Indoor Location via Wireless Fingerprint and Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for determining the location and travel paths of mobile devices indoors are inaccurate and require excessive infrastructure, often relying on pre-existing maps and labor-intensive processes, which become outdated due to changing layouts.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates a wireless fingerprint and area wireless signal distribution map using signal strength data from multiple mobile devices, allowing for the determination of a mobile device's location without satellite or cellular signals, by positioning transmitters at strategic locations and using custom software on mobile devices to collect and analyze signal data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional location methods (satellite/cellular triangulation) are used, then location can be determined outdoors, but accuracy is insufficient and indoor coverage is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces wireless access points and mobile devices as intermediary components to enable indoor location determination. Instead of relying on satellite signals that cannot penetrate buildings, the system uses local wireless infrastructure (access points) and mobile device sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers) to create an intermediary positioning system that operates independently of satellite coverage, thereby solving the indoor coverage reliability problem while maintaining accuracy through sensor fusion algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional satellite-based electromagnetic positioning system with a hybrid system that incorporates mechanical sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers) within mobile devices. This substitution allows the system to determine location through physical motion sensing and integration of movement data, bypassing the limitation of electromagnetic signal penetration and achieving both indoor coverage and high accuracy through inertial navigation and sensor fusion
2Measurement precision
If extensive infrastructure (transmitters, receivers, pre-existing maps) is deployed to improve location accuracy, then measurement precision increases, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes mobile devices universal positioning units that perform multiple functions: they act as both receivers for wireless signals and sensors for physical motion detection. The same mobile device uses its existing components (wireless communication module, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, processor) for location determination, eliminating the need for separate dedicated positioning infrastructure and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high accuracy through multi-sensor fusion
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables mobile devices to self-determine their location using their own built-in sensors and processing capabilities. Each mobile device independently collects data from its wireless interface and motion sensors, processes this data through integration algorithms, and calculates its position without requiring complex external infrastructure or pre-existing detailed maps, thereby reducing device and infrastructure complexity while achieving accurate positioning
3Manufacturing precision
If labor-intensive methods (walk-testing, manual mapping) are used to create accurate interior maps, then manufacturing precision of map data improves, but productivity decreases and time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic map generation where mobile devices themselves collect and contribute location and environmental data during normal operation. As users move through buildings with their mobile devices, the system automatically gathers wireless signal strength data, motion sensor data, and location information, then processes this crowd-sourced data to generate and update interior maps without requiring manual walk-testing or specialized mapping equipment, thereby achieving both high map accuracy and rapid generation
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously collects location and environmental data from mobile devices as users naturally move through the building during normal activities. This continuous data collection occurs without interrupting users or requiring dedicated mapping campaigns, allowing the system to accumulate sufficient data over time to generate accurate interior maps and update them as layouts change, thereby achieving high map precision with improved productivity compared to periodic manual surveys
4Measurement precision
If pre-existing base maps are required for location determination, then location accuracy can be maintained, but adaptability to changing layouts decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where mobile devices constantly report their measured location, wireless signal strength, and motion sensor data back to the central processing system. This feedback enables the system to detect discrepancies between expected and actual position data, identify layout changes through pattern recognition in the sensor data, and automatically update the interior maps to reflect current conditions, thereby maintaining location accuracy while adapting to changing layouts without requiring manual intervention
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 method provides high-accuracy location determination and map generation without the need for extensive infrastructure, enabling updates to maps as layouts change, and reduces costs by utilizing existing mobile devices for data collection.
Implementation Method 1
obtain an area wireless signal distribution map indicating wireless signal strength values corresponding to a plurality of wireless transmitters positioned in the subject area; determine, based on the wireless fingerprint and the area wireless signal distribution map, a location of the mobile communication device
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprising obtaining, by a system using a processor, a wireless fingerprint corresponding to a mobile communication device and a subject area in which the mobile communication device is or was positioned. The method also includes obtaining, by the system, an area wireless signal distribution map indicating wireless signal strength values corresponding to multiple wireless transmitters positioned in the subject area, and determining, by the system, based on the wireless fingerprint and the area wireless signal distribution map, a location of the mobile communication device.