Location Server Authorization for Mobile Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices often face challenges in obtaining accurate location services when indoors or in areas not covered by their home location server, due to lack of positioning assistance data for wireless access points and satellite signals, leading to difficulties in navigation and service access.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for a mobile device to discover and authorize alternative location servers, such as discovered SUPL Location Platforms (D-SLPs), to access location services by transmitting messages to an authorizing location server, which determines and provides a set of authorized servers for service access, enabling the device to obtain necessary positioning assistance data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mobile devices rely on their home location server for location services, then service reliability is maintained, but service availability is limited to covered areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where the mobile device communicates with multiple location servers (home location server and alternative location servers) through a standardized interface. The device obtains location services by selecting from a list of authorized servers, allowing seamless transition between servers while maintaining service reliability through the home server and expanding availability through alternative servers in different service areas.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mobile devices use alternative location servers discovered in their current area, then service availability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device autonomously performs the complexity of discovering alternative location servers, obtaining their addresses and identifiers, and managing the selection process. The device initiates the discovery process, receives the list of authorized servers from the home location server, and independently determines which server to contact based on current service needs, eliminating the need for external management of server selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The home location server pre-provides a list of authorized alternative location servers to the mobile device before the device needs to access services in areas covered by those alternative servers. This preliminary action of obtaining and caching the server list eliminates the need for real-time discovery and authentication processes when the device actually needs location services, reducing operational complexity.
3Measurement precision
If mobile devices obtain positioning assistance data from alternative location servers, then measurement precision is improved in uncovered areas, but loss of information increases due to lack of familiar server data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal interface and standardized protocol that allows the mobile device to interact with multiple location servers (home location server and alternative location servers) in the same way. The device obtains positioning assistance data from alternative servers using the same mechanisms as the home server, ensuring consistent data formats and maintaining information availability across different server types and service areas.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided which may be implemented in various methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture to allow a mobile device to obtain certain location service(s) and/or the like from one or more computing devices that have been authorized for use. For example, in certain implementations, an authorizing location server may obtain a first message from a mobile device indicating a first set of location servers, determine a second set of location servers based, at least in part, on the first set of location servers, and transmit a second message to the mobile device indicating that the second set of location servers are authorized for location service related access by the mobile device.