Wireless Anchors Time-stamp Packets for Indoor Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing indoor positioning solutions rely on computation at the mobile device, requiring substantial hardware and/or software changes in legacy mobile devices, making them incompatible with legacy devices.
Innovation Solution
A system using wireless anchors with known positions that time-stamp packets received from mobile devices and forward them to a pre-defined site for position computation, allowing legacy mobile devices to determine their position without hardware or software changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If computation is performed at the mobile device using existing WLAN APs, then position determination can be achieved, but substantial hardware and software changes are required in legacy mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces wireless anchors as intermediary devices between the mobile device and the positioning system. These anchors receive packets from mobile devices, time-stamp them, and forward them to a pre-defined site for position computation. This intermediary approach allows legacy mobile devices to determine position without any hardware or software modifications, as the computation burden is shifted to the anchor infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the mobile device perform computation to determine its position, the patent inverts the approach by having fixed wireless anchors perform the computation. The mobile device simply transmits packets and receives position information, while the anchors and pre-defined site handle the complex triangulation calculations.
2Measurement precision
If wireless anchors are distributed densely to improve positioning accuracy, then measurement precision increases, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless anchors are designed to perform multiple functions: they act as wireless communication access points for mobile devices, serve as positioning reference points for triangulation, and function as packet relay nodes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated positioning infrastructure, making the dense distribution more practical.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide an indoor position system that can be used by an mobile device (legacy or non-legacy) without changes at the mobile device. In an embodiment, to use the indoor position system, a user of the mobile device downloads an application to the mobile device, which interfaces with the mobile device's existing wireless radio technology circuitry or module (e.g., WLAN chip) to obtain the position of the mobile device. In one embodiment, the indoor position system includes a plurality of wireless anchors with known positions that are each configured to receive a packet transmitted by the mobile device, time-stamp the packet per the arrival time of the packet, and forward the time-stamped packet to a pre-defined site. At the pre-defined site, the position of the mobile device is computed and sent to the application running on the mobile device.