Wireless Location Estimation via Pre-Association Broadcast
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless network systems face inefficiencies in location estimation due to high power consumption and insufficient channel capacity caused by frequent frame exchanges between electronic devices and access points, leading to service delays and poor positioning quality.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a pre-association broadcast request frame sent to multiple responders in a wireless network, which triggers immediate responses from access points, allowing for a single request to initiate timing measurements without further frame exchanges, thereby reducing power consumption and channel capacity issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional electronic devices frequently scan for surrounding APs to perform timing measurement, then location estimation can be performed, but power consumption is greatly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having APs pre-associate with the electronic device before actual timing measurement is needed. The electronic device sends a pre-association broadcast request frame to multiple APs, and APs respond with pre-association uni-cast response frames containing timing measurement information. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for frequent scanning during location estimation, significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If three frame exchange sequences are performed for each WLAN AP to complete timing measurement, then accurate location estimation is achieved, but total channel capacity becomes insufficient causing service delay
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple frame exchange sequences into a single efficient exchange. Instead of performing three separate frame exchanges for each AP, the electronic device sends one pre-association broadcast request frame to multiple APs simultaneously. Each AP responds with a pre-association uni-cast response frame containing all necessary timing measurement information. This merging approach maintains measurement precision while dramatically improving channel capacity utilization and reducing service delay.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a sequential, one-by-one frame exchange approach to a parallel, simultaneous approach. By using broadcast request frames that can be received by multiple APs at the same time and obtaining responses from all APs in parallel, the system adds a temporal dimension to the measurement process. This dimensional change allows multiple timing measurements to occur simultaneously rather than sequentially, resolving the channel capacity constraint.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for estimating a location of an electronic device and an associated apparatus are provided, where the method includes the steps of: sending a pre-association broadcast request frame by the electronic device to multiple responders in a wireless network system; receiving a plurality of response frames corresponding to the pre-association broadcast request frame from the multiple responders; and performing a timing measurement according to information carried by the plurality of response frames for determining the location of the electronic device. For example, each of the response frames is sent from one of the responders, and each of the responders sends only one response frame corresponding to the pre-association broadcast request frame. As a result, the power consumption can be greatly decreased, and the related art problem of insufficiency of the total channel capacity of the wireless network system can be prevented.