NAVIGATION AIDING SYSTEMS

... 1388620 Radio navigation ELLIOTT BROS (LONDON) Ltd 8 March 1973 [9 March 1972] 10915/72 Heading H4D In a radio navigation system utilizing relatively fixed stations T (TA, TB, &c.) each arranged to transmit at predetermined times identifiable ranging signals to associating craft A (A1, A2, &c.), a station T transmits a timesynchronizing signal to a craft in response to an interrogating signal from that craft, the time of reception by a craft from a station T is indicative of the range of the craft from that station, and each craft is allocated one of time slots interspersed between ranging signal transmissions by stations T for transmitting its interrogation signal and for receving time-synchronizing signals. Each identifiable ranging signal may be a pair of pulses whose separation identifies the corresponding station T; and an interrogating signal may be a pair of pulses whose separtion identifies the station T for which it is intended. Stations T may operate on different frequencies.

Ranging method, ranging device, location device and location method

A ranging method comprises the steps of: obtaining a one- or two- way trip time of a received wireless signal (e.g radar or mobile phone signal) from an object; calculating a statistical value (e.g. standard deviation (SD) based on power spectral density of noise, bandwidth of an IF amplifier, and signal duration) of a rise time of the received wireless signal; when the statistical value of the rising time of the received wireless signal is smaller than a threshold, correcting the trip time according to the statistical value (FIG. 7A, S703) and hence calculating the distance; and when the statistical value exceeds the threshold, adjusting a parameter accordingly and trying again. This overcomes inaccuracies arising from noise which may be regarded as white Gaussian noise.

Line of sight signal detection

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEMS

SYNCHRONIZED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

SYSTEM AND PROCEDURE FOR THE POSITIONING OF A RECEIVER FROM THE OF SATELLITE RADIATED SIGNALS.

A method & device for precision time-lock

RADIO DETERMINATION USING SATELLITES TRANSMITTING TIMING SIGNALS WITH CORRECTION BY ACTIVE RANGE MEASUREMENT

EFFICIENT DETERMINATION OF TIME OF ARRIVAL OF RADIO COMMUNICATION BURSTS

The propagation time for propagation of a radio signal (93) from a radio transmitting station to a radio receiving station (91) is estimated based on calculated correlation values (102), calculated energy values (101) and a known energy value. The receiving station (91) receives a series of received signals (93) that respectively correspond to radio signaling bursts transmitted by the radio transmitting station. Each of the radio signaling bursts includes a known signaling sequence. The calculated correlation values (102) are indicative of correlations between the received signals and the known sequence, the calculated energy values (101) are calculated for the respective received signals, and the known energy value is the energy of the known sequence.

Verfahren und Anordnung zur Positionsbestimmung durch Funkortung

Method of determining the position of a station by radiolocation from at least two other stations with known positions

The reference stations are transmitting stations (A, B) which are equipped with standard-frequency devices and which carry out modulation. The standard-frequency devices control the production of signals transmitted over a single sideband or transmitted over two sidebands with carrier-component suppression. The station to be located (C) is equipped with a receiver comprising two comparison stages, one of which supplies an information item about the approximate position and the other supplies an information item on the exact position. The method finds applications in offshore oil prospecting. ...

Method and apparatus for performing ultrasonic presence detection

Reception time determining apparatus and distance measuring apparatus using the same

Range-measurement system of discontinuous nonperiodic signals based on GMSK modulation

A range-measurement system of discontinuous nonperiodic signals based on GMSK modulation comprises a base station transmission system, a high-precision synchronous atomic clock and receiving machine terminal equipment, wherein the base station transmission system comprises a plurality of base station transmission devices, the base station transmission devices produce fixed M sequences between a starting zone bit and telegraph text information, the telegraph text information comprises time information at the starting moment of the M sequences, and a formed complete telegraph text modulates carrier waves through a GMSK mode. When the starting zone bit of the telegraph text is analyzed, time delaying is carried out on the M sequences produced by an M sequence generation module by means of multiple time delaying modules to obtain multiple sequences delayed at even intervals, related calculation is carried out between the sequences and signals after carrier wave peeling, and multiple correlation ...

METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATING A POSITION

CAS RECEIVE-ONLY CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION

METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATING A POSITION

채널 추정에 적합한 2의 거듭제곱 멱수 차원수들을 갖는 터너리 시퀀스들

... 위치 추적 시스템에서의 채널 추정을 위한 방법들, 시스템들, 및 디바이스들이 설명된다. 방법들, 시스템들, 및 디바이스들은, 위치 추적 시스템에서의 구현을 위한 완전한 시퀀스 또는 준-완전 시퀀스(프리앰블 시퀀스들을 포함함)를 결정 및/또는 설계하기 위한 툴들 및 기술들을 포함할 수 있다. 터너리 시퀀스들과 같은 2의 멱수 차원수를 갖는 시퀀스들이 결정 및 이용될 수 있으며, 이는 구현 복잡도 및/또는 동작 전력 소모를 감소시키는 것을 도울 수 있다. 시퀀스들은 평균 제곱 오차 및/또는 최대 자기상관 피크 성능 메트릭들을 사용하여 결정될 수 있다.

SHORT DISTANCE LOCATION TRACKING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF TRACKING THE LOCATION OF A TARGET BASED ON ULTRAHIGH FREQUENCY BAND FREQUENCY

PURPOSE: A short distance location tracking system is provided to track the location of a target in a near error range without the attenuation of signals. CONSTITUTION: A short distance location tracking system is composed of a tag part(100), a tag signal reader part(200), and a central controlling office(300). The tag part is mounted at a target and receives a first data signal which includes intrinsic identification information and a location and time synchronization information signal. The tag signal reader part transmits the first data signal and a second data signal including the receiving time of the first data signal. The central controlling office receives the second data signal from the tag reader signal reader part and displays the location information of the tag part, which calculates the distance information of the tag part based on a time difference of arrival mode, to a graphic user interface. COPYRIGHT KIPO 2012 ...

SYNCHRONIZATION ACQUISITION METHOD FOR A REAL TIME POSITIONING SYSTEM WHICH AUTOMATICALLY SETS A THRESHOLD VALUE WHICH IS A REFERENCE FOR PN SYNCHRONIZATION LOCKING IN A DYNAMIC MANNER ACCORDING TO THE RADIO CHANNEL ENVIRONMENT

PURPOSE: A synchronization acquisition method for a real time positioning system is provided to acquire exact PN synchronization in a short preamble of 8bit. CONSTITUTION: A message including a preamble, data and CRC12 is differential coded to compose a transmission message(S11). XOR calculation of the transmission message which is differential coded and the output of a PN generator are executed, and DSSS(Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) spread is conducted(S12). The DSSS spread data is processed with BPSK modulation(S13) and converted up to the frequency of 2.44175 GHz(S14).The signal is amplified and radiated (S15). COPYRIGHT KIPO 2013 [Reference numerals] (AA) Start; (BB) End; (S11) Data differential encoding; (S12) Output of a PN generator and XOR calculation in encoded data; (S13) BPSK modulation; (S14) Converting up to the frequency of 2.44175 GHZ; (S15) Signal amplification and transmission ...

RANGING METHOD AND APPARATUS IN SYNCHRONIZATION SYSTEM, DEVICE AND READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and provides a ranging method and apparatus in a synchronization system, a device, and a readable storage medium. The method comprises: sending a first ranging signal to a second terminal; determining a first time difference, wherein the first time difference is the time difference between the moment when a first terminal device sends the first ranging signal and a first terminal timing; and using the first time difference to combine with a second time difference to determine the distance between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, wherein the second time difference is the time difference between the moment when the second terminal device receives the first ranging signal and a second terminal timing. In the synchronization system, the first terminal device sends the first ranging signal to the second terminal device, the second time difference is determined according to the moment when the first ranging ...

DEVICE AND METHOD OF CALCULATING CRANE CAPACITY

A method of calculating crane capacity is disclosed. The method may include the steps of placing a handheld device near a load, prompting the handheld device to send a signal to a receiver, receiving a signal from the receiver, calculating a distance from the handheld device to the receiver based on at least the signal from the receiver, and using the distance to calculate the crane capacity, wherein the receiver is arranged near or on a crane mast 1. A method of calculating crane capacity comprising:placing a handheld device near a load;prompting the handheld device to send a signal to a receiver;receiving a signal from the receiver;calculating a distance from the handheld device to the receiver based on at least the signal from the receiver; andusing the distance to calculate the crane capacity, wherein the receiver is arranged near or on a crane mast.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handheld device includes a reference clock usable to calculate a time it took for the signal from the receiver to be received by the handheld device.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handheld device includes a reference clock usable to calculate a time it took for the signal transmitted by the handheld device to reach the receiver and be reflected back from the receiver.4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the reference clock begins tracking time when the handheld device sends the signal to the receiver.5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiver is arranged on the crane mast.6. A handheld device comprising:a transmitter to emit a signal;a receiver to receive a return signal;a processor configured to automatically calculate a distance from the handheld device to a target and calculate a capacity of a crane based on the calculated distance.7. The handheld device of claim 6 , whereinthe handheld device includes a memory including information for calculating the crane capacity, wherein the processor calculates crane capacity based on the calculated distance and the ...

Ranging method, ranging device, location device and location method

A ranging method (FIG. 7A), executed in a ranging device (FIG. 4), comprises steps of: obtaining a one-way or round trip time of a received wireless signal (FIG. 7A, S701) (e.g. a radar signal or mobile telephony signal) from an object; calculating a statistical value (e.g. standard deviation (SD) based on power spectral density of noise, bandwidth of an IF amplifier, and signal duration) of a rising time of the received wireless signal (FIG. 7A, S702); correcting the trip time according to the statistical value of the rising time (FIG. 7A, S703); and estimating a distance between the object and the ranging device according to the corrected trip time (FIG. 7A, S704). The statistical property depends on parameters which are chosen to minimize the statistical property. This overcomes inaccuracies arising from noise which may be regarded as white Gaussian noise.

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO RADIO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

MEANS FOR SYNCHRONIZING CLOCKS IN A TIME ORDERED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

... 1410396 Master and slave clock systems BENDIX CORP 18 Sept 1973 [2 Oct 1972] 43729/73 Heading G3T In a system for periodically checking and correcting a remote station clock (e.g. in an aircraft) to maintain it synchronized with a master clock (e.g. on a ground station), the local clock is driven at a local frequency derived from a local crystal controlled oscillator 10 Fig. 1 and synchronizing pulses are transmitted by radio to the or each remote clock station. Correction is effected upon receipt of each synch pulse and is also continuously effected to compensate for oscillator drift in the periods between synch pulses, the correction being by adding or deleting pulses from the local oscillator output by means of a gate circuit arrangement 14 (detailed in Fig. 3 (not shown)). In the remote station each synchronizing signal received is decoded to produce an external reference pulse (ERP) a predetermined time, dependent upon the delay in the decoding process, after the synch pulse. In addition ...

