Building Navigation via Air Pressure and GPS Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in locating meeting rooms within large buildings due to cumbersome naming conventions and the lack of effective navigation tools, as existing collaboration technologies do not provide accurate and user-friendly directions to collaboration endpoints.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes air pressure and GPS readings from user devices to create an approximate location map of collaboration endpoints and user devices within a building, allowing for automatic determination of relative locations and directions to meeting rooms, leveraging proximity pairing and sensor data to calculate floor level differences and orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional naming conventions and static maps are used to indicate meeting room locations, then building information can be provided to users, but the information is difficult to comprehend and navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical navigation methods (static maps and naming conventions) with an electronic system that uses mobile devices, sensors (GPS, accelerometer, barometer), and wireless communication to provide dynamic, real-time directional guidance. This substitution enables automatic calculation of directions based on user device location data, transforming the navigation process from manual map interpretation to automated electronic guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary electronic system consisting of a server and mobile device application that mediates between the user and building navigation. This intermediary processes location data from multiple sensors, calculates optimal paths to meeting rooms, and presents directional information in an easily comprehensible format, bridging the gap between raw building data and user understanding.
2Loss of information
If detailed building maps with floor levels and orientations are provided, then location information is available, but the maps become difficult to read and comprehend
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the building navigation problem into multiple independent components: GPS positioning for horizontal location, accelerometer data for orientation and movement detection, barometer readings for floor level determination, and wireless signal strength for proximity assessment. By dividing the navigation system into these separate sensor modules, each handling a specific aspect of location, the system avoids presenting users with a single complex map while still providing comprehensive building layout information through multiple simplified data streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds temporal and sensory dimensions to navigation by providing real-time, dynamic directional guidance based on the user's current position and movement, rather than presenting a static two-dimensional map. The system processes data from multiple dimensions (spatial coordinates, orientation angles, elevation changes) and synthesizes them into straightforward directional instructions, effectively transforming complex multi-dimensional building layout data into simple one-dimensional directional guidance.
3Ease of operation
If manual navigation tools are provided to users, then users can attempt to find meeting rooms, but the process requires manual effort and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service navigation where the mobile device automatically performs all navigation tasks without requiring manual input from the user. The system continuously monitors GPS position, accelerometer orientation, and barometer elevation data, automatically calculates the optimal path to the meeting room, and provides real-time directional feedback. This eliminates the need for users to manually interpret maps or calculate directions, allowing them to simply follow the electronic guidance provided by their device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates continuous feedback mechanisms where the system monitors the user's movement in real-time through sensor data and automatically adjusts directional guidance based on the user's current position and progress toward the meeting room. This closed-loop feedback system provides ongoing confirmation of correct direction and updates instructions as needed, enabling users to navigate efficiently without manual planning or time-consuming map interpretation.
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
Enables users to easily find meeting rooms by providing accurate and automatic directions, eliminating the need for manual navigation and reducing the complexity of understanding building layouts, thus enhancing the user experience without requiring additional hardware or manual setup.
Implementation Method 1
A first air pressure sensor of the first collaboration endpoint may be configured to provide a first air pressure reading
Implementation Method 2
A first GPS sensor of the first collaboration endpoint may be configured to provide a first GPS information
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are presented herein for a server to automatically determine the locations of collaboration endpoints and user devices throughout a building, and then provide the user devices with directions to the endpoints. The server collects air pressure and GPS readings from the user devices over a period of time. The readings may be collected from user devices that are paired or unpaired with endpoints at the time of the readings. Over a period of time, the plurality of readings may be used by the server to calculate user device offsets, endpoint offsets, floor level offsets, and endpoint relative orientations within the building. The server may then, in response to a notification of an upcoming meeting, provide the user device with directions to the meeting based on the collected readings.