Electronic shelf label (ESL) radio location estimation

Abstract

In some aspects, a method of positioning performed by a server includes transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO1ELECTRONIC SHELF LABEL (ESL) RADIO LOCATION ESTIMATIONBACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless technologies.2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) are used by retailers for displaying product pricing or other product information to consumers. ESLs typically use electronic paper (e-paper) or liquid crystal display (LCD) to display the current information. E-paper (also referred to as e- ink) is widely used for ESLs, as it provides a sharp display and supports full graphic imaging while only needing power during updates and no power to retain an image.

[0003] ESLs are increasingly being integrated with existing retail technologies, such as electronic article surveillance, digital signage, and people counters. For example, retailers can upload a floor plan of the sales area into the ESL management software. Consumers can then be tracked (in real time) through a network of people-counting devices, or via their personal BLUETOOTH® devices, in order to determine their position within the store at all times. This allows an individual customer to receive targeted, customized marketing initiatives, such as discounts, individual pricing, etc.SUMMARY

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[0005] In an aspect, a method of positioning performed by a server includes transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs1QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO2 during a first period of time; receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0006] In an aspect, a server includes one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0007] In an aspect, a server includes means for transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; means for receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and means for determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0008] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a server, cause the server to: transmit a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receive, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0009] Other obj ects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.2QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO3BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an example electronic shelf label (ESL) system, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates example components of an example ESL, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0013] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example electronic shelf label (ESL) deployment scenario, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example positioning scenario using a weighted centroid algorithm, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example ESL deployment scenario in which a group of ESLs has been triggered to display a visual pattern, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating various aspects of ESL radio position estimation, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating examples of sub-selecting ESLs to display a visual pattern, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 9 illustrates an example signaling flow between a server, a camera device, and a group of ESLs, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 10 illustrates an example signaling flow between a remote server, a camera device, and a group of ESLs, according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 11 illustrates an example method of positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known3QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO4 elements of the disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

[0023] Various aspects relate generally to electronic shelf label (ESL) radio location estimation. Some aspects more specifically relate to using image data to estimate the locations of ESL radios. In some examples, a group of ESLs may be configured to display a visual pattern (e.g., a checkerboard pattern, a particular shape, etc.). A camera device (a surveillance camera or other infrastructure camera) may be configured to detect the group of ESLs based on the group of ESLs displaying the visual pattern. The camera device may relay its location and a bounding box around the group of ESLs to a server. The location(s) of the ESL radio(s) associated with the group of ESLs can then be determined based on the visual information and the location of the camera device.

[0024] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by using visual patterns to locate specific ESLs, the described techniques can be used to quickly and more accurately determine the location(s) of the associated ESL radio(s).

[0025] The words “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0026] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0027] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions4QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO5 described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non- transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

[0028] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (loT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

[0029] Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) are used by retailers for displaying product pricing or other product information to consumers. ESLs typically use electronic paper (e-paper) or liquid crystal display (LCD) to display the current information. E-paper (also referred to as e- ink) is widely used for ESLs, as it provides a sharp display and supports full graphic imaging while only needing power during updates and no power to retain an image.5QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO6

[0030] ESLs are increasingly being integrated with existing retail technologies, such as electronic article surveillance, digital signage, and people counters. For example, retailers can upload a floor plan of the sales area into the ESL management software. Consumers can then be tracked (in real time) through a network of people-counting devices, or via their personal BLUETOOTH® devices, in order to determine their position within the store at all times. This allows an individual customer to receive targeted, customized marketing initiatives, such as discounts, individual pricing, etc.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an example ESL system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. An ESL system generally includes three components: label management software (e.g., running on a central management entity 110, such as a local server at the retail location or a cloud-based server), one or more wireless communication access points 120 (e.g., Wi-Fi access points), one or more rail controllers 130, and one or more (usually many) ESLs 140. The label management software is responsible for the configuration of the system, configuration of the properties of the ESLs 140 themselves, and storing the database of information to be displayed by the ESLs 140. The software mainly covers the network management, file systems, and transmission of data. It also processes and packs the data to be displayed into packets of information. The data packets are then sent to one or more wireless communication access points 120 via a wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi) for distribution to the ESLs 140 via the one or more rail controllers 130.

[0032] A wireless communication access point 120 is responsible for the stability and reliability of transmissions from the label management software (on the central management entity 110) to the ESLs 140. There may be multiple wireless communication access points 120 deployed in a single retail location based on the size of the space and / or the number of ESLs 140 deployed.

