Indoor Positioning via Historical Trail Snapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional location-based services struggle to accurately determine the location of mobile devices within buildings due to limited indoor positioning capabilities, relying heavily on satellite signals which are often unreliable indoors.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes historical location information from a location server or indoor maps, combined with reference locations from RF network devices and motion sensors, to determine a mobile device's location within a building by snapping a reference location onto a trail, enabling more accurate indoor navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If satellite-based positioning technologies (GPS, GNSS) are used to determine mobile device location, then outdoor positioning accuracy is improved, but indoor positioning reliability deteriorates due to signal blockage and unreliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the positioning system into two distinct modes: outdoor satellite-based positioning and indoor historical trail-based positioning. The system automatically switches between these modes based on location environment, using satellite signals only when available and reliable, and transitioning to historical trail matching when indoor conditions are detected, thereby resolving the contradiction between outdoor accuracy and indoor reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-collecting and storing historical location trail information from multiple mobile devices before actual positioning is needed. This historical data is stored in a database and pre-processed to create reference trails, enabling rapid and reliable indoor positioning without requiring real-time satellite signals, thus solving the indoor reliability problem
2Measurement precision
If historical location trail information from multiple mobile devices is collected and stored, then indoor positioning accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases due to data management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The historical location trail database serves multiple functions: it acts as reference data for positioning, provides trail matching templates, and enables location determination without real-time satellite signals. This multi-functionality justifies the data management complexity by providing comprehensive indoor positioning capabilities across different scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of actual movement trails by storing historical location sequences as reference patterns. Instead of managing raw sensor data, the system stores processed trail representations that can be efficiently matched against current device positions, reducing computational complexity while maintaining positioning accuracy
3Measurement precision
If reference location is snapped onto historical trail to determine position, then indoor navigation accuracy is improved, but loss of real-time location information increases due to reliance on historical data
Solution Approach 1:
The historical location trail acts as an intermediary between the mobile device and the building's geographic coordinate system. Instead of directly measuring real-time position (which is unreliable indoors), the system uses the historical trail as a reference mediator to infer current position, thereby recovering location information indirectly while maintaining accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device may be operable to receive historical location trail information of a building. A location of the mobile device within the building may be determined by placing, moving or snapping a reference location of the mobile device onto a trail according to the received historical location trail information. The historical location trail information may be acquired from a location server. The historical location trail information stored in the location server may be generated using a plurality of location samples that are provided by one or more other mobile devices that have been within the building. The historical location trail information may also be acquired from an indoor map of the building that is used by the mobile device for navigation within the building. The determined location of the mobile device may then be utilized by the mobile device to navigate within the building for location-based services.