WiFi Positioning Test Instrument Emulating Access Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for testing WiFi positioning systems rely on field testing, which is inefficient, uncontrolled, and difficult to replicate, especially in environments with varying signal strengths and obstructions, limiting the development and testing of devices that use WiFi transceivers for location services.
Innovation Solution
A laboratory-based instrument and method that simulates real-world conditions by emulating multiple WiFi access points, allowing for controlled testing of WiFi transceivers under varying power levels, signal obstructions, and device motion, while optionally incorporating GPS/GNSS simulators for comprehensive testing of both WiFi and GPS/GNSS positioning systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If field testing is used to test WiFi positioning systems, then real-world environmental conditions are captured, but testing efficiency and repeatability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the real-world drive test environment by emulating WiFi access point signals, device motion, and signal fading characteristics in a laboratory setting. This allows repeatable testing without leaving the lab, resolving the contradiction between capturing real-world conditions and maintaining testing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a signal emulator as an intermediary device that generates synthetic WiFi beacon signals with controlled parameters (power levels, fading, obstructions). This intermediary enables realistic testing conditions while maintaining full control and repeatability in the laboratory, eliminating the need for actual field deployment.
2Reliability
If field testing is used to test WiFi positioning systems, then real-world environmental conditions are captured, but test repeatability and control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of test parameters including signal power levels, fading rates, obstruction patterns, and device motion profiles. The emulator can dynamically adjust these parameters during testing to simulate various real-world scenarios while maintaining full controllability and repeatability in the laboratory environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent systematically varies key parameters such as WiFi signal power, fading characteristics, obstruction levels, and device velocity to create multiple test scenarios. This parametric approach allows comprehensive testing of positioning system performance under different conditions while maintaining complete control over each parameter, resolving the contradiction between realism and controllability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple WiFi access points are emulated with varying power levels and obstructions, then testing comprehensiveness improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the signal emulator to perform multiple functions: generating WiFi beacon signals, simulating device motion, creating signal fading, modeling obstructions, and coordinating with GPS simulators. This multi-functional approach achieves comprehensive testing coverage while consolidating complexity into a single versatile instrument rather than multiple separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines WiFi signal emulation, motion simulation, fading modeling, and obstruction effects into an integrated test system. By merging these functions into a coordinated instrument, the patent achieves comprehensive testing capability while managing overall system complexity through unified control and synchronization mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to simulation on a lab workbench of conditions that would be encountered by a mobile device during a so-called drive test, which involves transporting the mobile device along a course so that it encounters fading and changing wireless access points used normally to connect the mobile device to a wireless network but in this case used to locate the device. The instrument and method also support parametric testing of transceivers used for WiFi positioning and, optionally, GNSS positioning by the same mobile device used for WiFi positioning.