Mobile Device Emergency Location Source Enablement
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Solution Overview
Problem
During emergency 911 calls, the disabling of location data sources such as WLAN and WPAN transceivers by users can degrade location determination accuracy, especially in areas with poor GNSS and cellular base station conditions, leading to unacceptable location determination in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device is capable of enabling disabled location data sources like WLAN and WPAN transceivers, as well as camera and environmental sensors, during an emergency location session to obtain and provide location data to a location server, thereby overriding user settings temporarily for accurate positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If location data sources are disabled to save power and maintain security, then power consumption is reduced and security is improved, but location determination accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the operational state of location data sources based on the emergency context. During emergency calls, previously disabled location data sources are temporarily enabled to ensure accurate location determination, while maintaining user preferences for non-emergency situations. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable to different operational contexts.
2Measurement precision
If location data sources are disabled for security reasons, then security is improved, but location determination accuracy in emergency situations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of the calling context to determine if it is an emergency situation. Based on this preliminary action, it decides whether to temporarily override user settings and enable disabled location data sources. This resolves the security contradiction by only relaxing security constraints when genuinely needed for emergency responses.
3Measurement precision
If all location data sources are enabled during emergency calls, then location determination accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the operational states of location data sources, maintaining separate configurations for emergency and non-emergency modes. During emergency calls, it selectively enables only the necessary location data sources rather than all possible sources, reducing the complexity increase while still improving location determination accuracy for the critical emergency scenario.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device is capable of enabling one or more location data sources for location determination of the mobile device. The mobile device may receive a request for an emergency location session, e.g., by a user dialing E911 or from an external client. At least one location data source in the mobile device is determined to be disabled. For example, the location data sources may be a WLAN transceiver or a WPAN transceiver, as well as camera sensors and environmental sensors. The disabled location data source (s) is enabled and location data is obtained from the enabled location data source(s). The location data may be provided, e.g., to a location server. The status of the location data source (s) may be restored, e.g., disabled, after the location data is obtained or after the emergency location session is completed.