[0033] A wireless communication access point 120 communicates with one or more rail controllers 130 via a short-range wireless communications protocol, such as BLUETOOTH® Low Energy (BLE). A rail controller 130 may therefore include a BLE radio (or other short-range wireless communications protocol radio). A rail controller 130 may be powered by a battery (e.g., a lithium-ion battery) or a wired connection. A rail controller 130 is coupled to, or integrated into, a rail to which multiple ESLs 140 can be “clipped” or otherwise attached. Once clipped to the rail, each ESL 140 has a wired6QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO7 connection to the rail controller 130 (e.g., via a three-wire bus for power, ground, and data).

[0034] An ESL 140 functions as a receiver from the wireless communication access point 120 (via the rail controller 130) to display the information configured from the label management software. The ESL 140 then acts based on the instructions that were provided in the data packets from the label management software. An ESL 140 includes a display and optionally a camera. ESLs 140 generally do not include batteries, as they are typically powered by the rail to which they are attached. In some cases, an ESL 140 may not have a short-range wireless communications radio (e.g., a BLE radio), as it receives data from the wireless communication access point 120 via the wired rail connection to the rail controller 130.

[0035] An ESL application programming interface (API) is included in the current BLUETOOTH® specification and permits a 7-bit group identifier of 8-bit unique ESL identifiers, allowing for a total of 32,640 ESLs 140 to be allocated for one wireless communication access point 120. With those constraints, multiple wireless communication access points 120 may be needed to cover a typical grocery store ESL application.

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates example components of an example ESL 140, according to aspects of the disclosure. Note that in some cases, rather than an ESL 140 having its own wireless radio (e.g., a BLE radio) as shown in FIG. 2, multiple ESLs 140 may be attached (e.g., clipped) to a rail attached to a retail shelf. In this case, the rail (specifically a rail controller 130) contains the short-range wireless communications radio and the ESLs 140 have just the display. The radio controller 130 in the rail communicates locally to the clipped-on ESLs 140 over a wired protocol (the act of clipping on connects the ESLs 140 to the wires of the rail controller 130). As such, an ESL 140 itself may not have a radio but may connect locally to one (i.e., the rail controller 130).

[0037] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations or access points described herein), and a network entity 306 to support the operations described herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an7QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO8ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0038] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means fortuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, and / or the like. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0039] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, BLUETOOTH®, ZIGBEE®, Z-WAVE®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless8QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO9 access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra- wideband (UWB), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short- range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, BLUETOOTH® transceivers, ZIGBEE® and / or Z-WAVE® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to- everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0040] The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in some cases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS®) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), QuasiZenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.9QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO10

[0041] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ the one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ the one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base station 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0042] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.10QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO11

[0043] As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “a transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0044] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0045] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memories 340, 386, and 396 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include ESL management component 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The ESL management component 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein.11QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO12In other aspects, the ESL management component 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the ESL management component 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the ESL management component 342, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of the ESL management component 388, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of the ESL management component 398, which may be, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers 390, the memory 396, the one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0046] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or the satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to assist in the computation of positions in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0047] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) to a user and / or for receiving user12QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO13 input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0048] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0049] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer- 1 (LI) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer- 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a13QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO14 reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0050] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Lay er- 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, which implements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

[0051] In the downlink, the one or more processors 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0052] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provides RRC layer functionality14QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO15 associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0053] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0054] The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors 384.

[0055] In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0056] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3 A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, various components in FIGS. 3A to 3C are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design15QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO16 choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG. 3A, a particular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or personal computer (PC) or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or BLUETOOTH® capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short- range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 3B, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver s) 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

[0057] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between them.

[0058] The components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3 A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by processor and16QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO17 memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the ESL management component 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0059] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be distinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure. For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link, such as Wi-Fi).

[0060] FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example ESL deployment scenario, according to aspects of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of a scenario where ESLs (e.g., ESLs 140) are deployed on both sides of two aisles of shelves in a retail establishment, warehouse, or the like. In the example of FIG. 4, groups of three ESLs are connected to a rail controller (e.g., a radio controller 130) and the rail controllers are spaced Im to 1.5m apart. However, as will be appreciated, this is merely an example configuration and there may be more or fewer ESLs per rail controller spaced closer or further apart.

[0061] In some cases, the ESLs may not be equipped with short-range wireless communications radios (e.g., BLE radios), and instead, the rail controller may include the short-range wireless communications radio for the three ESLs connected to it. In either case, the radio associated with an ESL (whether a component of the ESL of the rail controller to which the ESL is connected) may be referred to as an “ESL radio.”

