Indoor Outdoor Classification via Packet Metadata Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless telecommunications systems face challenges in accurately determining whether a wireless terminal is indoors or outdoors, particularly due to signal impairments from natural and man-made objects, which can lead to unreliable location estimates, posing risks in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
The system estimates the location of a wireless terminal by analyzing metadata from packet-level communications, using classification features derived from past indoor and outdoor transactions to determine the probability of the terminal being indoors or outdoors, thereby improving location accuracy and reducing estimation costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If signal measurements from base stations and GPS satellites are used for location estimation, then location estimation capability is provided, but reliability deteriorates in indoor environments due to signal impairment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces metadata from packet-level communications as an intermediary indicator to infer indoor/outdoor status. This metadata serves as a mediator that indirectly reveals environmental conditions without requiring direct signal measurements, thereby resolving the unreliability of traditional signal-based methods in indoor environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional signal measurement-based location estimation mechanism with a metadata analysis mechanism. Instead of relying on physical signal propagation characteristics that are affected by buildings and obstructions, the system uses communication metadata patterns to determine location context, substituting a mechanical/physical measurement system with an information-processing system.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive signal measurements and processing are performed, then location estimation accuracy is improved, but system complexity and computational cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary information (metadata from packet-level communications) required to determine indoor/outdoor status, rather than processing comprehensive signal measurements. This extraction approach obtains the essential indicators for location estimation while eliminating unnecessary computational complexity associated with full signal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses readily available communication metadata that is already generated by the network infrastructure, treating it as a low-cost information source. This metadata is inexpensive to obtain compared to dedicated signal measurement systems, and its analysis provides sufficient information for location context determination without requiring expensive or complex processing equipment.
Data Source
AI summary
A disclosed location engine estimates a wireless terminal as being indoors or outdoors by utilizing information that includes metadata from previous packet-level transmissions involving both i) wireless terminals that are known to have been indoors and ii) wireless terminals that are known to have been outdoors, while the metadata was collected. Based on this metadata for previous transmissions, one or more classification features are computed. Then, for a wireless terminal that is to be classified during a communication transaction (e.g., voice, data, SMS, etc.) with respect to the terminal being either indoors or outdoors, features that are representative of that wireless terminal for the transmissions are evaluated against a characterization that is a composite of one or more previously-computed classification features. The features that are representative of the wireless terminal can be derived from the metadata associated with the wireless terminal during the transaction being analyzed.