used and / or the identifiers to be used, thanks to the use of a database that provides information about the reliability of identifiers to the geolocation server 50.

Claims

1. A geolocation method (100) for determining the geographic location of a terminal (20) of a wireless communication system (10), wherein the terminal (20) is adapted to exchange messages with the access network (30) of the wireless communication system (10) in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol, and the geolocation method is - The terminal (20) detects the identifier of at least one transmitting device (40) based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device (40) in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol (101), - The terminal (20) transmits to the access network (30) (102) one message containing one or more detected identifiers in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol, - The access network (30) determines the geographic location of the terminal (20) by sending a request containing at least one of the identifiers received to the geolocation server (50) (106) A geolocation method (100) comprising: a geolocation server (50) storing a geolocation database (51) containing a list of identifiers for the transmitting devices and the geolocation of each of the transmitting devices (40); a request defined using a database known as an "identifier confidence database (33)" that allows associating any identifier with at least one value representing the confidence of the identifier with respect to the geolocation server (50); the identifier confidence database (33) is used for at least one of selecting the geolocation server (50) to which the request is to be sent, and selecting the identifiers to be included in the request; the identifier confidence database (33) is stored by one or more servers (32) different from the geolocation server (50); the one or more servers (32) storing the identifier confidence database (33) are maintained by a first operator; and the geolocation server (50) is maintained by a second operator different from the first operator.

2. The determination of the geographical location (106) of the terminal (20) is as follows: - The access network (30) uses the identifier confidence database (33) to determine the confidence value of at least one of the received identifiers (103), - If at least one of the received identifiers has a satisfactory confidence value, the geographic location of the terminal (20) is estimated using the geographic location server (50) based on the identifier (104) A method for determining a geographic location according to claim 1 (100), including the method described in claim 1.

3. The geolocation method (100) according to claim 2, wherein the confidence value of each identifier from the received identifiers is compared with a threshold to determine whether the identifiers must be used for estimating the geographic location (104) of the terminal (20) using the geolocation server (50).

4. If none of the received identifiers have a satisfactory confidence value, the geolocation method (100) according to claim 2 further includes estimating the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) without using the geolocation server (50) (105).

5. The geolocation method (100) according to claim 4, wherein the identifier confidence database (33) includes, for at least one of the received identifiers, the approximate geographic location of the transmitting device (40) holding the identifier, the approximate geographic location being determined in advance without using the geolocation server (50), and the estimation (105) of the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) is performed in accordance with the approximate geographic location associated with the identifier.

6. The geographic location identification method (100) according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the received identifiers is associated with a plurality of confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database (33), and each of the plurality of confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information.

7. The geolocation method (100) according to claim 6, wherein the value of the discrimination information is determined by the access network (30) based on the at least one message received from the terminal (20), and the geolocation method (100) includes obtaining a confidence value for at least one of the received identifiers based on the value of the discrimination information to be considered for estimating the geolocation of the terminal (20) (104).

8. The geolocation method (100) according to claim 6, wherein the discrimination information enables the identification of a geolocation server (50), and the geolocation method (100) includes selecting the geolocation server (50) to be used for estimating the geolocation of the terminal (20) (104) according to the plurality of confidence values ​​for at least one of the received identifiers.

9. An arbitrary identifier is associated with a plurality of confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database (33), each of which confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information, and the geographic location identification method (100) is, - The access network (30) determines the value of the discrimination information (107) based on the at least one message received from the terminal (20), - Determining a plurality of confidence values ​​associated with the value of the discrimination information in the identifier confidence database (33) (108), - For each of the multiple geolocation servers (50), calculate a collective confidence value (109) based on the confidence value determined, - Selecting (110) the geolocation server (50) to be used for estimating (104) the geolocation of the terminal (20) according to the calculated collective confidence value. A method for determining a geographic location according to claim 1 (100), including the method described in claim 1.