[0062] Indoor positioning based on BLE beaconing from ESLs is being developed for retail and warehouse applications. In general, the location of a target device is determined based on signal strength measurements (e.g., received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) of beacon signals transmitted by one or more ESLs. Trilateration using RSSI has been observed to be highly unreliable, as the RSSI is very susceptible to attenuation, which in17QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO18 turn leads to poor range estimation accuracy. Instead, the weighted centroid algorithm is considered to be much more robust to attenuation and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) effects.

[0063] FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example positioning scenario using a weighted centroid algorithm, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5, measurements of the beacon signals transmitted by three ESL radios (labeled “ESL1,” “ESL2,” and “ESL3”) are used to determine a location of a target device (labeled “Tag”). For a given ESL beacon transmission, let rx> r2> ••• rMdenote the RSSI values for M ESL radios (in descending order). The target device position estimate is then given by the weighted average of the ESL radio positions, where the weights are a function of the RSSI values:

[0064] In the above equations, N is the maximum number of ESL radios that are used in the computation. N is an empirical term that may be preset to some desired value. The weights may be proportional to the RS Sis, for example, an ESL radio associated with a higher RSSI may be assigned a larger weight. In the example of FIG. 5, w3> w > w2.

[0065] It is expected that thousands of radios (associated with ESLs) will be deployed to enable smart retail use cases, such as indoor navigation, asset tracking, inventory management, and the like. To achieve high-accuracy position estimation of target devices, such as loT tags or handheld smartphones, the locations or ground truths of these radios needs to be known with centimeter level accuracy.

[0066] Previous techniques have assumed that the locations of the radios are perfectly known and stored at a central management entity (e.g., central management entity 110). The primary focus of these techniques was to estimate the positions of target devices using the radio / ESL infrastructure. However, the deployment of ESL radios is a labor-intensive process, and perfect knowledge of the locations of all the ESL radios may be an unreasonable assumption. Furthermore, there may be human / machine error, and these ESL radios may be displaced / shifted from time-to-time.

[0067] In the present disclosure, a camera feed (e.g., from either surveillance cameras or other infrastructure owned / operated / available to the retail space, such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robots, carts, forklifts, pallet movers, etc.) can be used to estimate the18QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO19ESL radio locations with high accuracy. Retail stores, and other enterprises, may utilize the disclosed techniques to “piggyback” on, for example, the surveying / restocking process (e.g., using AGVs, forklifts, etc.) to locate the ESL radios. In addition, multiple ESL radios may be positioned jointly, thereby reducing survey cost and time.

[0068] In some cases, given the known location of a mobile camera (such as on a phone or a robot), the locations of one or more ESL radios may be accurately estimated through the display of a visual pattern across multiple ESLs associated with the ESL radio(s). For example, a group of ESLs associated with one or more ESL radios may be signaled (e.g., by or via the associated wireless communication access point(s) and / or rail controller(s)) to form / display a visual pattern, such as a checkerboard pattern of a first color and a second color (e.g., black and white, black and red, red and blank / no color, etc.), or a predefined shape, such as a triangle, square, circle, etc.). The mobile camera in turn detects the pre-configured pattern, from which the one or more ESL radio locations can be jointly estimated. As the camera moves and its visual frame changes, corresponding groups of ESLs may be signaled to display such visual patterns.

[0069] FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example ESL deployment scenario in which a group of ESLs has been triggered to display a visual pattern, according to aspects of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates a front view of a scenario where ESLs (e.g., ESLs 140) are deployed along a stack of four shelves in a retail establishment, warehouse, or the like. In the example of FIG. 6, groups of three ESLs are connected to a rail controller (e.g., a radio controller 130). The ESLs may not be equipped with short-range wireless communications radios (e.g., BLE radios), and instead, each rail controller may include the short-range wireless communications radio for the three ESLs connected to it. In the example of FIG. 6, four groups of three ESLs have been configured to display a checkerboard pattern.

[0070] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating various aspects of ESL radio position estimation, according to aspects of the disclosure. At a first stage, a camera device (such as on a phone or a robot) provides coarse location information and its current field of view (FoV) to a server associated with the retail location (or other type of indoor location), such as the central management entity 110. The coarse location of the camera device may be determined using cellular wireless positioning techniques, Wi-Fi-based positioning techniques, radio frequency identifier (RFID)-based positioning techniques, and the like.19QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO20For example, for RFID-based positioning, RFID sensors at the end of an aisle or along an aisle may be triggered when the camera device enters the aisle and / or comes within some proximity of the RFID sensors. The camera device may then report positioning information received from the RFID sensors (potentially just the identifiers of the RFID tags) to the server, thereby indicating that the camera device has entered the particular aisle.

