Barometric Height Estimation for Indoor Floor Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for determining the floor number in a building using atmospheric pressure or GPS signals face challenges due to varying floor-to-floor heights across different buildings and floors, requiring pre-stored data or user input, which is cumbersome and impractical.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus equipped with sensors, including an atmospheric pressure sensor and a GPS receiver, detects changes in atmospheric pressure and movement to estimate the floor-to-floor height by specifying states of movement and calculating the height difference, allowing for automatic estimation without pre-stored data or user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If floor-to-floor height information is stored in advance in a storage device, then the floor number can be determined accurately, but it is difficult to examine all buildings and store data for every building
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects and learns floor-to-floor height information by monitoring barometric pressure changes when the user moves between floors. This self-learning mechanism eliminates the need for manual data entry and pre-stored building-specific information, allowing the system to adapt to any building automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of floor-to-floor height during initial use or when moving between floors, storing this learned information for future floor number determinations. This preliminary action enables accurate floor number calculation without requiring pre-existing building data.
2Measurement precision
If the user explicitly inputs floor-to-floor height every time moving between floors, then accurate height information is obtained, but this method is bothersome for the user
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects floor-to-floor height by monitoring barometric pressure changes during user movement between floors, eliminating the need for explicit user input. The detection unit continuously monitors pressure changes and the estimation unit calculates floor-to-floor height automatically, providing accurate measurements without user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from barometric pressure sensor readings to automatically adjust and determine floor-to-floor height. By continuously monitoring pressure changes and comparing them against detected movement patterns, the system refines its height estimates without requiring user input.
3Adaptability or versatility
If atmospheric pressure sensor is used to detect height, then floor number can be determined without GPS, but atmospheric pressure changes may be affected by weather conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces GPS satellite-based positioning with barometric pressure sensing for height detection, enabling indoor location capability where GPS signals are unavailable. This substitution allows the system to function in indoor environments by using atmospheric pressure as the measurement basis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to varying atmospheric pressure conditions by continuously learning floor-to-floor height through detected pressure changes during movement. By basing measurements on relative pressure differences rather than absolute pressure values, the system compensates for weather-related pressure variations and maintains reliable height detection.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a height information acquisition unit configured to acquire information corresponding to a height at which the apparatus is present, a state specification unit configured to specify at least that the apparatus is in a first state where the apparatus starts moving up or down, and that the apparatus is in a second state where the apparatus finishes moving up or down, a detection unit configured to detect, based on a transition of the specified state of the apparatus, that the apparatus performs moving up or down corresponding to one floor in a building having one or more floors, and an estimation unit configured to estimate, based on the information acquired during the moving up or down corresponding to the one floor, a floor-to-floor height of the building having the one or more floors where the apparatus is present.