POS Location Accuracy via Mobile Device GPS Clustering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Determining the accurate location of point of sale (POS) devices is challenging due to unclear or inaccurate names and non-standardized transaction data, as well as the inherent inaccuracy of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, especially in dense areas.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize location information from mobile devices to determine the location of POS devices by clustering transaction data, calculating a centroid from the mobile device locations, and updating the POS device location with a confidence factor, thereby smoothing out GPS errors and improving accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS receivers are used to determine POS device locations, then location determination is enabled, but accuracy deteriorates in dense areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mobile device locations as an intermediary to indirectly determine POS device locations. Instead of relying directly on GPS signals at the POS device (which fail in dense areas), the system collects GPS data from multiple mobile devices that visited the POS, then processes this intermediary data through clustering and centroid calculation to derive the POS location, effectively bypassing the GPS reliability problem in dense environments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple GPS coordinates from different mobile devices to determine a single POS device location. By aggregating location data from multiple sources and calculating a centroid, the system merges individual measurements into a collective determination that is more accurate than any single GPS reading, especially in areas where GPS signals are weak or unreliable
2Measurement precision
If transaction data is used to determine POS locations, then location information can be obtained, but accuracy deteriorates due to non-standardized data and unclear names
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where mobile devices provide location information that is fed back to update and refine the POS device location database. This continuous feedback loop allows the system to learn from actual mobile device locations, progressively improving location accuracy and compensating for the lack of standardized transaction data through empirical data collection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter used for location determination from relying on standardized transaction data (which is non-standardized and unclear) to using mobile device GPS coordinates (which provide precise numerical location data). This parameter change from textual/identifier-based location to coordinate-based location fundamentally improves measurement precision
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining transaction locations are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a computing terminal, information indicating the completion of a transaction associated with a mobile device, sending, to the mobile device, a confirmation of the completion of the transaction, receiving, from the mobile device, location information indicating latitude and longitude information of the mobile device, confirming that the location information is within a predetermined distance of a stored location of the computing terminal, updating the location information associated with the computing terminal to include the received location information, and determining, based on the location information associated with the computing terminal, a location of the computing terminal.