[0071] With the received coarse location information, the server configures one or more groups of ESLs in the vicinity of the camera device to display a visual pattern. This configuration may further include an indication to each of the ESLs within the group to display a certain visual pattern (such as black pixels throughout the screen) at a certain time, for a certain duration, and at a certain brightness and / or contrast level.

[0072] The server then configures the camera device to detect the configured pattern, which will be displayed at the configured time, for the configured duration, at the configured brightness and / or contrast level, and by the configured number of ESLs. When the camera device detects the pattern formed by at least two or more ESLs of the group(s) of ESLs, the camera device captures image data of the detected ESLs and estimates a bounding box around the detected group of ESLs (as shown in FIG. 7). The camera device then reports, to the server, the dimensions of the bounding box, and optionally, the estimated location of the center of the detected bounding box, along with its own current location. The dimensions of the bounding box may be reported in a local frame of reference (e.g., with the camera device as the center of the frame of reference), or alternatively, if the location of the camera device is known with sufficient accuracy, a global coordinate system.

[0073] The server then proceeds to estimate the location of each of the ESLs based on the image data captured by the camera device (e.g., the dimensions of the bounding box around the detected ESLs) and the known location of the camera device. Based on the association between the detected ESLs and the corresponding ESL radio(s) (here, the rail controller(s) associated with the ESLs), the final position(s) of the ESL radio(s) can be estimated. More specifically, the locations of the ESLs relative to each other (e.g., the distance between ESLs on a rail) and relative to the location(s) of the ESL radio(s) (the rail control ler(s)) are known from the manufacturer’s specifications. Thus, with the knowledge of which ESLs are captured in the bounding box (which is determined from20QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO21 the visual pattern displayed by the ESLs) and their absolute locations (which is determined based on the known location of the camera device), the corresponding ESL radio(s) can be identified. The location(s) of the ESL radio(s) can then be determined relative to the locations of the ESLs themselves.

[0074] The positioning procedure described above can be repeated when the camera device location and / or field of view changes, or when a different group of ESLs is activated by the server to display a visual pattern.

[0075] In some cases, the server may also sub-select the ESLs to be activated (for displaying a visual pattern) based on their association with the ESL radios and related geometry. FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating examples of sub-selecting ESLs to display a visual pattern, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the server may activate a first group of ESLs (denoted “Groupl”) in a horizontal row along a single shelf of the aisle. In the example of FIG. 8, the first group of ESLs may be associated with multiple (three) ESL radios, one or more of which is to be located. Similarly, the server may activate a second group of ESLs (denoted “Group2”) in a vertical column along a group of shelves of the aisle. In the example of FIG. 8, the second group of ESLs may be associated with multiple (four) ESL radios, one or more of which is to be located.

[0076] In some cases, the server may be a logical component / functionality incorporated in another device, such as a central management entity 110, a wireless communication access point 120, a camera device, a handheld device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet computer, etc.), or the like. In other cases, the server may be a standalone device, such as a “cloud” server. In some cases, the functionality of the server may be distributed across one or more devices (e.g., some functionality may reside at a central management entity 110, some at a wireless communication access point 120, and / or some at a camera device.

[0077] FIG. 9 illustrates an example signaling flow 900 between a server, a camera device, and a group of ESLs, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9, the server may be a standalone device or a component of one or more other devices, such as a central management entity 110, a wireless communication access point 120, a handheld device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet computer, etc.), and / or the like. Where the server is a component of another device, the server may communicate with other components of the device via, for example, an internal data bus.21QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO22

[0078] At stage 910, the server receives, from the camera device, a current (coarse) location of the camera device. In some cases, the server may also receive a field of view of the camera device.

[0079] At stage 920, the server transmits a display configuration to the group of ESLs. In some cases, the group of ESLs is in the field of view of the camera device. In some cases, the group of ESLs may be arranged in a two-dimensional rectangle, a one-dimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column. In some cases, the server may communicate with the group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the group of ESLs and an access point (e.g., wireless communication access point 120) connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0080] In some cases, the display configuration may indicate at least a pattern to be displayed by the group of ESLs during a specified period of time. In some cases, the display configuration may include an identification of a first subset of the group of ESLs to display a first color and an identification of a second subset of the group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen. In some cases, the display configuration may include a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the display configuration may identify one or more ESLs of the group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the specified period of time. In some cases, the display configuration may include a time at which to begin displaying the pattern and a length of the specified period of time.