10. An update method (200) for updating an identifier confidence database (33) as defined in claim 1, wherein the update method (200) is: - The terminal (20) detects the identifier of at least one transmitting device (40) based on a message transmitted by the transmitting device (40) in accordance with the second wireless communication protocol (201), - The terminal (20) transmits a message including the identifier to the access network (30) in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol (202), - Estimating the geographic location of the terminal (20) using the geolocation server (50) based on the identifier (204), - Determining the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) without using the geographic location server (50) (203), - To perform consistency verification (205) between the approximate geographical location of the terminal (20) and the geographical location of the terminal (20) estimated using the geographic location identification server (50), - In accordance with the results of the consistency check (205), update the identifier confidence database (33) for the identifier (206) and Update method (200), including the above.

11. The update method (200) according to claim 10, wherein the consistency check (205) includes calculating the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geographic location identification database (51).

12. The update method (200) according to claim 10, wherein the update (206) includes calculating a new confidence value based on the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geographic location database (51).

13. The update method (200) according to claim 12, wherein the new confidence value is further calculated in accordance with the confidence value previously assigned to the identifier in the identifier confidence database (33).

14. The update method (200) according to claim 13, wherein the identifier confidence database (33) includes the last update date of the confidence value for the identifier, and the new confidence value is further calculated according to the current date and the last update date of the confidence value for the identifier.

15. A server (32) of an access network (30) of a wireless communication system (10), wherein the wireless communication system (10) includes at least one terminal (20), the at least one terminal (20) is adapted to exchange messages with the access network (30) in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol and to receive messages transmitted by a transmitting device (40) in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol, and the server (32) - The terminal (20) receives at least one message from the terminal (20) that includes at least one identifier of the transmitting device (40) detected by the terminal (20), - The geographic location of the terminal (20) is determined by sending a request containing at least one of the received identifiers to the geolocation server (50). Server (32) is configured such that the geolocation server (50) stores a geolocation database (51) containing a list of identifiers for transmitting devices and the geolocation of each of the transmitting devices (40), the request is defined using a database known as “Identifier Confidence Database (33)”, which allows associating any identifier with at least one value representing the confidence of the identifier with respect to the geolocation server (50), the Identifier Confidence Database (33) is used for at least one of selecting the geolocation server (50) to which the request is to be sent, and selecting the identifier to be included in the request, the Identifier Confidence Database (33) is stored by one or more servers (32) different from the geolocation server (50), the one or more servers (32) storing the Identifier Confidence Database (33) are maintained by a first operator, and the geolocation server (50) is maintained by a second operator different from the first operator.

16. - For at least one of the received identifiers, a confidence value is determined using the identifier confidence database (33), - If at least one of the received identifiers has a satisfactory confidence value, the geolocation server (50) estimates the geographic location of the terminal (20) based on the identifier. The server (32) according to claim 15, configured as follows.

17. The server (32) according to claim 15, wherein at least one of the received identifiers is associated with a plurality of confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database (33), each of which confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information, enabling the identification of a geolocation server (50), and the server (32) is further configured to select the geolocation server (50) to be used to estimate the geolocation of the terminal (20) according to the plurality of confidence values ​​associated with the identifier.

18. An arbitrary identifier is associated with a plurality of confidence values ​​in the identifier confidence database (33), each of which confidence values ​​is associated with a different value of discrimination information, and the server (32) - Based on the at least one message received from the terminal (20), the value of the discrimination information is determined. - In the identifier confidence database (33), a plurality of confidence values ​​associated with the value of the discrimination information are determined, - For each of the multiple geolocation servers (50), calculate a collective confidence value based on the determined confidence value, - Select the geolocation server (50) to be used for estimating the geographic location (104) of the terminal (20) according to the calculated collective confidence value. The server (32) according to claim 15, configured as follows.

19. The server (32) is - Determine the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) without using the geolocation server (50), - A consistency check is performed between the approximate geographical location of the terminal (20) and the geographical location of the terminal (20) estimated using the geographic location identification server (50). - Depending on the result of the consistency check, update the identifier confidence database (33) for at least one of the received identifiers. The server (32) according to claim 15, further configured as follows.

20. The server (32) according to claim 19, further configured to calculate a new confidence value for at least one of the received identifiers, based on the distance between the approximate geographic location of the terminal (20) and the geographic location associated with the identifier in the geographic location database (51).

21. An access network (30) including the server (32) described in claim 15.

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