Mobile Unit Ranging System

... 1,193,932. Radio navigation. J. P. CHISHOLM. 5 April, 1968, No. 16535/68. Heading H4D. Specification describes a navigation system wherein each of a plurality of units A, B and C, Fig. 1, can determine its range to any of the other units, wherein a marker pulse signal is transmitted from a first unit and its time of receiption S at a second unit is determined according to the time clock of the second unit, a marker pulse signal is subsequently transmitted from the second unit and its time of reception L at the first unit is determined according to the first unit's time clock, the elapsed time (L-M) between transmission of its own signal and the reception of the second unit's signal is determined according to the first unit's time clock, the delay (T-S) between reception of the first unit's signal and the transmission of the second unit's own pulse signal, is determined according to the second unit's time clock and said delay is subtracted from said elapsed time to give a time [L-M-(T-S) ...

FUNCTION GENERATOR

... 1279511 Measuring altitude rate BENDIX CORP 8 July 1970 [16 Sept 1969] 33123/70 Headings G4A and G4H A function generator includes a counter 11a (Fig. 7) pulsed at a frequency dependent on its count. As described for computing altitude rate, each input pulse at terminal 26 representing a 100 foot increment results in the state of the counter 11a being read out to a memory 220 and reset to a count of 100 (representing a maximum altitude rate of 10,000 feet per minute. Counters 70-77 (Fig. 6) and 110-117 are also reset by each incremental signal after a delay of 600 milliseconds, counter 70-77 then being pulsed by signals on terminal 64 at 7À5 milliseconds intervals. Initially with all the stages of counter 110- 117 reset a gate 120 is enabled to allow the signals on terminal 54 to increment via OR gate 81 counter 11a (Fig. 7). When this counter reaches a count of 74 decoder 11b sets stage 110 to disable gate 120 and enable a gate 90 so that the counter 11a is pulsed at half the frequency ...

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZING ARRANGEMENT FOR COOPERATIVE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM

... 1275984 Aircraft collision avoidance system BENDIX CORP 7 Nov 1969 [3 Dec 1968] 54564/69 Heading H4D Relates to a clock synchronizing arrangement for a co-operative radio aircraft collision avoidance system (CAS) of the type in which each participating station (fixed or mobile) carries a clock unit comprising a clock counter 22 and slot counter 40, Fig. 3, whose time cycle comprises repeating epochs of three seconds duration, each epoch comprising 2,000 time slots each of duration 1500 Ás and the time cycles of all the stations being maintained in absolute synchronism with a standard (socalled world-wide) time cycle by means of a two-speed sync. counter 24 capable of counting at a rate of 5 MHz or 10 MHz. As described each station transmits a coded epoch-start signal ES at the commencement of each locally defined epoch and each aircraft is allotted a unique own time slot during which it transmits: (1) a so-called Doppler-burst range signal comprising a 200 Ás RF pulse commencing 15 Ás after ...

PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE RUNNING TIME BETWEEN SATELLITE AND AN EARTH STATION

Geographic and space positioning system and process

System and method for positioning

EFFICIENT DETERMINATION OF TIME OF ARRIVAL OF RADIO COMMUNICATION BURSTS

The propagation time for propagation of a radio signal (93) from a radio transmitting station to a radio receiving station (91) is estimated based on calculated correlation values (102), calculated energy values (101) and a known energy value. The receiving station (91) receives a series of received signals (93) that respectively correspond to radio signaling bursts transmitted by the radio transmitting station. Each of the radio signaling bursts includes a known signaling sequence. The calculated correlation values (102) are indicative of correlations between the received signals and the known sequence, the calculated energy values (101) are calculated for the respective received signals, and the known energy value is the energy of the known sequence.

NAVIGATION BY MEANS OF A PASSIVE RANGING TECHNIQUE

ADVANCED INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM

ADVANCED INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM A system for landing an aircraft is described, using a ground installation and an airborne installation which are synchronized together using GPS system time. Specifically, the ground installation includes a ground transmitter (32) which radiates the sequence of signals (A,B,C,D) which provide precision guidance information to the aircraft, an aircraft installation which includes a radio receiver (8) and a processor (15) to receive a process the transmitted guidance signals and to provide indications (18,20) to aid the pilot in landing the aircraft, a GPS receiver in the air (68) and on the ground (60) for producing signals representative of GPS system time, and a channel selector (72) in the aircraft for actuating the processor to synchronize its operation with the ground installation transmitter. Range information is provided by measuring the time interval between the transmission of a reference at the ground and its receipt in the air.

RADIO DETERMINATION USING SATELLITES TRANSMITTING TIMING SIGNALS WITH CORRECTION BY ACTIVE RANGE MEASUREMENT

RADIO DETERMINATION USING SATELLITES TRANSMITTING TIMING SIGNALS WITH CORRECTION BY ACTIVE RANGE MEASUREMENT The time-of-arrival of timing signals transmitted by two satellites ismeasured relative to a crystal clock, and a approximate position fix is computedfor the ship or other object being located. Because of clock error the positionfixes are displaced along a hyperbolic line of position. A two-way active rangemeasurement through a third satellite or one timing signal satellite enables computation of an independently determined line of position, the true position fix being at its intersection with the hyperbolic line of position. The clock error is corrected and the method of position fixing from two timing satellites is repeated until the clock drift exceeds acceptable limits. A continuous navigation service and also position surveillance are realized.

RATE AIDED RANGING AND TIME DISSEMINATION RECEIVER

TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE FIELD OF VIEWOF A CAMERA

The system includes circuitry for measuring the distance between a transmitter and one or more receivers, and having a timing circuitry to measure the time-of-flight of an RF pulse and the transversed distance of the pulse. The use of two receivers in a single plane provides for the determination of the location of the transmitter with respect to a reference position created by the associated tracking system and the automatic tracking of the transmitter with the field of view of a camera by the tracking system.

Wireless ranging method based on CSS (chirp spread spectrum sequence) technology and CSS wireless terminal

The invention discloses a wireless ranging method based on the CSS (chirp spread spectrum sequence) technology and a CSS wireless terminal. According to the design, on the basis of the CSS technology, the chirp spread spectrum sequence with the strong anti-jamming capability is adopted, the transmitter and receiver end is based on the symmetrical-face two-way ranging algorithm, the digital matched filter design technology is adopted in a matched manner, and the ranging accuracy can be improved by being smaller than 1 meter.

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION WITHOUT ADDRESSING FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS

Process and device of measurement of the distance from an object in flight

Le procédé permet de mesurer en continu la distance en vol d'un objet même s'il se produit une interruption dans la transmission des données. Il consiste à insérer des impulsions de mesure de distance dans un signal de télémétrie transmis par un dispositif de transmission prévu sur l'objet en vol, à séparer et extraire une impulsion de mesure de distance d'un signal de télémétrie reçu par un dispositif de réception monté au sol, à obtenir une différence de temps entre l'impulsion de mesure de distance et un signal d'horloge de référence produit dans le dispositif de réception sur la base d'une référence de temps égale à celle du dispositif de transmission (les périodes des signaux d'horloge des deux références de temps sont identiques) et à calculer la distance du vol. Comme il est inutile de prévoir un transpondeur sur l'objet ni un système de poursuite-mesure de distance au sol, on peut réaliser une construction de système simple. Les impulsions de mesure de distance étant transmises ...

무선 측위 방법 및 장치

... 수신기의 무선 측위 방법이 제공된다. 수신기의 무선 측위 방법에 따르면, 복수의 송신기로부터 신호를 수신하고, 상기 복수의 송신기로부터 수신한 신호를 이용하여 TDOA(Time Difference of Arrival)를 수행하며, 상기 TDOA의 오류율을 임계 오류율과 비교하고, 비교 결과에 기초하여 상기 수신기의 위치를 결정한다. 이에 따라, 수신기가 이동하는 환경에서도 정확한 측위 결과를 제공할 수 있다.

REAL-TIME POSITION TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHOD USING A DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA WHICH IS INSTALLED IN A PLURALITY OF READERS CAPABLE OF RECEIVING A TRANSMISSION SIGNAL FROM A TAG

PURPOSE: A real-time global position tracing system and method are provided to firstly trace the direction of a tag using the intensity of a signal which is income and to secondly trace a location of the tag using a time and direction of arrival mode. CONSTITUTION: A real-time global position tracing system comprises a tag(210), a plurality of readers(220a-220d), a plurality of directional antennas(230a-230d), and a controller(240). The tag is attached to a position tracking target object. A plurality of readers receives information from the tag and transmits the information of the tag, the intensity of a signal, and reader information to an upper layer. A plurality of directional antennae is installed in a plurality of readers and receives transmission information from the tag. The directional antenna receives information which is transmitted from the upper layer and transmits the information to the tag as the form of a propagation signal. The controller analyzes the information about ...

SPREAD SPECTRUM RECEIVER AND METHOD OF DETECTION

A method of detecting, and a receiver for, a spread spectrum signal, in which a chip sequence is sampled (110) and filtered in a matched filter (120), the output of the filter is averaged (130) over respective samples of successive chip sequences, and the position of the chip sequence in the spread spectrum signal is determined (170) by determining the position of closest match between the averaged filter output and samples taken at the same interval from a reference correlation function of the chip sequence. The time of arrival of the spread spectrum signal may be determined by comparison of the position of the chip sequence, or an average of more than one such position, with a time reference. The position of closest match may be determined by a least squares fit technique.

Super-resolution technique for time-of-arrival estimation

An interface circuit in an electronic device may receive samples of wireless signals in one or more time intervals, where the wireless signals are associated with the second electronic device. For example, the samples of the wireless signals may include one or more of: time samples, spatial samples and/or frequency samples. Then, the interface circuit may split the samples of the wireless signals into parallel channels for sub-band processing that improves a resolution and/or a signal-to-noise ratio of the samples of the wireless signals. The sub-band processing may include filtering and decimation. Moreover, the sub-band processing may include a super-resolution technique, such as a multiple signal classification (MUSIC) technique and/or a linear-prediction super-resolution technique. Next, the interface circuit may combine outputs from the parallel channels to estimate a time of arrival of the wireless signals and/or a distance between the electronic device and the second electronic device ...

Geographic and space positioning system and process

Geographical and space positioning system and process, comprising:a first, a second, and a third base (A, B, C) which are fixed in relation to the earth, but spaced away and disaligned in relation to each other, a space platform (S) which is visible from the fixed bases (A, B, C);at least one target (P) situated on or above the surface of the earth; a transnitter (1)operatively associated with each of the parts defined by the fixed bases (A, B, C) and the space platform (S) in order to emit pulses in a determined frequency, each pulse in a predetermined reference instant; a receiver (2)operatively associated with: each fixed base (A, B, C), each target (P) and with the transmitter (1) in order to receive said pulses in a trajectory covering the distance between the space platform (S) and the fixed base (A, b, C) associated with the receiver (2) a control unit (3) which is operatively connected to both the transmitter (1) and thereceiver (2) in order to calculate, for each pulse emission ...