[0081] At stage 930, the server transmits a configuration to the camera device to capture image data of the group of ESLs during the specified period of time. In some cases, the configuration indicates at least the pattern to be displayed by the group of ESLs and the specified period of time. In some cases, the pattern may be a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.22QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO23

[0082] At stage 940, the group of ESLs display the configured pattern during the specified period of time. At stage 950, the camera device captures the image data of the group of ESLs during the specified period of time.

[0083] At stage 960, the camera device reports the image data of the group of ESLs. In some cases, the image data may include dimensions of a bounding box around the group of ESLs in an image of the group of ESLs captured by the camera device, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the camera device may also report a location of the camera device during the specified period of time.

[0084] At stage 970, the server determines a location of at least one ESL of the group of ESLs based on at least the image data. In some cases, determining the location of the at least one ESL of the group of ESLs may include determining a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the group of ESLs based on the image data and determining the location of the at least one ESL of the group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

[0085] FIG. 10 illustrates an example signaling flow 1000 between a remote server, a camera device, and a group of ESLs, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 10, the server described above is a component of the camera device.

[0086] At stage 1010, the camera device transmits a display configuration to the group of ESLs. In some cases, the group of ESLs is in the field of view of the camera device. In some cases, the group of ESLs may be arranged in a two-dimensional rectangle, a onedimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column. In some cases, the camera device may communicate with the group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the group of ESLs and an access point (e.g., wireless communication access point 120) connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0087] In some cases, the display configuration may indicate at least a pattern to be displayed by the group of ESLs during a specified period of time. In some cases, the display configuration may include an identification of a first subset of the group of ESLs to display a first color and an identification of a second subset of the group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen. In some cases, the display configuration may include a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first23QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO24 color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the display configuration may identify one or more ESLs of the group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the specified period of time. In some cases, the display configuration may include a time at which to begin displaying the pattern and a length of the specified period of time. In some cases, the pattern may be a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.

[0088] At stage 1020, the group of ESLs display the configured pattern during the specified period of time. At stage 930, the camera device captures the image data of the group of ESLs during the specified period of time. In some cases, the image data may include dimensions of a bounding box around the group of ESLs in an image of the group of ESLs captured by the camera device, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

[0089] At stage 1040, the camera device determines a location of at least one ESL of the group of ESLs based on at least the image data. In some cases, determining the location of the at least one ESL of the group of ESLs may include determining a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the group of ESLs based on the image data and determining the location of the at least one ESL of the group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

[0090] At stage 1050, the camera device may optionally report the determined location(s) to a remote server (as shown) and / or another entity (e.g., a central management entity 110, a wireless communication access point 120, etc.).

[0091] FIG. 11 illustrates an example method 1100 of positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a server (e.g., any of the servers described herein).

[0092] At operation 1110, the server may transmit a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time.

[0093] In an aspect, where the server is located at a UE, operation 1110 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless24QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO25 transceivers 320, the one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or ESL management component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0094] In an aspect, where the server is located at a base station or base station component (e.g., as a wireless communications access point), operation 1110 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 360, the one or more network transceivers 380, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or ESL management component 388, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0095] In an aspect, where the server is a network entity (e.g., a central management entity, an edge server, an over-the-top (OTT) server, etc.), operation 1110 may be performed the one or more network transceivers 390, the one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or ESL management component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0096] At operation 1120, the server may receive, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time. Note that where the server is a component of the camera device, the server may receive the first information associated with the first group of ESLs from the camera device via, for example, an internal data bus.

[0097] In an aspect, where the server is located at a UE, operation 1120 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, the one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or ESL management component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0098] In an aspect, where the server is located at a base station or base station component, operation 1120 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 360, the one or more network transceivers 380, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or ESL management component 388, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0099] In an aspect, where the server is a network entity, operation 1120 may be performed the one or more network transceivers 390, the one or more processors 394, memory 396,25QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO26 and / or ESL management component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0100] At operation 1130, the server may determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0101] In an aspect, where the server is located at a UE, operation 1130 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, the one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or ESL management component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0102] In an aspect, where the server is located at a base station or base station component, operation 1130 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 360, the one or more network transceivers 380, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or ESL management component 388, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0103] In an aspect, where the server is a network entity, operation 1130 may be performed the one or more network transceivers 390, the one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or ESL management component 398, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

[0104] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1100 is improved positioning of ESL radios / rail controllers, and thereby improved positioning of target devices performing ESL-based positioning.

