Tile-Based Access Point Location Data Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for determining a user's location, such as GPS devices and mobile phones, face challenges in efficiently processing and storing access point location data, especially for devices without GPS functionality, leading to increased memory usage and slower location determination.
Innovation Solution
A tile-based reduction method that utilizes quantization and decimation techniques to reduce access point location data, generating searchable tiles with quantized locations, allowing for indexed-based searching and storage of only the most relevant access points, thereby conserving memory and improving location determination efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If access point location data is stored in full detail, then location determination accuracy is improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the geographic area into multiple tiles, each containing a subset of access points. This segmentation allows the system to store and process location data for specific regions without needing to store all access points globally, thereby reducing overall memory requirements while maintaining accuracy for local location determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different levels of data detail to different geographic regions based on local requirements. Each tile can be processed and stored with appropriate granularity for its specific area, allowing high accuracy where needed while using less data where access points are sparse or less critical, thus optimizing the balance between accuracy and memory usage.
2Measurement precision
If access point location data is processed in detail, then location determination accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the data into tiles, the patent enables parallel processing of different geographic regions simultaneously. Each tile can be processed independently, which significantly reduces the total processing time compared to processing all access points sequentially, while still maintaining the accuracy needed for reliable location determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing and indexing of access point data into tiles before actual location determination is needed. This pre-processing includes organizing data in a way that enables quick retrieval and processing during location determination, thereby reducing the time required for actual location calculations while maintaining accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If more access point data is stored, then location determination accuracy is improved, but data footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive access point database into multiple smaller tile files, each representing a specific geographic region. This segmentation reduces the data footprint for any single data structure while collectively maintaining the completeness and accuracy of the full database. Clients only need to download and process relevant tiles for their current location, reducing the effective data footprint required for operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of a system and method for tile-based reduction of access point location information are described. Embodiments may reduce a set of network access points and respective locations to generate a reduced set. For instance, embodiments may include parsing a representation of a geographic region into multiple tiles. Embodiments may also include, for each sub-area or “bucket” of multiple buckets that make up a given tile, evaluating the set of network access points and respective locations to identify network access points residing in that bucket, and based on a ranking of the network access points in that bucket, eliminating at least some network access points of that sub-area from the reduced set. Embodiments may also include, for each sub-tile of multiple sub-tiles of the given tile, assigning within the reduced set a common location to multiple access points residing within different locations of that sub-tile.