Inertial Navigation Initialization via Wireless Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing navigation systems face challenges in initializing and maintaining accurate positioning for multiple users in environments without external references, such as indoor spaces where GPS is unavailable, due to issues with mat-based solutions that require stationary mats and precise location measurements, which can be impractical and error-prone.
Innovation Solution
A navigational deployment and initialization system that includes personal inertial navigation modules, deployment recognition devices, and a central controller, allowing for single or multiple entry points and minimizing user requirements, by using sensors and algorithms to determine positions in a common frame of reference through navigation data and communication between users and devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If mat-based solutions are used for initialization, then a common coordinate system and heading can be established, but the mats must remain stationary and require precise location measurements which can be error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical mat-based initialization system with a wireless communication-based system. Instead of requiring physical mats with markers that users must step on, the system uses wireless signals (WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular) to automatically determine user positions and establish a common coordinate system, eliminating the need for physical deployment objects and their associated precision requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central controller or server as an intermediary that receives location data from multiple users' devices and establishes the common coordinate system. This intermediary processes the location information and coordinates the initialization process, replacing the need for physical mats while maintaining the ability to establish a shared reference frame
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple mats are used for multi-entry initialization, then flexibility is improved, but the relative position and orientation between mats must be arbitrarily defined which introduces complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal initialization system where any user's device can serve as an initialization point. Instead of requiring multiple specialized mats for different entry points, the system allows any participant's device to establish the common coordinate system, making the system adaptable to any number of entry points without adding complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional approach by making users the source of reference information rather than requiring them to reference pre-deployed mats. The first user's device becomes the reference frame, and subsequent users initialize relative to this user-generated reference, eliminating the need for arbitrary mat-to-mat coordinate definitions
3Adaptability or versatility
If inertial navigation systems are used without external references, then independence is improved, but drift and bias accumulation affect accuracy over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where users periodically re-initialize by contacting other users' devices or the central controller. This feedback loop allows the system to detect and correct drift accumulation by establishing new reference points, maintaining accuracy over time while preserving navigation independence between external systems
Data Source
AI summary
A navigational deployment and initialization system, including: at least one personal inertial navigation module associated with at least one user and comprising a plurality of sensors and at least one controller configured to generate navigation data derived at least in part upon output of the plurality of sensors and at least one navigation routine; at least one deployment recognition device configured to directly or indirectly receive at least one of the following: user data, time data, event data, navigation data, or any combination thereof; and at least one central controller in direct or indirect communication with the at least one deployment recognition device and configured to receive at least a portion of at least one of the following: the user data, the time data, the event data, the navigation data, or any combination thereof.