[0105] In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of26QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO27 any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0106] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0107] Clause 1. A method of positioning performed by a server, comprising: transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0108] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first pattern comprises the first display configuration including: an identification of a first subset of the first group of ESLs to display a first color, and an identification of a second subset of the first group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen.

[0109] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the first display configuration further includes: a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof.

[0110] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the first display configuration further indicates: an identification of one or more ESLs of the first group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the first period of time.

[0111] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first period of time comprises the first display configuration including: a time at which to begin displaying the first pattern, and a length of the first period of time.

[0112] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, further comprising: transmitting a first configuration to the camera device to capture the first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time.27QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO28

[0113] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, further comprising: receiving, from the camera device, a current location of the camera device, wherein the first display configuration is transmitted to the first group of ESLs and the first configuration is transmitted to the camera device based on the current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0114] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, further comprising: receiving, from the camera device, a field of view of the camera device, wherein the first group of ESLs is within the field of view of the camera device.

[0115] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 6 to 8, wherein the first configuration indicates at least: the first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs, and the first period of time.

[0116] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein the first information associated with the first group of ESLs comprises: an image of the first group of ESLs captured by the camera device, dimensions of a bounding box around the first group of ESLs in the image of the first group of ESLs, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

[0117] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, further comprising: receiving, from the camera device, a location of the camera device during the first period of time.

[0118] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein determining the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs comprises: determining a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the first group of ESLs based on the first information associated with the first group of ESLs; and determining the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

[0119] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the first group of ESLs is arranged in: a two-dimensional rectangle, a one-dimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column.

[0120] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the first pattern comprises: a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.28QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO29

[0121] Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 1 to 14, further comprising: transmitting a second display configuration to a second group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the second group of ESLs during a second period of time; receiving, from the camera device, second information associated with the second group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the second group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the second group of ESLs.

[0122] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 1 to 15, further comprising: transmitting a second display configuration to the first group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a second period of time; receiving, from the camera device, second information associated with the first group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0123] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the second display configuration is transmitted based on: expiration of a periodic timer, or a current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0124] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the server communicates with the first group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the first group of ESLs and an access point connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0125] Clause 19. A server, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0126] Clause 20. The server of clause 19, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first pattern comprises the first display configuration including: an identification of a first29QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO30 subset of the first group of ESLs to display a first color, and an identification of a second subset of the first group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen.

[0127] Clause 21. The server of clause 20, wherein the first display configuration further includes: a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof.

[0128] Clause 22. The server of any of clauses 19 to 21, wherein the first display configuration further indicates: an identification of one or more ESLs of the first group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the first period of time.

[0129] Clause 23. The server of any of clauses 19 to 22, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first period of time comprises the first display configuration including: a time at which to begin displaying the first pattern, and a length of the first period of time.

[0130] Clause 24. The server of any of clauses 19 to 23, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first configuration to the camera device to capture the first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time.

[0131] Clause 25. The server of clause 24, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a current location of the camera device, wherein the first display configuration is transmitted to the first group of ESLs and the first configuration is transmitted to the camera device based on the current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0132] Clause 26. The server of clause 25, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a field of view of the camera device, wherein the first group of ESLs is within the field of view of the camera device.

[0133] Clause 27. The server of any of clauses 24 to 26, wherein the first configuration indicates at least: the first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs, and the first period of time.

[0134] Clause 28. The server of any of clauses 19 to 27, wherein the first information associated with the first group of ESLs comprises: an image of the first group of ESLs captured by the camera device, dimensions of a bounding box around the first group of ESLs in the30QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO31 image of the first group of ESLs, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

[0135] Clause 29. The server of any of clauses 19 to 28, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a location of the camera device during the first period of time.

[0136] Clause 30. The server of any of clauses 19 to 29, wherein the one or more processors configured to determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs comprises the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: determine a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the first group of ESLs based on the first information associated with the first group of ESLs; and determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

[0137] Clause 31. The server of any of clauses 19 to 30, wherein the first group of ESLs is arranged in: a two-dimensional rectangle, a one-dimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column.

[0138] Clause 32. The server of any of clauses 19 to 31, wherein the first pattern comprises: a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.

[0139] Clause 33. The server of any of clauses 19 to 32, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second display configuration to a second group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the second group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, second information associated with the second group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the second group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the second group of ESLs.

[0140] Clause 34. The server of any of clauses 19 to 33, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more31QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO32 transceivers, a second display configuration to the first group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, second information associated with the first group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0141] Clause 35. The server of clause 34, wherein the second display configuration is transmitted based on: expiration of a periodic timer, or a current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0142] Clause 36. The server of any of clauses 19 to 35, wherein the server communicates with the first group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the first group of ESLs and an access point connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0143] Clause 37. A server, comprising: means for transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; means for receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and means for determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0144] Clause 38. The server of clause 37, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first pattern comprises the first display configuration including: an identification of a first subset of the first group of ESLs to display a first color, and an identification of a second subset of the first group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen.