Indoor radio ranging based on a subset of subcarriers employed by orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)

Systems, apparatus and methods for determining a set of ranges from selected subcarriers of an OFDM signal sent between a receiver (e.g., first transceiver or a local receiver of a local unit at a first location) and a transmitter (e.g., second transceiver or remote transmitter of a remote unit at a second location) are presented. The set of ranges is ambiguous as to the correct range. Each range in this set of ambiguous ranges represents a possible range between the transmitter and the receiver. Range ambiguities may be resolved by using additional subcarriers from the OFDM signal and/or using a last know position of a receiver and/or finding ranges to two, three or more transmitters. The range may be used with other ranges to find a location estimate of the receiver.

Method of environmental sensing through pilot signals in a spread spectrum wireless communication system

A method of environmental sensing through pilot signals in a spread spectrum wireless communication system is provided with a plurality of wireless terminals. The plurality of wireless terminals includes a plurality of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radars and at least one base station. The plurality of terminals broadcasts a beacon pilot signals containing a terminal-specific information and encoded with a corresponding identifier. Using the corresponding identifier, an arbitrary radar from the plurality of MIMO radars separates the beacon pilot signal from an ambient signal. More specifically, the arbitrary radar compares the ambient signal to the corresponding identifier of each wireless terminal to identify at least one origin terminal. Subsequently, the arbitrary radar extracts the terminal-specific information from the beacon pilot signal of the origin terminal. The terminal-specific information is used to exchange data between the plurality of wireless terminals for autonomous driving ...

Short range digital radio location determination to facilitate petroleum transport

A method may include the following steps: determining, based on timing measurements between a first digital radio communication device (DRCD) node and at least a second DRCD node, a distance between the first DRCD disposed on a tanker and the second DRCD disposed about a loading/unloading facility; and facilitating, in response to determining a position based on the timing measurements, fluid payload loading/unloading of the tanker at the loading/unloading facility.

Position detecting method and apparatus

Способ-5 работы радиолокатора Староверова и устройство для его осуществления

Ranging method, ranging device, location device and location method

Improvements in or relating to an Aircraft Collision Avoidance System

... 1,194,470. Radio navigation; radio signalling. BENDIX CORP. 25 Nov., 1968 [28 Dec., 1967], No. 55867/68. Headings H4D and H4L. In an aircraft collision avoidance system each craft carries a clock (e.g. an atomic clock), all the clocks keep the same time, each craft is assigned a time slot within which it transmits a collision avoidance message, and each craft generates a plurality of frequencies controlled from its clock one of which is utilized for its message transmission. In the embodiment each time slot period, Fig. 1, is 1172 microseconds and an aircraft transmits once in every five seconds; each transmission consists of a C.W. pulse 10, the leading edge of which at a receiving craft is compared with its clock to give range and is also utilized to give range rate by Doppler shift, a guard time of 170 microseconds to eliminate ground reflections, a pulse 14 the timing of which corresponds to altitude rate, a further guard time, and a pulse 18 the timing of which corresponds to altitude ...

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES

... 1278636 Radionavigation SIERRA RESEARCH CORP 15 Aug 1969 [20 Aug 1968] 40943/69 Heading H4D Relates to means for absolutely synchronizing the clock counter 43, 44, Figs. 1 and 3, of a known form of airborne co-operative radio collision avoidance system (CAS) 41 to a remote ground master clock 16 when the airborne station 40 includes a known form of distancemeasuring secondary pulse radar (so called standard DME) 46 operating in conjunction with a fixed ground station 10, e.g. a VOR/DME, TACAN or VORTAC station, which includes a DME transponder, said synchronising means also comprising a fixed interrogator 20 synchronized with said master clock 16 and located a known distance d from the ground station 10. As described the CAS time cycle comprises recurrent epochs of duration #T = 3 secs. each divided into 2000 time slots each of duration #t = 1500 Ás. The master clock 16 produces sync pulses A, Fig. 2, of recurrence period 2#T = 6 secs. corresponding to the start of every other epoch, e.g ...

One-way range and azimuth system for stationkeeping

... 1,101,340. Radio navigation. SIERRA RESEARCH CORPORATION. 15 Dec., 1965 [21 Dec., 1964], No. 53249/65. Heading H4D. General description.-A radio navigation system is described whereby each of a plurality of mobile vehicles 1-8, Fig. 1, is supplied with a PPI indication of the relative positions of all the other vehicles. Each vehicle is provided with nominally synchronized clocks defining a plurality of equal consecutive time slots with individual allocation of each vehicle to a particular time slot. At the beginning of its allocated time slot the vehicle radiates omnidirectionally a coded pulse pair " Code II ", Fig. 3, which is picked up by a rotating directional antenna on each of the other vehicles to provide one way range information together with antenna direction azimuth information, for use in said PPI display. One of the vehicles 1, is designated the " master " vehicle, and is allocated to time slot 9, Fig. 4. At the beginning of its time slot the master vehicle radiates a " Synch ...

PROCEDURE FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS AND SUCH AN IMPLEMENTING TRANSMITTER

A method & device for precision time-lock

METHOD OF, AND APPARATUS FOR, DETERMINING POSITION

ADVANCED INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM

Ranging system and method for satellites

Method and system for determining position of mobile radio terminals

NAVIGATION METHOD FOR PRECISELY STEERING A FLYING OBJECT

TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE FIELD OF VIEWOF A CAMERA

The system includes circuitry for measuring the distance between a transmitter and one or more receivers, and having a timing circuitry to measure the time-of-flight of an RF pulse and the transversed distance of the pulse. The use of two receivers in a single plane provides for the determination of the location of the transmitter with respect to a reference position created by the associated tracking system and the automatic tracking of the transmitter with the field of view of a camera by the tracking system.

Radio communication equipment and method for measuring distance

METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATING A POSITION

Improvements with the indicating radioelectric systems of distance

SYSTEM OF RADIONAVIGATION

MULTIPLE MODE AIRCRAFT CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION

PROCESS AND DEVICE TO DETERMINE THE DURATION OF TRANSIT ENTER AN SPACE ENGINE AND A STATION GROUND

L'invention concerne un procédé et un dispositif pour déterminer la durée de transit ΔT des signaux entre une station sol équipée d'un système sol (3), et un engin spatial équipé d'un système bord (14). On génère dans le système sol (3) et on émet vers l'engin spatial une trame de synchronisation TC-Dist, comprenant au moins un bit de synchronisation, on mesure et on enregistre dans la station sol l'intervalle de temps sol Δtsol entre l'instant d'émission du bit de synchronisation et l'instant de réception d'un bit de référence d'une trame de télémesure dont on enregistre le numéro NTs, on génère et on émet vers l'engin spatial une trame de mesure TC-mes, incorporant Δtsol et NTs, on mesure à bord de l'engin spatial l'intervalle de temps bord Δtbord entre la réception du bit de synchronisation et l'émission du bit de référence d'une trame de télémesure dont le numéro de trame NTb est enregistré, on calcule la durée de transit ΔT par la formule : 2ΔT = Δ - Δtsol + (NTb - NTs) x d trame - ...

Navigation system air and of prevention of the collisions

Systeme de radionavigation

Ce systeme de radionavigation comporte essen- tiellement : - des moyens pour determiner en un point M1 de la trajectoire du mobile a localiser, le vecteur vitesse de ce mobile, et eventuellement les derivees d'ordre ¦ n ¦ de ce vecteur vitesse (avec n ‗ 1); - des moyens pour effectuer au moins trois mesures successives de distance respectivement entre un point geodesique au sol et trois positions successives (M1, M2, M3) de ce mobile; - des moyens pour calculer la position M3 de ce mobile par resolution d'un systeme d'equations a partir des resultats ainsi obtenus, exprimes dans un meme referentiel. Application : trajectographie.

MULTIPLE MODE AIRCRAFT CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION

System of continuous location several vehicles starting from a central station

A METHOD OF OBTAINING SYNCHRONIZATION IN A REAL TIME LOCATING SYSTEM

BULK FINE TIMING MEASUREMENT ALLOCATION MESSAGE

Examples disclosed herein relate to the scheduling and transmission of timing measurements between mobile computing devices in an area to determine the devices' locations. A bulk fine timing measurement (BFTM) allocation message is generated by a scheduling mobile computing device that identifies other mobile computing devices in the area. The BFTM allocation message generated by the scheduling mobile computing device indicates a time of delivery (TOD), a scheduling order for the identified mobile computing devices, and a contention-free period for the mobile computing devices to transmit the timing measurement messages.

Identifying a Reference Point in a Signal

A transmitter device (1), operable to perform distance measurements by using time-of-flight measurements, has a sampling frequency different to the frequency of a time-of-flight signal sent from the transmitter device to a receiver device (12) in order for the distance between the transmitter device (1) and the receiver device (12) to the determined. The signal, from which the time-of-flight signal is derived, is modulated with a PRN sequence derived from the output signal of a Numerically Controlled Oscillator (17). A new chip is generated by the NCO (17) each time a register (24) in the NCO overflows, but the beginning of the chip according to the desired frequency of the PRN code does not necessarily coincide with a sampling point in the transmitter device (1). The invention enables time stamps to be generated even when the reference point (30) to be timed does not coincide exactly with a sampling point (31, 32) in the transmitter and consequently the time-of-transmission of the time-of-flight ...

SATELLITE AIDED VEHICLE AVOIDANCE SYSTEM

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING LOCATIONS OF WIRELESS SENSOR NODES BASED ON RADIO FREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE NODES AND VARIOUS RF-ENABLED DEVICES

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for determining locations of wireless nodes in a network architecture are disclosed herein. In one example, a system includes a first wireless node having a wireless device with one or more processing units and RF circuitry for transmitting and receiving communications in the wireless network architecture including a first RF signal having a first packet. A second wireless node having a wireless device with a transmitter and a receiver enables bi-directional communications with the first wireless node in the wireless network architecture including a second RF signal with a second packet. The one or more processing units of the first wireless node are configured to execute instructions to determine a round trip time estimate of the first and second packets, to determine channel state information (CSI) of the first and second wireless nodes, and to calibrate hardware to determine hardware delays of the first and second wireless nodes.

Ultra-wideband Pulse and Ultra-wideband Pulse-based Ranging

A method for generating an ultra-wideband signal is provided. The method comprises the steps of generating at least one ultra-wideband pulse envelope comprising a main pulse and a precursor pulse, the precursor pulse being shorter in length and lower in amplitude compared to the main pulse, and modulating a carrier signal in amplitude such that the envelope corresponds to the at least one ultra-wideband pulse envelope and such that the carrier signal within the main pulse is phase-shifted with respect to the carrier signal within the precursor pulse.

