Mobile Device GNSS Obstruction Detection and Location Refinement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices in urban environments face challenges in determining their location accurately due to obstructions like high-rise buildings, which block GPS satellite visibility, leading to inaccurate or unreliable location data.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device system that compares expected GNSS data signals to actual signals to identify obstructions, using obstruction-detection and prediction modules to determine the location of obstructions and enhance location accuracy, and predict signal quality, employing GPS, Wi-Fi, and crowd-sourced data to refine location determination and control device operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS technology is used to determine location, then location information can be obtained, but in urban environments with high-rise buildings, the mobile device may fail to derive its location or experience large location errors due to partial satellite visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple location determination technologies (GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular networks, inertial sensors) into a unified location system. When GPS signals are blocked by buildings, the system automatically switches to or complements with alternative technologies like Wi-Fi positioning and inertial navigation, ensuring continuous and accurate location tracking in urban environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces auxiliary location determination technologies as intermediaries to bridge the gap when GPS fails. For example, Wi-Fi access points and cellular towers serve as intermediary reference points to determine location when direct satellite line-of-sight is blocked, and inertial sensors provide intermediary navigation capability during signal transitions.
2Measurement precision
If the mobile device attempts to determine location in obstructed environments, then location data may be obtained, but the location errors tend to be very large which diminishes the value of the location
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of building obstructions into beneficial information. By detecting which satellites are blocked and analyzing signal reflection patterns (multipath effects), the system identifies urban canyons and building structures, then uses this information to switch to appropriate alternative positioning methods or to correct GPS measurements using known building geometry data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically changes operational parameters based on environment detection. When GPS signal quality degrades due to obstructions, the system adjusts by increasing reliance on Wi-Fi positioning, modifying inertial navigation update rates, or changing the weighting of different position sources in the fusion algorithm to maintain accurate location determination.
Data Source
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AI summary
The description relates to mobile device location. One example can identify global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellites expected to be in line-of-sight of a mobile device. This example can detect differences between received GNSS data signals and expected GNSS data signals from the expected GNSS satellites. The example can also determine a direction from the mobile device of an obstruction that is causing at least some of the detected differences.