Passive Wireless Device Tracking via Signal Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for locating and identifying wireless devices, such as GPS and cellular networks, face limitations in precision and effectiveness, especially indoors and in areas with signal blockages, and require active participation or specific technologies like RFID tags and iBeacon.
Innovation Solution
A Wireless Device Detection, Tracking, and Authentication System (WDDTAS) that passively detects and tracks WiFi or Bluetooth devices without GPS, GSM networks, or SIM cards, using edge sensors to collect and analyze wireless frames for location and authentication, enabling precise locationing and metadata collection without user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS technology is used to locate devices, then location information can be obtained, but precision is limited to about 4.9 meters and signals can be blocked by buildings and walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces WiFi access points and cellular base stations as intermediary infrastructure elements that relay location information. Instead of direct satellite-to-device communication, the system uses these intermediaries to transmit and reflect signals, enabling indirect location determination that works indoors and in urban canyons where GPS fails
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional GPS horizontal positioning to three-dimensional positioning by incorporating elevation data from barometric pressure sensors and vertical position information from cellular tower triangulation, adding the vertical dimension to overcome signal blockage issues
2Measurement precision
If cellular phone networks are used to determine device location, then location information can be obtained, but precision is limited to 50-100 meters in dense urban areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple location determination technologies (GPS, WiFi triangulation, cellular tower triangulation, Bluetooth beacon positioning, inertial navigation) into a unified hybrid system that combines their strengths to achieve high-precision location tracking beyond what any single technology can provide
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal location determination system that can operate across diverse environments (outdoors, indoors, urban, rural) by implementing multiple positioning methodologies that can be selectively activated based on availability and environmental conditions
3Ease of operation
If RFID tags or iBeacon technology are used for device identification and location, then proximity information can be obtained, but active participation and specific technologies are required on the target device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements passive tracking where the monitoring system automatically detects and tracks target devices using their existing wireless communications (WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular) without requiring the target devices to run specific applications, install RFID tags, or actively participate in the tracking process
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring target devices to emit specific identification signals (as with RFID or iBeacon), the patent inverts the approach by having monitoring devices actively scan and detect the always-present wireless signals from target devices, turning the target device's normal communication emissions into tracking identifiers
4Productivity
If traditional location tracking methods are used, then location data can be collected, but privacy concerns arise and user interaction is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically collects and processes location data without requiring users to manually enable tracking, install applications, or provide consent, as target devices are tracked through their normal wireless communications that occur anyway during regular device operation
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless device uses a tracking system to determine locations of target devices relative to the wireless device in an environment including one or more target devices. The tracking system receives a signal transmitted by a target device in the environment and performs an angle of arrival operation to determine the angle of arrival of the received signal. The tracking system applies a filter to determine an estimation value for the target device representing a system state for the target device. The tracking system assigns the received signal and corresponding angle of arrival to a track based on the estimation value. The tracking system identifies and removes outlier signals from the track to produce a filtered set of signals. The filtered set of signals is used to compute a point-of-origin vector for the target device for use in interacting and communicating with the target device.