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR POSITIONING BASED ON SIGNAL CORRELATION FUNCTION CHARACTERISTICS FEEDBACK

METHOD FOR DISTANCE DETERMINATION

DISTANCE MEASUREMENT

An apparatus comprising: means for obtaining a total delay error that when added to a reference time equivalent to a reference distance between a first antenna and a second antenna equals a difference between a transmission time of a signal sent via the first antenna and a reception time of the signal received via the second antenna; means for measuring a frequency-variable first delay associated with reflection of a transmitted signal by a frequency-variable complex impedance of the first antenna; means for measuring a frequency-variable second delay associated with reflection of a transmitted signal by a frequency-variable complex impedance of the second antenna; means for estimating a first portion of the total delay error associated with the first antenna in dependence upon at least the first delay; and means for estimating a second portion of the total delay error associated with the second antenna in dependence upon at least the second delay.

СИСТЕМА И СПОСОБ ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКОГО И ПРОСТРАНСТВЕННОГО ПОЗИЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ

Изобретение относится к радиотехнике и может быть использовано для определения местоположения на поверхности Земли и навигации. Технический результат состоит в обеспечении полного определения траектории. Система содержит первый, второй и третий опорные пункты (А, В, С), которые являются неподвижными относительно Земли, расположены на расстоянии друг относительно друга и не находятся на одной линии. Космическая платформа (S) видима из неподвижных пунктов (А, В, С). По меньшей мере, один объект (Р) находится выше или на поверхности Земли. Передатчик (1) оперативно связан с каждым из узлов, задаваемых неподвижными опорными пунктами (А, В, С) и космической платформой (S), для излучения импульсов на определенной частоте каждый из которых излучается в заранее определенный момент времени. Приемник (2) оперативно связан с каждым неподвижным опорным пунктом (А, В, С), каждым объектом (Р) и с передатчиком (1) для приема указанных импульсов на траектории, охватывающей расстояние между космической ...

Taktgebersynchronisationseinrichtung,insbesondere fuer ein Kollisionsschutzsystem in Flugzeugen

Proximity monitoring

Presented is a proximity monitoring apparatus and method. The apparatus comprises: a transmitter adapted to transmit a electromagnetic signal in a periodic time slot defined with reference to a master clock signal; and a detector adapted to receive the electromagnetic signal transmitted by the transmitter, to determine the period of the received electromagnetic signal, and to determine that the received electromagnetic signal was transmitted by the transmitter of the proximity monitoring apparatus if the determined period is within a predetermined range of values. The separation of the receiver and transmitter is according to a measure of the near-field of the received signal. The apparatus is suitable for use within the construction industry to so that a warning can be given to people about the presence of an oncoming vehicle. The warning could be triggered by the rate of change of separation between the vehicle and the person. The warning means could be a vibrator within the workman's ...

ONE-WAY RANGING SYSTEM

A method and apparatus for tracking position

PROCEDURE AND DEVICE FOR THE RANGING FOR SATELLITES

DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR THE DELAY ESTIMATION

NAVIGATION METHOD FOR PRECISELY STEERING A FLYING OBJECT

TITLE OF THE INVENTION: NAVIGATION METHOD FOR ELY STEERING A FLYING OBJECT A flying object is precisely steered by determining the position of the flying object with the aid of a trigonometric calculation. For this purpose pulse signals emitted in synchronism from two ground stations are received by the flying object and the time difference between the two arrivals is measured. The flying object is also equipped with a clock which is synchronized with the clocks of the two ground stations. Thus, the emitting times are available in the flying object. Based on the measured time difference between the receipt of the two pulses and on the given emission time the coordinates of the actual position of the flying object are calculated. The calculated position coordinates are compared with position coordinates of a rated course stored in the airborne equipment whereby a course deviation signal is calculated. The course deviation signal is then applied to the steering mechanism of the flying object ...

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES

COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR LOCATING A POSITION

PROCESS AND MIXED EQUIPMENT OF RADIONAVIGATION WITH DISTANCES AND PSEUDO-DISTANCES

COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM

CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES

Method for calibrating a propagation-time-based localization system

In a method for calibrating a propagation-time-based localization system in a computer-assisted manner, the position of a mobile object in a predetermined environment can be determined by detecting propagation-time-based variables of multiple base stations, wherein the propagation-time-based variable of a base station represents the propagation time of a signal between an object radio unit and the base station. The object is moved and the variables of the base stations are detected in the process at multiple measuring times. The minimum value of the variables of a base station is associated with a predefined minimum distance between the object and base station and the maximum value with a predefined maximum distance. A predefined dependence of the distances between the object and base station is scaled to the association of the minimum and maximum value. The scaled dependence is then used when determining the position of the mobile object.

POSITIONING ERROR CALCULATION DEVICE, POSITIONING ERROR CALCULATION SYSTEM AND POSITIONING ERROR CALCULATION METHOD

Provided is a positioning error calculation device which enables provision of an appropriate positioning error value regarding position data obtained by base-station positioning regardless of the position where a positioning target exists. The positioning error calculation device includes: an element which stores therein positioning record information including first positioning result information corresponding to a position of a terminal device; an element which selects and acquires the positioning record information; an element which calculates a density of positioning records at each of predetermined places on the basis of the positioning record information; an element which calculates an estimated positioning error value by using a relational expression, on the basis of the density; and an element which acquires the estimated positioning error value at each of the places by acquiring the estimated positioning error value corresponding to the density at the each of the places. 1. A positioning error calculation device comprising:first positioning record storage unit which stores therein first positioning record information including first positioning result information corresponding to a position of a terminal device, having been estimated by first positioning unit;record selection unit which selects and acquires said first positioning record information from said first positioning record storage unit;positioning record density calculation unit which calculates a density of positioning records at each of predetermined places on the basis of said first positioning record information having been acquired by said record selection unit;density and positioning error calculation unit which calculates an estimated positioning error value on the basis of said density having been calculated by said positioning record density calculation unit; andposition and positioning error calculation unit which acquires said estimated positioning error value at each of said places by ...

WIDE AREA POSITIONING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

Devices, systems, and methods for sending positional information from transmitters/beacons are disclosed. In one implementation a transmitter generates a range block including a ranging signal and a hybrid block including positioning data, and sends the range block and hybrid block in predefined slots in a transmit frame. A receiver in a user device receives signals from a plurality of transmitters and generates position/location information using trilateration and measured altitude information in comparison with transmitter altitude information. 1. A method of providing positioning system information , comprising:generating, at a transmitter, a range block including a ranging signal;sending, from the transmitter, the range block, wherein the range block is sent in a predefined slot of a plurality of predefined slots comprising a first transmit frame;generating, at the transmitter, a hybrid block including a positioning signal including positioning data; andsending, from the transmitter, the hybrid block, wherein the hybrid block is sent in the predefined slot in a second transmit frame disjoint from the first transmit frame.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hybrid block further includes a ranging signal.3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:generating, at the transmitter, a second hybrid block; andsending, from the transmitter, the second hybrid block, wherein the second hybrid block is sent in the predefined slot in a third transmit frame disjoint from the first and/or second transmit frames.4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:generating, at a second transmitter, a range block including a ranging signal; andsending, from the second transmitter, the range block, wherein the range block is sent from the second transmitter in a second predefined slot of the plurality of predefined slots.5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:generating, at the second transmitter, a hybrid block including a positioning signal including positioning data; ...

METHOD FOR LOCALIZING AN OBJECT

A method for localizing an object, including the acts of: transmission of a first signal by a first transmitter assigned to the object and of a second signal by at least one second transmitter; reception of the first and of the second signal by at least three receivers; in each receiver and for the first and the second signal: a) generation of a first and of a second reference signal; b) correlation between the first signal and the first reference signal and between the second signal and the second reference signal; c) interpolation of samples resulting from the correlation; d) deduction of the propagation time of the first and of the second signal; e) calculation of the difference between the propagation times of the first and of the second signal; and, by triangulation, deduction of the position of the object. 1. A method to localize an object , comprising:transmitting by a first transmitter assigned to the object a first signal from a first frame;transmitting by at least one second transmitter a second signal from a second frame, wherein said first and second frames include a common portion; generating a first reference signal from a third frame and a second reference signal from a fourth frame, the third and fourth frames including said common portion;', 'performing a first correlation between the first signal and the first reference signal;', 'performing a second correlation between the second signal and the second reference signal;', 'interpolating samples resulting from the first and second correlations;', 'deducing propagation time of the first signal and propagation time of the second signal; and', 'calculating a difference between the propagation times of the first signal and of the second signal; and, 'receiving the first signal and the second signal by at least three receivers, each receiver performing, for the first signal and the second signal, acts ofdeducing a position of the object by triangulation based on the differences between the propagation ...

Position and Uncertainty Determination Using Staggered Reception of Position Reference Signals

Arrangements are detailed herein for determining a position and/or uncertainty of position of a mobile device. A plurality of positioning reference signals (PRSs) may be received by a mobile device. The plurality of PRSs may be transmitted at different times, separated by a predefined time interval, by multiple eNBs of a mobile network. Time of arrival values in relation to a received PRS that is used as a reference PRS may be determined. The time of arrival values for at least the subset of the received plurality of PRSs may be projected to the occasion of the reference PRS using the predefined time interval to create a set of projected time of arrival values. 1. A method , comprising: the plurality of PRSs are transmitted at a plurality of PRS occasions by a plurality of eNBs of a mobile network,', 'a predefined time interval separates consecutive PRS occasions; and', 'a received PRS of the plurality of PRSs is used as a reference PRS occasion;, 'receiving, by a mobile device, a plurality of positioning reference signals (PRSs), whereindetermining, by the mobile device, time of arrival values in relation to the reference PRS occasion for at least a subset of the received plurality of PRSs; andprojecting, by the mobile device, the time of arrival values for at least the subset of the received plurality of PRSs to the reference PRS occasion using the predefined time interval to create a set of projected time of arrival values.2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:calculating, by the mobile device, a set of time difference of arrival values using the reference PRS occasion and the projected times of arrival values.3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:transmitting, by the mobile device, the set of time difference of arrival values to the mobile network.4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:calculating, by the mobile device, a position of the mobile device using the set of time difference of arrival values.5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a ...

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING MULTI-TONE FREQUENY SIGNALS

Embodiments of the present invention include a method of determining a location of a mobile device. The method comprises transmitting a signal between a plurality of known locations and receiving signal at device of unknown location such as a mobile device. The signal may include multiple tones having different frequencies and resulting in sets of residual phase differences. The location of the mobile device may be determined using the known locations and the frequency and phase differences between the transmitted tones. In one embodiment, OFDM signals may be used between an access point and mobile device, for example, to determine the location of the mobile device. 1. A method of determining a location of an electronic device , the method comprising:transmitting one or more signals between a first electronic device at an unknown location and three or more electronic devices at three or more corresponding known locations, wherein the one or more signals each include a plurality of tones having different frequencies;determining at least one first phase difference between at least two tones having a first frequency difference in the one or more signals accumulated during transmission between the first electronic device and a first electronic device of said three or more electronic devices;determining at least one second phase difference between at least two tones having a second frequency difference in the one or more signals accumulated during transmission between the first electronic device and a second electronic device of said three or more electronic devices;determining at least one third phase difference between at least two tones having a third frequency difference in the one or more signals accumulated during transmission between the first electronic device and a third electronic device of said three or more electronic devices; anddetermining the location of said first electronic device using said first, second, and third phase differences and said first, ...

