Visual Beacon Navigation Assistance for Mobile Stations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers are limited in areas with obstructions such as foliage or buildings, making them unusable for position determination in urban canyons and indoor environments due to difficulty in acquiring and tracking weak satellite signals.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using visual beacons, such as QR codes or natural features, to acquire navigation assistance information, which enables position determination and navigation by transmitting feature descriptors to a server for retrieving relevant data, including neighboring beacons and wireless positioning resources, to assist in local environment navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers are used for position determination, then position information can be obtained in open areas, but the system becomes unusable in areas with obstructions such as foliage or buildings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces visual beacons as intermediary objects that mediate between the mobile station and the positioning system. These beacons are placed in the environment (including obstructed areas) and serve as reference points that the mobile station can detect and use for position determination, effectively bridging the gap where SPS signals cannot reach
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the positioning system into multiple distributed visual beacons placed throughout the environment rather than relying on a single centralized SPS satellite constellation. This segmentation allows the system to provide coverage in localized areas including indoor and obstructed environments where individual beacons can be detected
2Reliability
If SPS receivers operate in obstructed areas, then position determination might be achieved, but the signal acquisition and tracking becomes difficult due to weak signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates visual copies or representations of positioning information through visual beacons (such as QR codes or distinctive visual patterns) that can be captured by the mobile station's camera. These visual copies contain encoded positioning data that can be read and processed without requiring weak radio signal reception
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the radio frequency signal detection mechanism with optical detection using the mobile station's camera. Instead of relying on weak electromagnetic radio signals from satellites, the system uses visual beacons that reflect ambient light, which can be easily detected by camera sensors even in obstructed environments
3Measurement precision
If visual beacons are used for navigation assistance, then positioning accuracy is improved in obstructed areas, but the system requires additional infrastructure components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mobile station's camera serve multiple functions: it is used for both general photography/camera operations and for detecting visual beacons for positioning. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated positioning hardware, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high positioning accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the mobile station to perform its own positioning by detecting visual beacons and processing the information locally. The system is self-sufficient in obstructed areas, requiring no complex external infrastructure beyond the pre-deployed visual beacons, and can determine its position autonomously using the camera and onboard processing
Data Source
AI summary
Navigation assistance information for a mobile station is acquired based on a feature descriptor of an image of a visual beacon captured by the mobile station. The navigation assistance information includes locations of neighboring visual beacons, locations of wireless positioning resources; user environmental context information. The navigation assistance information may then be used to assist in navigating within the local environment. The visual beacon may be an artificial feature, such as a QR code or other type of matrix or bar code or a natural feature, such as a statute or architectural detail. The mobile station may request navigation assistance by transmitting the feature descriptor to a server. The server retrieves the navigation assistance information from a database based on the feature descriptor and optionally location information, which may also be provided in the navigation assistance request, and transmits the navigation assistance information to the mobile station.