Smartphone Positioning via Georeferenced Image Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current GPS systems in smartphones are inadequate for precise position and attitude determination, especially indoors, due to wide error ranges and inability to provide accurate location-based services in confined areas.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a georeferenced reference image database to determine the position and attitude of a smartphone through bundle adjustment, combining sensor information and camera images to correct initial position and attitude data, enabling precise location-based services both indoors and outdoors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS is used for position determination in smartphones, then the system can provide location information, but the position accuracy is poor with wide error ranges and cannot work indoors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines GPS sensor data with visual data from the camera to create a hybrid positioning system. The sensor information provides initial position estimates while the image matching module compares captured images with georeferenced reference images to refine position determination, enabling accurate indoor positioning where GPS fails.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a georeferenced reference image database as an intermediary between the smartphone camera and the final position determination. This database stores pre-captured images with known geotags, allowing the system to match visual features and infer precise position and orientation without relying solely on GPS signals.
2Measurement precision
If bundle adjustment with georeferenced reference images is implemented, then position and attitude determination accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-capturing reference images at known locations and orientations, then georeferencing them before storing in the database. This preprocessing work is done in advance, so when the smartphone needs positioning, the system only needs to match images against the pre-prepared database rather than performing complex georeferencing in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex real-time geometric computations with a simplified image matching process. Instead of performing full bundle adjustment calculations whenever positioning is needed, the system substitutes this with faster template matching against pre-processed reference images, reducing computational complexity while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method and system for determining location and position for the effective use thereof in a location-based service by precisely determining information on the location and position of a user terminal, such as a smartphone, to provide the determined location and position to the user terminal using a georeferenced reference image DB preconstructed on a server on a network or on the user terminal, and images captured by a camera of the user terminal.