USING MULTIPLE ACCESS CHANNELS FOR WIRELESS DEVICE POSITIONING

A wireless device performs a transmission on a primary and auxiliary access channels to enable reception by at least three base stations. The base stations perform a measurement on the received transmission, e.g., a time of arrival of the transmission. The base stations report their measurements to a position determination entity. The position determination entity estimates geographic position of the wireless device. One method used by the position determination entity includes tri-lateralization based on the received measurement reports. 1. A method for wireless communications implemented by a wireless device , comprising:receiving, at the wireless device, a position request message from a requester base station;measuring, in response to the received position request message, characteristics of signals received from multiple base stations, including the requester base station;preparing a position report using the signal characteristics, wherein the position report provides information enabling determination of geographic location of the wireless device; andtransmitting the position report.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the position report comprises transmitting the position report over an access channel or an enhanced access channel.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the position report is transmitted at 1.2 kbps claim 1 , 2.4 kbps or 4.8 kbps.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the position report includes a time of arrival information.5. A wireless communications apparatus claim 1 , comprising:a receiver that receives a position request message from a base station;a signal measurer that measures characteristics of signals received from multiple base stations;a report preparer that prepares, in response to the received position request message, a position report using the signal characteristics; anda transmitter that transmits the position report on an access channel.6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the transmitting the position report ...

System for determining the presence of an identifier inside a passenger compartment

A system for determining the presence of an identifier ( 7, 7 ′) inside a passenger compartment ( 2 ), such as a passenger compartment ( 2 ) of a motor vehicle ( 1 ), includes: a fixed transmitter ( 3 ), associated with the passenger compartment ( 2 ), including at least one transceiver ( 4 ) and at least one processing unit ( 5 ); at least one mobile identifier ( 7, 7 ′) including a transceiver ( 8, 8 ′) and a processing unit ( 9, 9 ′), the respective transceivers ( 4, 8, 8 ′) of the transmitter ( 3 ) and of the identifier ( 7, 7 ′) being capable of exchanging wireless signals; and a comparison unit capable of comparing a signal, originating from the identifier ( 7, 7 ′), received by the transmitter ( 3 ), with at least one characteristic signature of the inside of the passenger compartment ( 2 ), the identifier ( 7, 7 ′) being assumed to be located inside the passenger compartment ( 2 ) when the comparison unit returns a positive comparison result.

SELF MAPPING PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY SYSTEM

A photovoltaic (PV) panel is described that can be used in a PV installation, in cooperation with a central control unit to provide a map of locations of individual PV panels. The map can be determined by the central control unit based on measurements of a characteristic made at the plurality of PV panels. The characteristic provides an indication of adjacent PV panels, allowing the map of locations of individual PV panels to be constructed. 1. A photovoltaic (PV) panel comprising:an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals; anda panel controller for generating locating signals for transmission under control of a remote controller, receiving locating signals transmitted by other PV panels, determining received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values of received locating signals from other PV panels and communicating the RSSI values of the received locating signals using the antenna to the remote controller.2. The PV panel of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of directional antennas claim 1 , each having a main lobe in a respective transmission direction claim 1 , the directional antennas for transmitting the locating signals substantially in the transmission directions.3. The PV panel of claim 2 , wherein the locating signals from other PV panels are received using the directional antennas.4. (canceled)5. The PV panel of claim 3 , wherein the locating signals are received by each of the directional antennas.6. The PV panel of claim 1 , wherein the antenna is an omni-directional antenna and receives locating signals from other PV panels.7. The PV-panel of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of directional antennas comprise two directional antennas arranged with the respective transmission directions arranged orthogonally to each other.8. The PV panel of claim 1 , wherein the antenna is an omni-directional antenna and transmits and receives locating signals.9. The PV panel of claim 8 , wherein the transmitted locating signals are ...

METHOD AND APPARATUS TO IMPROVE POSITION ACCURACY FOR WI-FI TECHNOLOGY

The disclosure generally relates to a method, system and apparatus for calibrating a wireless device for accurate Time-of-Flight (ToF) range determination. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a method for calibrating a device by identifying a plurality of access points (APs) at the device; identifying a first AP of the plurality of APs, the first AP positioned immediately above the device; determining a real-time ToF value for the first AP; determining a device calibration coefficient from the real-time ToF value for first AP. The disclosed method has many advantages, including simplicity and scalability. Further, the device need not know its location, its distance between from the AP or the AP's identity. 1. A method for calibrating a device , comprising:identifying a plurality of access points (APs) at a device;selecting a first AP of the plurality of APs, the first AP positioned immediately above the device;determining a real-time Time-of-Flight (ToF) value for the first AP; anddetermining a device calibration coefficient from the real-time ToF value for the first AP.2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a plurality of signals at the deice claim 1 , each of the plurality of received signals corresponding to one of a plurality of APs communicating with the device.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time ToF value is determined as a function of a signal received from the first AP.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time ToF value is determined as an average value for a plurality of signals received from the first AP.5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the device calibration coefficient by calculating the difference between an expected ToF value and the real-time ToF value.6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a real-time ToF value for a second of the plurality of APs.7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising determining a device location as a function of the device calibration ...

POSITION ESTIMATION SYSTEM AND CENTER

A position estimation system includes a mobile terminal; and a center communicating with the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes units to execute GPS positioning and base station positioning, respectively, and transmitters to transmit first and second positional information obtained by the GPS positioning and the base station positioning, respectively, to the center. The center includes a receiver to receive the first and second positional information, a position estimator to determine whether a user of the mobile terminal has boarded a train at a station, based on the second positional information if the mobile terminal has become incapable of executing the GPS positioning around the station, and if having determined that the user has boarded a train, to estimate which train was boarded by the user, based on a moving direction of the mobile terminal calculated from the second positional information. 1. A position estimation system , comprising:a mobile terminal; anda center configured to communicate with the mobile terminal through a predetermined communication network,wherein the mobile terminal includesa GPS positioning unit configured to execute GPS positioning,a base station positioning unit configured to execute base station positioning,a first transmitter configured to transmit first positional information obtained by the GPS positioning to the center, anda second transmitter configured to transmit second positional information obtained by the base station positioning to the center,wherein the center includesa receiver configured to receive the first positional information and the second positional information transmitted from the mobile terminal,a position estimator configured to determine whether a user of the mobile terminal has boarded a train at a station, based on the second positional information in a case where the mobile terminal has become incapable of executing the GPS positioning in a vicinity of the station, and if having determined ...

Method and Apparatus for Synchronising a Location Network

Apparatus and methods are presented for synchronising a slave device signal to a reference timebase, in situations where the slave device lacks knowledge of the propagation delay for signals from the reference device, e.g. if the positions of one or both of the devices are unknown or classified, or the inter-device signal propagation distance is otherwise a-priori unknown. Reference signal propagation delay is determined using an exchange of signals between the devices, with each device using a differencing procedure for eliminating effects of receiver line bias and other hardware delays. In another aspect an exchange of signals between the devices is used to detect a time residual arising from an inaccurate propagation delay estimate. The synchronisation methods can be applied to a plurality of slave devices for providing a synchronised location network. In certain embodiments signals are transmitted wirelessly, while in other embodiments they are transmitted via a fixed line. 1. A method for synchronising a second signal generated and transmitted by a second device to a timebase of a first device , said method comprising the steps of:(i) said first device generating and transmitting a first signal comprising first time information indicating the time of transmission of said first signal according to the timebase of said first device; (a) receiving and interpreting said first signal;', '(b) generating and transmitting said second signal comprising second time information indicating the time of transmission of said second signal;', '(c) receiving and interpreting said second signal;', '(d) calculating a first time difference between said first time information and said second time information; and', '(e) adjusting the generation of said second signal according to said first time difference, thereby adjusting said second signal and said second time information;, '(ii) said second device (a) receiving and interpreting said first signal and the adjusted second signal ...

INDOOR POSITIONING USING CAMERA AND OPTICAL SIGNAL

A method for detecting a collector device in an indoor area associated with imaging devices covering the area includes a plurality of collector devices emitting markers to the imaging devices coupled to a server. The imaging devices capture the images of the collector devices including the markers. The images are processed in order to determine the current positions of the collector devices corresponding to the markers. The server and the collector device communicate with each other and match a current position corresponding to the collector device among the plurality of collector devices. 1. A method for automatically determining a location of a collector device from a plurality of collector devices associated with a plurality of imaging devices coupled to a server , the method comprising each collector device:emitting a marker directly to be received by one of the plurality of imaging devices;receiving a plurality of current positions corresponding to the markers from the server; andmatching by the collector device, at least one of the received current positions to at least one of the corresponding markers for determining the location of the collector device.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the current positions are within an uncertainty of a coarse position of respective collector devices during the receiving step.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of receiving is based at least on time synchronization between the collector device and the server and further including the step of time synchronizing with the server wherein the server assigns a time value to each marker and the matching step matches the collector device to the marker by matching time values.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of receiving further includes the step of receiving a plurality of times of identification corresponding to the markers based on time synchronization.5. A method for automatically determining a location of a collector device from among a plurality of ...

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING A ROBOT AT START-UP, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

A method for positioning a robot at start-up includes: when the robot is started up, controlling the robot to rotate in a preset rotation direction in a start-up positioning region; determining position information about a rotation path of the positioning transmitting unit according to the preset rotation direction and a set of at least three different position distances, where the at least three different position distances are between the positioning transmitting unit and the two positioning receiving units disposed at the different fixed positions and are determined during a rotation process; using a direction extending from the center position of the rotation path to a position of the positioning transmitting unit when the robot stops rotation as orientation information of the robot; and using the center position of the rotation path and the orientation information of the robot as start-up positioning information of the robot. 1. A method for positioning a robot at start-up , executed by a controller in a system for positioning a robot at start-up , wherein the system for positioning a robot at start-up comprises two positioning receiving units disposed at different fixed positions and a positioning transmitting unit disposed on the robot , the positioning transmitting unit is in communication connection with the positioning receiving units and is configured to send positioning signals to the positioning receiving units , and the method comprises:when the robot is started up, controlling the robot to rotate in a preset rotation direction in a start-up positioning region;determining position information about a rotation path of the positioning transmitting unit according to the preset rotation direction and a set of at least three different position distances, wherein the at least three different position distances are between the positioning transmitting unit and the two positioning receiving units and determined during a rotation process;determining a center ...

NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, TRANSMITTER, AND POSITIONING METHOD

A navigation satellite system includes a transmitter that transmits a first radio wave having a predetermined frequency, and an electronic device that calculates position coordinates of the electronic device by using a second radio wave from a GNSS satellite, and obtains position coordinates of the transmitter. The electronic device includes a receiver that receives the first radio wave from the transmitter and the second radio wave from the GNSS satellite, and a controller that calculates a distance between the electronic device and the transmitter based on the received first radio wave, and calculates position coordinates of the electronic device based on the received second radio wave. The controller calculates, based on second radio wave received when the electronic device is present at each one of three or more points, respective position coordinates of the three or more points, and calculates respective distances between the electronic device and the transmitter when the electronic device is present at each one of the three or more points. The controller calculates the position coordinates of the transmitter based on the position coordinates of the three or more points and respective distances between each one of the three or more points and the transmitter. 1. A navigation satellite system comprising:a transmitter that transmits a first radio wave having a predetermined frequency; andan electronic device that calculates position coordinates of the electronic device by using a second radio wave from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellite, the navigation satellite system obtaining position coordinates of the transmitter,wherein a receiver that receives the first radio wave from the transmitter and the second radio wave from the GNSS satellite, and', 'a controller that calculates a distance between the electronic device and the transmitter based on the received first radio wave, and calculates position coordinates of the electronic device based on ...

POSITION DETECTION SYSTEM

A position detection system performs first through third processes to measure, using high-frequency signals, a position of a slave device in a measurement area surrounded by parent devices. The first process measures distances between the slave device and each of the master devices a plurality of times, to obtain a minimum value of each of the distances. The second process obtains a position of an intersection point of two arcs among arcs respectively having the minimum value of each of the distances as a radius from respective centers of the master devices when a number of intersection points of the two arcs within the measurement area is one. The third process regards a center of gravity of the intersection points as a true position of the slave device when the intersection points are densely arranged. 1. A position detection system comprising:a plurality of master devices surrounding a measurement area; anda slave device located inside the measurement area,wherein the plurality of master devices measure a position of the slave device using high-frequency signals, by executing a process including:a first process that measures distances between the slave device and each of the plurality of master devices a plurality of times, to obtain a minimum value of each of the distances;a second process that obtains a position of an intersection point of two arcs among a plurality of arcs respectively having the minimum value of each of the distances as a radius from respective centers of the plurality of master devices when a number of intersection points of the two arcs within the measurement area is one; anda third process that regards a center of gravity of the plurality of intersection points as a true position of the slave device when the plurality of intersection points are densely arranged and distances among the plurality of intersection points are less than a predetermined value.2. The position detection system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the third process ...

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATING RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATING WITHIN AN ENTERPRISE

A method and system of tracking and reporting locations of entity employees, the method for use with at least a first interface device including a display screen, the method comprising the steps of, providing a processor programmed to perform the steps of, storing schedules of entity employees where the schedules indicate scheduled locations of employees during time slots, receiving an indication from a first employee indicating at least a first future time slot, identifying locations of the entity employees during the future time slot, using the schedules of entity employees to generate a location representation indicating the locations of at least a subset of the entity employees during the at least a first future time slot and presenting the location representation via the first interface device. 1. A method comprising:receiving, by a server computing device comprising a processor, from a portable device that can identify its location, a request to identify availability status of a plurality of resources;receiving, by the server computing device, a device identifier and location data associated with a first set of resources of the plurality of resources from the portable device, wherein the portable device determines the location data based on detection of location signals transmitted from at least one identifying device spatially associated with at least one of the first set of resources, and wherein the portable device is within a location signal range of each of the identifying devices associated with the first set of resources;determining, by the server computing device, the current location of the portable device based at least on one of the location data of the first set of resources and the device identifier;querying, by the server computing device, a database to identify the availability status of the first set of resources of the plurality of resources responsive to the request and corresponding to the current location associated with the portable device ...

Wide Area Direction Finding

Disclosed, among other things is a wide area direction finding system comprising multiple radio frequency (RF) receiving units and a display computer. The RF receiving units may be in different geographic areas to make use of triangulation to precisely locate a target, allowing for increased area coverage and accuracy when locating a target. Locating a target may draw from real-time information using a “live mode,” or from a past event using a “history mode” on the display computer. 1. A wide area direction finding system , comprising:a plurality of radio frequency (RF) receiving units; anda display computer.2. The wide area direction finding system of claim 1 , wherein the RF receiving units are configured to be in different geographic areas to make use of triangulation.3. The wide area direction finding system of claim 1 , wherein the RF receiving units are phase correlated.4. The wide area direction finding system of claim 1 , further configured to operate with minimal bandwidth connectivity between the RF units and the display computer.5. The wide area direction finding system of claim 3 , wherein connectivity may comprise options from a list containing physical wires claim 3 , ethernet cables claim 3 , cellular services claim 3 , cloud services claim 3 , two-way radio claim 3 , or satellites.6. The wide area direction finding system of claim 1 , further configured to measure a phase or frequency of a received signal using methods from a list containing pseudo Doppler or phase correlation.7. The wide area direction finding system of claim 5 , wherein phase information from each of the RF units is processed in the display computer to determine a direction from which the signal is emanating.8. The wide area direction finding system of claim 5 , wherein each RF unit's distance from the received signal may be computed using a time distance of arrival.9. The wide area direction finding system of claim 1 , wherein at least one RF receiving unit has GPS technology ...

Methods and apparatuses for positioning based on signal correlation function characteristics feedback

A method, apparatus, and system are provided for facilitating positioning based on signal correlation function characteristic feedback. In an embodiment, the method may involve steps performed by a network node in communication with a wireless communication device (WCD) and a plurality of base stations. The network node receives, from the WCD, location information including position reference signal (PRS) correlation function characteristics of a cross-correlation between a received downlink signal and a transmitted PRS for each base station from the plurality of base stations. The network node determines a position of the WCD using the PRS correlation function characteristics. The WCD may initiate the transmission of the PRS correlation function characteristics on its own, or in response to a request to do so from the network node.

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ESTIMATING RANGE BETWEEN AND POSITION OF OBJECTS USING A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Methods and systems for estimating range between a first device and a second device using at least one wireless communication channel defined between the first and second devices are disclosed. The method comprises: obtaining a set of range measurements, wherein the range measurements include measurements associated with multiple paths taken by signals between the first and second devices; discarding over-ranges caused by multiple signal paths using a variable threshold; and processing the remaining range measurements to obtain an estimated range. 1. A method for estimating range between a first device and a second device using at least one wireless communication channel defined between the first and second devices , the method comprising:obtaining a set of range measurements, wherein the range measurements include measurements associated with multiple paths taken by signals between the first and second devices;discarding over-ranges caused by multiple signal paths using a variable threshold; andprocessing the remaining range measurements to obtain an estimated range.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the discarding of over-ranges is an iterative process and the variable threshold is updated at the end of each iteration.3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the iterative process of discarding over-ranges is stopped when a threshold number of range measurements from the set of range measurements are left below a profile of the estimated range obtained from a previous iteration.4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the threshold number of range measurements is a fixed percentile value of total number of measurements in the set of range measurements.5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises defining a preliminary range profile prior to the discarding of the over-ranges.6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising filtering the over-ranges using a median filter prior to the discarding of the over-ranges claim 1 , the median filter using a window length of K and ...

Method and system for locating and navigating a target

Techniques and methodologies are disclosed for minimizing inaccuracies in distance measurements and location determinations for autonomous vehicles or targets ranging to subsets of beacons. Such techniques and methodologies can be used to better control (e.g., navigate) an autonomous vehicle in an area and/or along a pathway, or trajectory.

POSITION DEFINITION IN COORDINATE SYSTEM OF A ROBOT BY DEVICE PLACEMENT

A first device is mounted on a robot, and signals are transmitted between the first device and at least one second device placed at a certain physical location. Based on the signals, one or more positions in a coordinate system of the robot are determined. For this purpose, the robot may move the first device so that the signals can be transmitted for different physical locations of the first device. 1. A method of defining one or more positions in a coordinate system of a robot , the method comprising:operating the robot to place a first device mounted on the robot at multiple different physical locations;for each of the different locations of the first device, transmitting signals between the first device and at least one second device placed a certain physical location; andbased on the signals transmitted for the different locations of the first device, determining one or more positions in the coordinate system of the robot.2. The method according to claim 1 ,wherein the at least one second device comprises one or more beacons transmitting the signals,wherein the first device comprises a receiver which receives the signals from the one or more beacons.3. (canceled)4. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:for each of the different locations of the first device, evaluating the signals to determine a distance between the first device and the at least one second device; andbased on the distances evaluated for the different locations of the first device, determining said one or more positions in the coordinate system of the robot.5. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:based on the signals received for the different locations of the first device, determining an orientation of an object in the coordinate system of the robot.6. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:determining an angle at which the signals are transmitted between the first device and the at least one second device; andbased on the angle, determining said one or more positions in ...

SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TRACKING POSITION OF A MOVING TRANSMISSION SOURCE

A system for tracking position of one or more moving transmission sources is disclosed. The transmission source can transmit a signal while moving from a first position to a first expected position and a receiver can receive the signal. The transmission source can include an antenna. An audio source can transmit an audio signal at a predetermined frequency and a controller can determine a second position of the transmission source, calculate an offset between the second position with the first expected position, and compare the offset with a predetermined threshold. A first rate of movement can be calculated based on a distance traveled between the first position and the second position with respect to the predetermined frequency. A first indication can be transmitted to at least one user device including the first location offset with the predetermined threshold and the first rate of movement. 113.-. (canceled)14. A system configured to improve a graphical user interface that displays movement of a plurality of members in a sports field performing a coordinated group activity , the system comprising one or more hardware processors configured to:construct a graphical user interface including a first portion and a second portion; a visualization of the sports field;', 'a plurality of icons corresponding to the plurality of members, wherein the plurality of icons are positioned on the visualization of the sports field based on an acquired video of movement of the plurality of members in the sports field performing the coordinated group activity; and wherein the second portion comprises:', 'a timeline corresponding to one or more activity sets, wherein the timeline comprises a time stamp indicator corresponding to a change in the one or more activity set; and, 'wherein the first portion comprisesdisplay the constructed graphical user interface on a display.15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first portion further comprises a feedback indicator corresponding to ...

