Radio-Visual Device Localization Using Vehicle Intermediaries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current device localization methods, such as GNSS and visual-based localization, face challenges in urban environments due to signal obstructions and scalability issues, leading to inaccurate and unreliable location data.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves creating a vehicle locations database that mobile devices can access to determine their location and orientation using radio and image data from nearby vehicles, leveraging the accuracy and reliability of vehicle positioning and sensor fusion algorithms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GNSS-based localization is used, then real-time location data can be obtained, but accuracy deteriorates in urban environments due to signal obstructions and multipath errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vehicles as intermediary objects that can provide reliable location information. Vehicles traverse open-sky areas where GNSS is reliable and use their on-board computers to determine accurate locations, which are then stored in a database and used by mobile devices as reference points for localization in urban environments where direct GNSS signals are obstructed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of reliable vehicle location data and stores it in a database that mobile devices can access. Instead of relying on direct GNSS signals that may be blocked, mobile devices obtain location information by querying the database for nearby vehicles and calculating their position relative to these vehicles, effectively copying the reliability of vehicle localization to pedestrian localization.
2Measurement precision
If visual-based localization methods are used, then high accuracy can be achieved, but scalability deteriorates due to the need for large geo-tagged visual feature databases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential location and orientation information from vehicles and stores it in a simplified database format, rather than maintaining comprehensive geo-tagged visual feature databases. This extraction approach retains the high accuracy benefit of visual-based methods while dramatically reducing the complexity and size of required databases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses temporary, easily updatable vehicle location data as a substitute for permanent, complex visual feature databases. Vehicle locations are continuously updated and replaced as vehicles move, providing fresh localization references without requiring long-term storage of extensive visual feature information, thereby reducing database complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a radio-visual approach for device localization. In particular, a mobile device may receive, via radio signal(s) emitted by transmitter(s) in a vehicle that is substantially proximate to the mobile device, radio data that represents vehicle information associated with the vehicle, and may then determine or obtain a location of the vehicle in accordance with that vehicle information. Also, the mobile device may capture an image of the vehicle and may use that image as basis for determining a relative location indicating where the mobile device is located relative to the vehicle. Based on the location of the vehicle and on the relative location of the mobile device, the mobile device may then determine a location of the mobile device.