[0145] Clause 39. The server of clause 38, wherein the first display configuration further includes: a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof.

[0146] Clause 40. The server of any of clauses 37 to 39, wherein the first display configuration further indicates: an identification of one or more ESLs of the first group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the first period of time.32QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO33

[0147] Clause 41. The server of any of clauses 37 to 40, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first period of time comprises the first display configuration including: a time at which to begin displaying the first pattern, and a length of the first period of time.

[0148] Clause 42. The server of any of clauses 37 to 41, further comprising: means for transmitting a first configuration to the camera device to capture the first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time.

[0149] Clause 43. The server of clause 42, further comprising: means for receiving, from the camera device, a current location of the camera device, wherein the first display configuration is transmitted to the first group of ESLs and the first configuration is transmitted to the camera device based on the current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0150] Clause 44. The server of clause 43, further comprising: means for receiving, from the camera device, a field of view of the camera device, wherein the first group of ESLs is within the field of view of the camera device.

[0151] Clause 45. The server of any of clauses 42 to 44, wherein the first configuration indicates at least: the first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs, and the first period of time.

[0152] Clause 46. The server of any of clauses 37 to 45, wherein the first information associated with the first group of ESLs comprises: an image of the first group of ESLs captured by the camera device, dimensions of a bounding box around the first group of ESLs in the image of the first group of ESLs, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

[0153] Clause 47. The server of any of clauses 37 to 46, further comprising: means for receiving, from the camera device, a location of the camera device during the first period of time.

[0154] Clause 48. The server of any of clauses 37 to 47, wherein the means for determining the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs comprises: means for determining a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the first group of ESLs based on the first information associated with the first group of ESLs; and means for determining the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.33QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO34

[0155] Clause 49. The server of any of clauses 37 to 48, wherein the first group of ESLs is arranged in: a two-dimensional rectangle, a one-dimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column.

[0156] Clause 50. The server of any of clauses 37 to 49, wherein the first pattern comprises: a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.

[0157] Clause 51. The server of any of clauses 37 to 50, further comprising: means for transmitting a second display configuration to a second group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the second group of ESLs during a second period of time; means for receiving, from the camera device, second information associated with the second group of ESLs during the second period of time; and means for determining a location of at least one ESL of the second group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the second group of ESLs.

[0158] Clause 52. The server of any of clauses 37 to 51, further comprising: means for transmitting a second display configuration to the first group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a second period of time; means for receiving, from the camera device, second information associated with the first group of ESLs during the second period of time; and means for determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0159] Clause 53. The server of clause 52, wherein the second display configuration is transmitted based on: expiration of a periodic timer, or a current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0160] Clause 54. The server of any of clauses 37 to 53, wherein the server communicates with the first group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the first group of ESLs and an access point connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0161] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a server, cause the server to: transmit a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs34QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO35 during a first period of time; receive, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0162] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 55, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first pattern comprises the first display configuration including: an identification of a first subset of the first group of ESLs to display a first color, and an identification of a second subset of the first group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen.

[0163] Clause 57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 56, wherein the first display configuration further includes: a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof.

[0164] Clause 58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 57, wherein the first display configuration further indicates: an identification of one or more ESLs of the first group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the first period of time.

[0165] Clause 59. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 58, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first period of time comprises the first display configuration including: a time at which to begin displaying the first pattern, and a length of the first period of time.

[0166] Clause 60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 59, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: transmit a first configuration to the camera device to capture the first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time.

[0167] Clause 61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 60, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: receive, from the camera device, a current location of the camera device, wherein the first display configuration is transmitted to the first group of ESLs and the first configuration is transmitted to the camera device based on the current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.35QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO36

[0168] Clause 62. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 61, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: receive, from the camera device, a field of view of the camera device, wherein the first group of ESLs is within the field of view of the camera device.

[0169] Clause 63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 60 to 62, wherein the first configuration indicates at least: the first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs, and the first period of time.

[0170] Clause 64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 63, wherein the first information associated with the first group of ESLs comprises: an image of the first group of ESLs captured by the camera device, dimensions of a bounding box around the first group of ESLs in the image of the first group of ESLs, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

[0171] Clause 65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 64, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: receive, from the camera device, a location of the camera device during the first period of time.