SYSTEM AND METHOD OF UTILIZING RF SIGNALING TO DETERMINE RANGE AND RELATIVE COORDINATES

A system and method of measuring the distance and determining the coordinate position of one or more target transceivers relative to a set of anchor transceivers with known locations is provided. The position of the target transceiver is determined by using a time-of-flight (TOF) initialization signal generated by the master anchor transceiver, a TOF response transmission generated by the target transceiver, calculation of the distances between the target transceiver and each anchor transceiver, and transmission of a TOF distance report by the master anchor transceiver. The system and method of the present invention permit the accurate locating of a target transceiver that is located “outside the box.” 1. A system for determining range and relative coordinates of an object comprising:a master anchor transceiver for generating and transmitting a time of flight initialization signal;a target transceiver associated with said object for receiving and processing said initialization signal and for generating and transmitting a time of flight response signal; anda plurality of slave anchor transceivers for receiving said initialization signal and said response signal.2. The system for determining range and relative coordinates of an object according to wherein said plurality of slave anchors comprises two slave anchors.3. The system for determining range and relative coordinates of an object according to wherein said plurality of slave anchors comprises three slave anchors.4. The system for determining range and relative coordinates of an object according to wherein the master anchor transceiver is fixedly positioned in an area of interest and the location of the master anchor is known.5. The system for determining range and relative coordinates of an object according to wherein each of the plurality of slave anchor transceivers are fixedly positioned in an area of interest and the location of each of the slave anchor transceivers is known.6. The system for determining ...

SURVEYING SYSTEM

A surveying system for a construction site has a restricted antenna system with a plurality of fixed location antennas each defined by a set of location data associated with a specific deployment position. The surveying system also has a computing device with a data processor and a display screen. A communications module establishes a data transfer link with the restricted antenna system over which spatial data for distances between current positions of the computing device and one or more of the plurality of fixed location antennas are received. The computing device is loadable with project drawings corresponding to the construction site and displayable on the display screen. A position marker is overlaid on the display of the project drawing at a position thereon corresponding to a computing device location value derived from the spatial data and the location data of one or more of the fixed location antennas. 1. A surveying system for a construction site , comprising:a restricted antenna system including a plurality of fixed location antennas each defined by a set of location data associated with a specific deployment position at the construction site; and a data processor;', 'a display screen; and', 'a communications module establishing a data transfer link with the restricted antenna system over which spatial data for distances between current positions of the computing device within the construction site and one or more of the plurality of fixed location antennas are received;', 'wherein the computing device is loadable with one or more project drawings corresponding to the construction site displayable on the display screen, a position marker being overlaid on the display of the project drawing at a position thereon corresponding to a computing device location value derived from the spatial data and the location data of one or more of the fixed location antennas, the display of the project drawing being adjustable in response to a change in position of the ...

Multi-algorithm trilateration system

An illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is a system including client devices distributed across an environment and configured to generate distance measurements. The system further includes wireless transceivers. Each transceiver is associated with one of the client devices. Each transceiver is configured to send and receive distance measurements. The system further includes a trilateration circuit in at least one of the client devices. The trilateration circuit is configured to receive the distance measurements from the client devices, determine a first position and a first weight based on the distance measurements via a first algorithm, determine second position and a second weight based on the second distance measurements via a second algorithm, calculate a final position based on the first position, the second position, the first weight, and the second weight, and send the final position to the plurality of client devices.

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF A TIME DELAY

An apparatus comprising: 1. An apparatus comprising:a transceiver;a first antenna connected to the transceiver via antenna circuitry to provide for one or more of impedance matching and filtering;a second antenna connected to the transceiver bypassing said antenna circuitry; a signal sent by the transceiver from the first antenna and received by the transceiver via the second antenna; and', 'a signal sent by the transceiver from the second antenna and received by the transceiver via the first antenna., 'a calibration device configured to determine a time delay introduced by at least the first antenna and said antenna circuitry based on at least one of2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second antenna comprises one or more of:a metal trace formed on a substrate that is connected to the apparatus;an integrated circuit package terminal of an integrated circuit package, the apparatus formed in said integrated circuit package;a parasitic antenna of the apparatus.3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus includes a switch arrangement configured to provide one or both of:a connection from a transmitter element of the transceiver, for providing said signal, that is switchable to connect to the first antenna or to the second antenna;a connection to a receiver element of the transceiver, for receiving said signal, that is switchable to connect to the first antenna or to the second antenna.4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the apparatus is configured to provide a calibration mode and a normal-operation mode;wherein, during the calibration mode, the switch arrangement is configured to connect one of the transmitter element and the receiver element to the second antenna; andwherein, during the normal-operation mode, the switch arrangement is configured to connect the one of the transmitter element and the receiver element to the first antenna.5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to provide a calibration mode and a normal-operation ...

TRACKING SENSOR

Tracking tags for attachment to an object or animal. The tracking tags may include low-power long-range transmitters drawing power from a battery or a renewable energy source. The tracking tags may also each include a microcontroller having a sleep-mode module enabling nearly no quiescent current to be drawn when the microcontroller is in a sleep-mode. The microcontroller may enter into a sleep-mode for long periods of time following a short period of sending data to the low-power long-range transmitter. The short period of sending data may be approximately one-twentieth of the long sleep-mode period. The tracking tags may also include sensors for determining an ambient temperature or biometric data about an animal to which the tracking tag is attached. Locations of the tracking tags may be determined using signal trilateration and/or signal triangulation. 1. A tracking tag configured to be attached to an object or animal , such tracking tag comprising:a power module that comprises an energy storage element;a low-power long-range transmitter which consumes nearly no quiescent current when it is not transmitting or receiving information;a microcontroller comprising a sleep-mode module which allows nearly no quiescent current to be drawn when the microcontroller is in a sleep-mode, said microcontroller configured to communicate with said low-power long-range transmitter, said microcontroller further configured to enter into the sleep-mode for a long period of time following a short period of time sending data to the low-power long-range transmitter, wherein said short period of sending data is equal to or less than one-twentieth of said long period of time.2. The tracking tag of claim 1 , wherein the power module further comprises a renewable energy source.3. The tracking tag of claim 1 , wherein the energy storage element is a battery.4. The tracking tag of claim 1 , wherein the energy storage element is a super capacitor.5. The tracking tag of claim 2 , wherein the ...

Non-synchronized RF Ranging

Various systems and methods for determining a distance between a master device and a slave device based, at least in part, on a received signal strength and based, at least in part, on a time interval including generation of a master ranging symbol and detection of a slave ranging symbol. 1. A master device comprising:a control module to determine a distance between the master device and a slave device based, at least in part, on a received signal strength and based, at least in part, on a time interval comprising generation of a master ranging symbol and detection of a slave ranging symbol;a symbol generation module to generate a transmit ranging symbol; anda symbol detection module to detect a received ranging symbol.2. The master device of claim 1 , wherein each ranging symbol corresponds to an amplitude modulated carrier.3. The master device of claim 1 , wherein the symbol detection module is to determine a reference voltage claim 1 , Vref claim 1 , based claim 1 , at least in part claim 1 , on a received signal strength associated with an estimation symbol.4. The master device of claim 1 , wherein the distance is determined based claim 1 , at least in part claim 1 , on a measurement interval comprising a plurality of ranging time intervals.5. The master device of claim 4 , wherein the control module is to determine a ranging cycle time based claim 4 , at least in part claim 4 , on a distribution of the plurality of ranging time intervals.7. The master device of claim 3 , wherein the estimation symbol comprises a pilot component and a sync component claim 3 , an amplitude of the sync component greater than an amplitude of the pilot component.8. The master device of claim 1 , further comprising calibration logic to determine a hardware propagation delay.9. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage device having stored thereon instructions which when executed by at least one processor result in operations comprising:determine a distance between a ...

POSITIONING DEVICE, POSITIONING METHOD, AND POSITIONING SYSTEM

A communication unit () treats each of a plurality of nearby devices that are present in the vicinity and whose positions are already known as a target nearby device, and receives a position of the target nearby device from the target nearby device. A device selection unit () selects at least one nearby device to be used from among the plurality of nearby devices, based on an overall accuracy of the target nearby device calculated using a position accuracy that is an accuracy of the position received from the target nearby device by the communication unit and a distance accuracy that is an accuracy of a distance to the target nearby device. A position estimation unit () estimates a position, based on the position received from the nearby device selected by the device selection unit () and a distance to the selected nearby device. 1. A positioning device comprising:a communication interface to treat each of a plurality of nearby devices that are present in a vicinity and whose positions are already known as a target nearby device, and receive a position of the target nearby device from the target nearby device; andprocessing circuitry to:select at least one nearby device to be used from among the plurality of nearby devices, based on an overall accuracy of the target nearby device calculated using a position accuracy that is an accuracy of the position received from the target nearby device by the communication interface and a distance accuracy that is an accuracy of a distance to the target nearby device, andestimate a position, based on the position received from the selected nearby device and a distance to the selected nearby device.2. The positioning device according to claim 1 ,wherein the processing circuitry calculates the distance accuracy, based on a physical condition in relation to the target nearby device.3. The positioning device according to claim 1 ,wherein the processing circuitry selects a required number of nearby devices for estimating the position ...

Apparatus and method for wireless distance measurement

The present disclosure relates to a sensor network, Machine Type Communication (MTC), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, and technology for Internet of Things (IoT). The present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services based on the above technologies, such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car, connected car, health care, digital education, smart retail, security and safety services. An apparatus and method for measuring a distance between wireless devices using a first signal transmitted/received between the wireless devices in a wireless communication system are provided. The method includes: receiving the first signal for distance measurement transmitted from a first of the wireless devices; receiving a signal reflected by a reflector after being transmitted from the first of the wireless devices; and based on the received first signal and the received reflected signal, estimating a distance between the second of the wireless devices and the reflector.

BLUETOOTH CROWD-SOURCED TRIANGULATION

Beacon devices transmit beacon messages to alert an application on a mobile user device of the Beacon device's proximity. A Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) field may indicate the power level at which the beacon message was received at the mobile device. Where the transmission power of the beacon device is standardized, the application can infer the distance between the mobile user device the beacon device based upon the RSSI field. By considering successive RSSI values over time while the mobile device is in motion, in conjunction with GPS information for the mobile device, the location of the beacon device relative to the mobile device may be inferred. Multiple mobile devices may be used together to infer the beacon device's position. 1. A computer-implemented method for determining a position of a beacon device , the method comprising:receiving, at a computer, a plurality of sensing events from a plurality of mobile computing devices, each sensing event including a beacon device identifier associated with a beacon device and at least one of a timestamp and a power level associated with the receipt of a beacon message;determining, at a computer, a plurality of distances between the plurality of mobile computing devices and the beacon device based upon at least one of the timestamp and the power level;determining, at a computer, an intersection of a plurality of circles about at least some of the mobile computing devices, the plurality of circles having radii corresponding to the plurality of distances; andupdating, at a computer, a position of the beacon device based upon the intersection.2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining a plurality of distances comprises:identifying a table associated with the beacon device identifier, the table indicating a correspondence between power intensity and distance; andcomparing the power level of a sensing event with the table to determine a distance value.3. The computer-implemented method ...

