Wireless Station Indoor Location via FTM Grouping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional indoor location estimation methods for wireless communication devices in residential settings are limited due to dependency on access points, making it cumbersome to determine which devices support the Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) protocol, especially when there are fewer access points available.
Innovation Solution
A cloud service identifies and maps wireless stations within a venue to determine which support the FTM feature, allowing direct FTM frame exchanges between compatible stations without the need for access points, forming FTM groups to enable accurate location determination using trilateration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional indoor location estimation methods using access points are used, then location determination can be performed in public venues with multiple access points, but it becomes cumbersome and less viable in residential venues with fewer access points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the FTM capability identification and grouping functions from the access point dependency model. Wireless stations independently perform FTM frame exchanges and location determination without requiring access points, removing the operational burden of access point management and enabling seamless operation in both public and residential venues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cloud services as an intermediary that maintains a mapping of wireless stations supporting FTM protocols. This cloud-based registry enables stations to identify compatible peers for FTM exchanges without requiring access points, simplifying the operation in venues with limited infrastructure.
2Reliability
If access points are required for FTM procedures, then FTM frame exchanges can be performed, but the system becomes dependent on access point availability and configuration
Solution Approach 1:
Wireless stations perform FTM frame exchanges and location determination autonomously without requiring access points. Each station independently identifies FTM-capable peers through cloud service mapping and directly conducts timing measurement exchanges, eliminating access point dependency and reducing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables wireless stations to serve dual roles as both FTM requestors and responders, whereas conventional systems required stations to communicate through access points. This multi-functionality allows direct peer-to-peer FTM exchanges, improving reliability by removing the single point of failure represented by access points.
3Device complexity
If wireless stations can directly perform FTM frame exchanges without access points, then access point dependency is eliminated, but identifying compatible stations becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The cloud service performs preliminary identification and mapping of wireless stations that support FTM protocols before direct FTM exchanges occur. This pre-registration and categorization enables requesting stations to quickly identify compatible responders without performing complex capability detection during runtime.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud service acts as an intermediary registry that maintains information about which wireless stations support FTM protocols. This intermediary mapping simplifies the detection process by providing a centralized lookup mechanism rather than requiring stations to perform complex peer discovery and capability negotiation.
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
This approach eliminates the requirement for access points in FTM procedures, enabling accurate indoor location estimation of wireless communication devices in residential venues by identifying and grouping compatible stations, thus improving location determination accuracy and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a requesting device exchanges FTM frames with a responding device to measure the time-of-flight (TOF) or the Round Trip Delay (RTD/2)
Data Source
AI summary
Technology for indoor location estimation of wireless stations is described. In one embodiment, a processing device identifies a plurality of wireless stations that support a signal round-trip-time measurement protocol. The processing device associates the plurality of wireless stations with one another to form a logical grouping of the plurality of wireless stations and provides an indication of the plurality of wireless stations in the logical grouping to each of the plurality of wireless stations. The processing device receives a first round-trip-time measurement value for a signal transmitted between a first wireless station and a second wireless station of the logical grouping and a second round-trip-time measurement value for a signal transmitted between the first wireless station and a third wireless station of the logical grouping. These round-trip-time measurement values indicate a distance between the wireless stations, respectively. The processing device determines, using the first distance and the second distance, a position of the first wireless station relative to the second wireless station and the third wireless station.