[0172] Clause 66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 65, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: determine a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the first group of ESLs based on the first information associated with the first group of ESLs; and determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

[0173] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 66, wherein the first group of ESLs is arranged in: a two-dimensional rectangle, a onedimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column.

[0174] Clause 68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 67, wherein the first pattern comprises: a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color,36QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO37 a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.

[0175] Clause 69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 68, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: transmit a second display configuration to a second group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the second group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, from the camera device, second information associated with the second group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the second group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the second group of ESLs.

[0176] Clause 70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 69, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the server, cause the server to: transmit a second display configuration to the first group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, from the camera device, second information associated with the first group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the first group of ESLs.

[0177] Clause 71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 70, wherein the second display configuration is transmitted based on: expiration of a periodic timer, or a current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

[0178] Clause 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 55 to 71, wherein the server communicates with the first group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the first group of ESLs and an access point connected to the ESL radio controller.

[0179] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.37QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO38

[0180] Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0181] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0182] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g.,38QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO39UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0183] In one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0184] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” and the like are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “comprises,”39QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO40“comprising,” “includes,” “including,” and the like does not preclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B). Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and / or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of’) or the alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Furthermore, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Accordingly, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” encompass “one” component, function, action, or instruction performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality and also “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality in combination.40QC2401789WO

Claims

1. Qualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO41CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A server, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first pattern comprises the first display configuration including: an identification of a first subset of the first group of ESLs to display a first color, and an identification of a second subset of the first group of ESLs to display a second color or a blank screen.

3. The server of claim 2, wherein the first display configuration further includes: a parameter indicating a brightness level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, a parameter indicating a contrast level at which to display the first color, the second color, or both, or a combination thereof.41QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO424. The server of claim 1, wherein the first display configuration further indicates: an identification of one or more ESLs of the first group of ESLs to blink during at least a portion of the first period of time.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the first display configuration indicating the first period of time comprises the first display configuration including: a time at which to begin displaying the first pattern, and a length of the first period of time.

6. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first configuration to the camera device to capture the first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time.

7. The server of claim 6, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a current location of the camera device, wherein the first display configuration is transmitted to the first group of ESLs and the first configuration is transmitted to the camera device based on the current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.

8. The server of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a field of view of the camera device, wherein the first group of ESLs is within the field of view of the camera device.

9. The server of claim 6, wherein the first configuration indicates at least: the first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs, and the first period of time.42QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO4310. The server of claim 1, wherein the first information associated with the first group of ESLs comprises: an image of the first group of ESLs captured by the camera device, dimensions of a bounding box around the first group of ESLs in the image of the first group of ESLs, an estimated location of a center of the bounding box, or a combination thereof.

11. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, a location of the camera device during the first period of time.

12. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors configured to determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs comprises the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: determine a location of an ESL rail controller associated with at least the first group of ESLs based on the first information associated with the first group of ESLs; and determine the location of the at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on the location of the ESL rail controller.

13. The server of claim 1, wherein the first group of ESLs is arranged in: a two-dimensional rectangle, a one-dimensional row, or a one-dimensional vertical column.

14. The server of claim 1, wherein the first pattern comprises: a checkerboard pattern of ESLs displaying a first color alternating with ESLs displaying a second color or a blank screen, a circular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color,43QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO44 a rectangular patter of ESLs displaying the first color, a triangular pattern of ESLs displaying the first color, or a diamond pattern of ESLs displaying the first color.

15. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second display configuration to a second group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the second group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, second information associated with the second group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the second group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the second group of ESLs.

16. The server of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second display configuration to the first group of ESLs, the second display configuration indicating at least a second pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a second period of time; receive, via the one or more transceivers, from the camera device, second information associated with the first group of ESLs during the second period of time; and determine a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the second information associated with the first group of ESLs.

17. The server of claim 16, wherein the second display configuration is transmitted based on: expiration of a periodic timer, or a current location of the camera device being within a threshold distance of the first group of ESLs.44QC2401789WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2401789WO4518. The server of claim 1, wherein the server communicates with the first group of ESLs via an ESL radio controller connected to the first group of ESLs and an access point connected to the ESL radio controller.

19. A method of positioning performed by a server, comprising: transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.

20. A server, comprising: means for transmitting a first display configuration to a first group of electronic shelf labels (ESLs), the first display configuration indicating at least a first pattern to be displayed by the first group of ESLs during a first period of time; means for receiving, from a camera device, first information associated with the first group of ESLs during the first period of time; and means for determining a location of at least one ESL of the first group of ESLs based on at least the first information associated with the first group of ESLs.45QC2401789WO

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