Indoor Positioning Nodes With Multi-Antenna Arrays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current indoor positioning systems using low-power beacons, such as Bluetooth, struggle to provide accurate three-dimensional location information due to varying signal strength, requiring multiple beacons, increased power leading to battery life issues, and room ambiguity, while also lacking directional information.
Innovation Solution
The use of positioning nodes (PONs) with multiple antennas, deployed ubiquitously in indoor environments, emitting and receiving RF ranging signals, and connected to a server that provides aiding information for precise location determination, allowing mobile devices to calculate their three-dimensional position using time and frequency synchronization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple low-power beacons are deployed to improve positioning accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple antenna functions into a single positioning node. Each PON integrates four or more antennas that work together to provide three-dimensional positioning capabilities, eliminating the need to deploy multiple separate beacons throughout the space. This merging approach maintains measurement precision while reducing device complexity and installation requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional beacon deployment to three-dimensional positioning by utilizing vertical antenna arrays. The multiple antennas are arranged in three-dimensional space with specific geometric configurations, enabling the system to determine position in all three dimensions using signal phase differences across the antenna elements.
2Area of stationary object
If beacon output power is increased to extend range, then coverage area improves, but battery life deteriorates and accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of increasing transmit power with an electromagnetic field approach using multiple antennas. Instead of boosting beacon power to extend range, the system uses phased array techniques and signal processing across multiple antenna elements to achieve extended coverage while maintaining low power consumption and high accuracy.
3Device complexity
If single beacon is used to reduce complexity, then device complexity decreases, but directional information and physical location determination are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple antenna functions into a single positioning node, allowing one PON to provide both coverage and directional information. The multiple antennas within each node are strategically positioned and phased to create directional signal patterns, enabling the single beacon to determine both distance and direction to the mobile device.
4Reliability
If high power beacons are used to improve signal strength, then signal reliability improves, but room or floor ambiguity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating highly directional and localized signal patterns from each positioning node. The multiple antennas within each PON are configured to produce focused beam patterns that clearly define the spatial coverage area of each node, eliminating overlap and ambiguity between adjacent nodes. This allows the mobile device to precisely determine which PON it is communicating with and its exact position relative to that node.
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 solution enables accurate three-dimensional positioning within indoor environments, improving navigation for devices like robots and drones, with the ability to handle multiple users and varying accuracy requirements, while conserving power and simplifying installation.
Implementation Method 1
The PONs can have one or more antennas or emitters... Signals emitted from a single PON having four or more antennas can provide three dimensional positioning
Implementation Method 2
allowing mobile devices to calculate their three-dimensional position using time and frequency synchronization
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides systems and methods for determining a location of a mobile device within an indoor environment. An embodiment of the system can have one or more positioning nodes (PONs), each having one or more antennas. Each PON can be disposed at a location within indoor environment and configured to transmit signals via the one or more antennas. The signals transmitted from the antennas of the PONs can be synchronized in time and frequency. A server communicatively coupled to the PONs and storing aiding information, including location and signal information related to the PONs, can transmit the aiding information to a mobile device. The mobile device can receive the signals from use the PONs and use the aiding information to determine a three dimensional position within the indoor environment based on one-way time difference of arrival of the signals.