Collaborative Time of Arrival Wireless Positioning

The system performs preliminary clock offset estimation and compensation before conducting CToA measurements. Access points and client devices exchange timing information and calculate clock offsets in advance, then use these offsets to correct measurement timestamps, thereby eliminating a major source of measurement error before it affects location determination accuracy.

The patent introduces an intermediary timing correction mechanism where access points act as mediators to synchronize client device clocks. The access points broadcast timing information and receive timing requests, facilitating coordinated timing across multiple devices without requiring direct peer-to-peer synchronization between all client devices, thus reducing measurement conflicts in crowded environments.

Each access point and client device autonomously performs clock offset estimation and compensation using locally available timing information. Devices calculate their own clock offsets by comparing transmitted and received timestamps, and apply corrections independently without requiring complex centralized coordination, thereby improving timing accuracy while minimizing system complexity.

The system implements feedback loops where devices continuously monitor timing discrepancies and adjust their local clock offsets accordingly. Access points broadcast timing information that includes correction data, and client devices use this feedback to refine their timing measurements and compensate for clock drift, achieving sustained measurement accuracy through iterative correction.

The patent merges multiple traditional point-to-point FTM measurement processes into a single collaborative CToA measurement framework. Multiple client devices simultaneously participate in a unified measurement sequence coordinated by access points, where timing information from multiple devices is aggregated and processed together, enabling scalable location determination for high volumes of devices without requiring sequential individual measurements.

The system transitions from one-dimensional point-to-point measurements to multi-dimensional collaborative measurements involving multiple access points and client devices simultaneously. By introducing spatial and temporal dimensions to the measurement process, the system can determine locations of multiple devices in parallel using trilateration and multilateralization techniques, dramatically improving scalability and reducing overall positioning service time.