Analyzing a mobile device's movement pattern during a pressure change to detect that a state of an air-conditioning system has changed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Indoor positioning technologies face inaccuracies in altitude data collection due to the stack effect in buildings, leading to unreliable radio maps and position estimates, especially when the air-conditioning system is off, as barometers provide inconsistent pressure readings.
Innovation Solution
Developing methods to detect changes in the air-conditioning system's state, such as analyzing pressure and movement data from mobile devices to distinguish between altitude changes and air-conditioning system changes, allowing for more accurate data collection and radio map generation only when the system is on.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If barometer pressure measurements are used to determine altitude in indoor environments, then altitude data can be collected ubiquitously, but the measurements become inaccurate due to the stack effect causing abnormal pressure-altitude relationships
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the data collection strategy based on the operational state of the air-conditioning system. When the air-conditioning system is detected to be operating, the system collects altitude data using barometer pressure measurements. When the air-conditioning system is off, the system switches to alternative methods or excludes such data, thereby maintaining measurement accuracy while preserving the ability to collect data across various building conditions.
2Productivity
If crowdsourced altitude data is collected when air-conditioning systems are off, then data collection coverage is maximized, but the collected data becomes unreliable leading to inaccurate radio maps
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the air-conditioning system's operational state before collecting altitude data. By detecting whether the air-conditioning system is on or off in advance, the system can determine whether to proceed with data collection using barometer measurements, thereby ensuring that only reliable data is collected while maintaining broad coverage through alternative methods when appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from air-conditioning system state detection to control the altitude data collection process. When the air-conditioning system is detected to be operating, the system enables barometer-based altitude data collection. When the system is off, the system either excludes such data or uses alternative measurement methods, thereby maintaining data reliability while preserving collection coverage through adaptive feedback control.
3Quantity of substance
If pressure data is collected continuously from mobile devices, then comprehensive altitude information is obtained, but inaccurate data is collected when air-conditioning systems are off causing poor positioning performance
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the data collection strategy based on real-time detection of air-conditioning system states. When the air-conditioning system is operating, the system collects altitude data with high volume and frequency. When the system is off, the system reduces or pauses barometer-based collection, thereby maintaining comprehensive data coverage while ensuring positioning accuracy through adaptive control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves the accuracy of indoor positioning by ensuring reliable altitude data collection and generating more accurate radio maps, enhancing the overall performance of indoor positioning systems.
Implementation Method 1
a barometer is configured to measure atmospheric (air) pressure in the environment. And because air pressure outdoors changes with altitude in a predictable manner (e.g., according to the well-known barometric formula), the barometer's pressure measurement(s) could be used for estimating altitude(s) of a mobile device.
Implementation Method 2
the stack effect (also known as the chimney effect) relates to movement of air into and out of building due to a difference in air density between the inside and outside of the building. This difference in air density could result from temperature (e.g., heat) and/or moisture differences
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an approach for detecting that a state of an air-conditioning system in a building has changed and ultimately determining the air-conditioning system's operating pattern, which could help improve collection and/or use of crowdsourced data for an indoor positioning solution and thus lead to more accurate position estimates. According to the disclosed approach, processor(s) may receive pressure and movement data from a mobile device. The pressure data may indicate a pressure change, and the movement data may indicate a movement pattern of the mobile device that occurred substantially during the pressure change. Given this, processor(s) could make a determination that the movement pattern lacks a substantial change in altitude of the mobile device during the pressure change and could use this determination as basis to detect that the state of the air-conditioning system has changed.