Frequency Channel Diversity for Real-Time Locating Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional real-time locating systems face challenges with power consumption, signal strength, interference, and bandwidth, which affect accuracy and increase costs, and there is a need for improved architectures and methods that reduce these issues while maintaining reliability and accuracy.
Innovation Solution
The use of frequency channel diversity for transmitting and receiving position determination signals in the form of location signal bursts across multiple frequency channels, allowing for low power consumption and improved accuracy without the need for ultrawideband transmissions, using off-the-shelf hardware and existing infrastructures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the bandwidth of the wireless position determination signal is increased to improve reliability and accuracy, then the reliability and accuracy improve, but the power consumption increases and interference problems worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wireless position determination signal into multiple narrowband components transmitted across different frequency channels. Instead of using a single wideband signal that consumes high power, the system divides the transmission into multiple narrowband signals sent over separate frequency channels, achieving reliable position determination through diversity combining while maintaining lower power consumption per channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimensional wideband signal approach to a multi-dimensional approach by distributing the position determination signal across multiple frequency channels. This dimensional expansion in the frequency domain allows the system to achieve the reliability and accuracy of wideband signals while using narrowband transmissions that consume less power individually.
2Reliability
If the bandwidth of the wireless position determination signal is increased to improve reliability and accuracy, then the reliability and accuracy improve, but the interference problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the position determination signal into multiple narrowband components transmitted across different frequency channels. This segmentation reduces interference on each individual channel compared to a wideband signal, as narrowband signals are less susceptible to frequency-selective fading and interference. The system combines these segmented signals to achieve reliable position determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the frequency domain parameters by transmitting the position determination signal across multiple frequency channels rather than using a single wideband signal. This parameter change in the frequency domain allows the system to avoid interference-prone frequency regions and exploit frequency diversity to reduce the overall impact of interference on position determination reliability.
3Measurement precision
If more robust object tags or additional receivers are used to improve position determination accuracy, then the accuracy improves, but the infrastructure costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing narrowband infrastructure multi-functional by enabling it to perform both traditional wireless communication and position determination functions. Instead of requiring specialized wideband receivers and tags, the system uses existing narrowband transceivers to transmit and receive position determination signals through frequency channel diversity, making the infrastructure versatile and cost-effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual wideband signal by combining multiple narrowband transmissions across different frequency channels. This copying approach reconstructs the position determination capability of wideband signals using inexpensive narrowband components, avoiding the need for costly specialized hardware while achieving comparable or superior accuracy through diversity combining.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are architectures, systems, methods, and computer program products for real-time object locating and position determination using frequency channel diversity for transmitting and receiving position determination signals including bursts of location signals. Channelized frequency diversity of a short burst of small location signals that “hop” across multiple frequency channels is used to collectively produce a quasi-wideband position determination signal. Object tags operating with frequency channel diversity for transmitting location signals of position determination signals require low power consumption, but can still efficiently provide adequate position determination signals for reliable position determination.