Segmented Elevation Vectors for Cell Site Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Carrier network retail stores often fail due to inadequate radio coverage in their locations, leading to low customer traffic and high return rates, as existing technologies lack efficient methods for visualizing elevation differences and their impact on signal strength, resulting in inefficient cell site placement and resource waste.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates elevation visualizations by segmenting paths between start and end locations, determining ground and clutter elevations, and constructing segment vectors to display elevation data on top of multilayer geographic visualizations, allowing for better assessment of signal obstructions and optimal cell site placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If carrier companies arbitrarily position retail stores throughout various locations without considering radio coverage, then store placement flexibility is improved, but radio coverage quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of radio coverage and elevation data before retail store placement decisions are made. By pre-processing geospatial data, identifying coverage zones, and evaluating potential locations against radio propagation models, the system enables informed site selection that balances placement flexibility with coverage quality requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary analysis system that mediates between arbitrary store placement desires and radio coverage requirements. This intermediary layer processes elevation data, terrain information, and propagation models to evaluate whether proposed locations will achieve acceptable coverage, acting as a filter between placement flexibility and coverage quality
2Measurement precision
If manual methods are used to analyze elevation data and assess signal obstructions, then analysis accuracy can be maintained, but labor costs and computation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical analysis methods with automated computational processing. By substituting human analysts with algorithm-based elevation processing, propagation modeling, and obstruction detection systems, the patent maintains measurement precision through consistent automated calculations while dramatically improving productivity through parallel processing and efficient data structures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms elevation data from raw geographic coordinates into processed parameters suitable for radio propagation analysis. By changing the representation of elevation data into formats optimized for signal obstruction assessment, the system enables automated processing that maintains accuracy while improving computational efficiency through parameter optimization
3Measurement precision
If detailed elevation data is collected for every potential cell site location, then signal obstruction assessment accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential elevation data elements needed for signal obstruction assessment from complete geospatial datasets. By selectively extracting relevant terrain features, elevation profiles along propagation paths, and critical obstruction points rather than processing all available detailed elevation data, the patent maintains assessment accuracy while reducing processing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the analysis into discrete processing stages: first processing elevation data along specific propagation paths, then analyzing obstructions segment by segment, and finally aggregating results. This segmentation of detailed elevation data into manageable path-specific segments reduces overall processing complexity while maintaining precision through focused analysis of relevant areas
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises receiving, by an elevation application communicatively coupled to a geospatial database, a request comprising a start location and an end location from a workstation, wherein the geospatial database stores elevation data describing ground elevations and clutter elevations at a plurality of different geographic locations, segmenting, by the elevation application, a path between the start location and the end location into a plurality of segments having an incremental distance, for each of the plurality of segments, constructing a segment vector comprising the ground elevation and clutter elevation of the segment, and constructing an elevation data structure comprising the segment vector for each of the plurality of segments.