Global Positioning System and Ultra Wide Band Universal Positioning Node Consellation integration

Gaining a time signal from a radio signal such as GPS, an ultra-wide band constellation can be synchronized. While the entirety of the constellation is synchronized to a nanosecond level of accuracy, local subsets of ultra-wide band nodes can establish even finer degrees of synchronization resulting in more accurate positional determination. These synchronization signals can be propagated to other nodes that are denied or incapable of receiving synchronizing radio (GPS) signals. Moreover, in cases in which a plurality of UPN nodes is unavailable to accurately determine an objects position, available UPN nodes can be combined with GPS pseudo ranges to achieve positional determination. 1. An Ultra-Wide Band geographic positioning system , comprising:a plurality of fixedly positioned Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) Positional Nodes forming a constellation within a geographic area wherein each UWB Positional Node (UPN) includes an UPN UWB transceiver and an UPN radio transceiver and wherein each UPN is within an effective UPN UWB transceiver range of two or more other UPNs and wherein each UPN includes a clock that maintains a node reference time;a radio signal, transmitted by a radio and received by one or more UPNs in the geographic area wherein the radio signal includes a radio signal time; andat each UPN, a processor, communicatively coupled to the UPN radio transceiver and the clock, that synchronizes the node reference time maintained by the clock to the radio signal time.2. The Ultra-Wide Band geographic positioning system of claim 1 , wherein each UPN synchronizes its node reference time to the radio signal time based on a dynamic weighted average error assessment of the node reference time and the radio signal time.3. The Ultra-Wide Band geographic positioning system of claim 2 , wherein responsive to determination by a first UPN that the dynamic weighted average error assessment exceeds a predetermined threshold claim 2 , the first UPN synchronizes its node reference ...

SITE LOCATION DETERMINATION USING CROWD SOURCED PROPAGATION DELAY AND LOCATION DATA

Site location determination using crowd sourced propagation delay and location data is provided. A propagation delay component receives a set of propagation delay measurements for communications between a mobile device and an access point. A user equipment location component receives a location of the mobile device, and a combination component combines the set of propagation delay measurements and the location into a set of location data. An access point location component determines a set of intersecting locations between the set of location data and additional sets of location data, and determines a location of the access point based on the set of intersecting locations. 1. A system , comprising:a processor; and receiving, from a network device of a wireless network, propagation delay measurements based on signals exchanged by a mobile device and an access point device;', 'receiving, from the network device, first location data related to a first location of the mobile device;', 'generating second location data based on the propagation delay measurements and the first location data;', 'based on the second location data, determining an estimated location of the access point device resulting in third location data related to the estimated location;', 'generating first flag data associated with a first flagging of the estimated location as not corresponding to an actual location of the access point device;', 'comparing the third location data to geographical data related to a topology of the estimated location;', 'based on the comparing, determining that the estimated location is an improbable location of the access point device; and', 'generating second flag data associated with a second flagging of the estimated location as an undesirable location., 'a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:determining the ...

GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING USING SHORT-RANGE TRANSMISSIONS

A network system uses Wi-Fi signals or other types of short-range transmissions to determine pickup locations for users receiving services provided via the network system. The network system builds a database of search records mapping pickup locations to signatures of short-range transmission detected by users' client devices when they searched for the pickup locations. By comparing a signature detected by a given user's client device to the signatures in the database, the network system can check for similarities between the short-range transmissions. Responsive to finding a match, the network system predicts that the given user is likely to select a similar pickup location as other users whose client devices detected the signatures corresponding to the match. Accordingly, by leveraging the database, the network system can predict pickup locations without requiring the given user to input a search for a pickup location. 1. A method of geographic positioning using short-range transmissions , the method comprising:retrieving a signature of a short-range transmission detected by a particular client device of a particular user of a network system; (i) a reference signature of a short-range transmission detected by one of the client devices at a geographical search location of the client device where the corresponding user searched for a geographical pickup location for a start of a service provided via the network system; and', '(ii) the geographical pickup location;, 'accessing, using one or more processors, a database of search records received from client devices of a plurality of users of the network system, each of the search records indicating at leastdetermining, using the one or more processors, based on a similarity criterion, that the signature is similar to a candidate reference signature of the database;selecting, using the one or more processors, a candidate geographical pickup location of the database corresponding to the candidate reference signature; ...

POSITION DETERMINATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS UTILIZING ERROR OF MULTIPLE CANDIDATE POSITIONS

Examples of systems and methods described herein may be used to track a tagged object through a scene. Techniques are described herein to calculate a position of the tag using wireless communication with multiple anchor devices. In some examples, the anchor devices may be self-localizing, e.g., they may dynamically determine their position and relationship to one another. In some examples, position of a tag may be calculated by calculating multiple candidate positions using different localization techniques—such as geometric localization techniques and/or optimization-based techniques. An error may also be identified associated with each candidate position. A final position may be determined for the tag based on the errors associated with the candidate positions (e.g., the candidate position with the smallest error may be utilized as the position, e.g., the determined position, of the tag). 1. A method comprising:collecting a set of ranges, each of the set of ranges corresponding to a range between a particular device and a respective anchor device of a plurality of anchor devices;calculating a first candidate position of the particular device based on the set of ranges using a geometric localization technique;estimating error associated with the first candidate position;calculating a second candidate position of the particular device and error associated with the second candidate position using an optimization-based technique, based on residual errors relative to each of the plurality of anchor devices;selecting a determined position for the particular device based on the error associated with the first candidate position and the error associated with the second candidate position.2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising collecting a set of positions for the plurality of anchor devices claim 1 , and wherein using the geometric localization technique is further based on the set of positions.3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting a subset of the ...

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING WORK FLOW IN CAR MAINTENANCE WORKSHOPS

A system and method for automatic time tracking, more specifically, for controlling and optimizing the workflow, repair, maintenance and location of vehicles at a repair shop and/or authorized dealer, operates by calculating the proximity of the operator to the vehicle, thus optimizing the process affected by bottlenecks, fulfillment of repair processes, workload of the shop, efficiency, need for spare parts and communication with the owner of the vehicle for authorization. 1. A method for monitoring the flow of work done on vehicles inside repair shops and authorized dealers in an autonomous and highly accurate manner , method comprising the steps of:automatically reminding the owner of the vehicle when he or she must perform preventive maintenance and update legal matters;assisting the owner of the vehicle when he or she in case of collision with recommendations, quotations, selection of the repair shop, and scheduling appointments;assigning a wireless device to operators;checking in the vehicle and recording evidence of details of the repair and vehicle;assigning a wireless device to the vehicle;automatically assigning the vehicle to one or more operators through critical path algorithms;starting operator and vehicle monitoring through RTLS technologies; tracking operator and vehicle times through proximity algorithms, work assignment, duration of stay in the area and other algorithms to define whether the operator is actually working on the vehicle;informing employees at the repair shop about the status of the vehicle and possible ways to improve productivity;informing the owner of the vehicle about the current status and process of the vehicle at the shop;allowing the shop to send additional quotations to the owner of the vehicle through the vehicle owner interface;allowing the owner of the vehicle to authorize additional quotations through the vehicle owner interface;ending the process of the vehicle at the shop and de-assigning the wireless device;informing ...

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR POSITIONING BASED ON SIGNAL CORRELATION FUNCTION CHARACTERISTICS FEEDBACK

A method, apparatus, and system are provided for facilitating positioning based on signal correlation function characteristic feedback. In an embodiment, the method may involve steps performed by a network node in communication with a wireless communication device (WCD) and a plurality of base stations. The network node receives, from the WCD, location information including position reference signal (PRS) correlation function characteristics of a cross-correlation between a received downlink signal and a transmitted PRS for each base station from the plurality of base stations. The network node determines a position of the WCD using the PRS correlation function characteristics. The WCD may initiate the transmission of the PRS correlation function characteristics on its own, or in response to a request to do so from the network node.

POSITIONING METHOD AND DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM

The present disclosure provides a positioning method and device, an electronic device, and a storage medium. The positioning method may include obtaining a precise positioning request sent by a service equipment. The precise positioning request may carry rough positioning location information of the service equipment. The positioning method may further include determining, based on the rough positioning location information of the service equipment, a reference positioning point corresponding to the service equipment, and obtaining precise positioning location information of the service equipment by correcting, based on positioning deviation information of the reference positioning point, the rough positioning location information of the service equipment. The positioning deviation information of the reference positioning point may be calculated based on precise positioning location information of the reference positioning point and rough positioning location information of the reference positioning point.

Method and apparatus for measuring distance

An apparatus is provided comprising: a communication interface; and at least one processor configured to: synchronize the apparatus with at least one electronic device, receive, via the communication interface, a signal from the electronic device, and determine a distance between the apparatus and the electronic device based on a transmission time and a reception time of the signal.

Method and apparatus for vehicle occupant location detection

A system includes a plurality of vehicle-deployed wireless transmitters and a processor. The processor is configured to receive, from a mobile device, signal strengths of signals from the wireless transmitters as detected by the mobile device. The processor is further configured to determine a location of the mobile device in a vehicle, based on the distance from the mobile device to each of the respective transmitters, as indicated by the received signal strengths and store the location of the mobile device as an occupant location.

METHOD FOR MANAGING BEACON, TERMINAL DEVICE, SERVER AND STORAGE MEDIUM

A beacon managing method is provided. The method includes receiving a first beacon signal from a first beacon at a first time; receiving a second beacon signal from a second beacon at a second time; and identifying a location error of at least one of the first beacon and the second beacon, based on first movement information of a terminal between the first time and the second time. 1. A method of managing a beacon by a terminal , the method comprising:receiving a first beacon signal from a first beacon at a first time;receiving a second beacon signal from a second beacon at a second time; andidentifying a location error of at least one of the first beacon and the second beacon, based on first movement information of a terminal between the first time and the second time.2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:obtaining a first time difference between the first time and the second time;obtaining a first distance between the first beacon and the second beacon; andobtaining a first speed based on the first time difference and the first distance.3. The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying the location error of the at least one of the first beacon and the second beacon comprises:obtaining a first terminal speed based on the first movement information;comparing the first speed and the first terminal speed; andidentifying the location error of the at least one of the first beacon and the second beacon, based on a result of the comparing.4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising determining at least one of the first beacon and the second beacon as a suspect beacon claim 3 , when the first speed exceeds the first terminal speed.5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:receiving a third beacon signal from a third beacon at a third time;obtaining a second time difference between the second time and the third time;obtaining a second distance between the third beacon and the second beacon; andobtaining a second speed based on the second time difference and the ...

Methods for Determining Location of Unknown Devices in a Synchronized Network and Related Systems

Methods for determining a location of an unknown device (UD) from a plurality of known devices (KDs) are provided including receiving, at the UD, periodically broadcasted messages from each of a plurality of KDs. Corresponding arrival time stamp (Tarrival-i-UD) of each periodically broadcasted message from each of the plurality of KDs are recorded. Each of the plurality of KDs are clock synchronized to a common clock source at a master device(MD). A departure time of the periodically broadcasted message from each of the plurality of KDs is known by the UD in master device time units (Tdepart-i-md). X, y and z coordinates of a location of each of the KDs is known by the UD. The x, y and z coordinates of an actual location of the UD is calculated using the x, y and z coordinates of each of the KDs, the recorded arrival times (Tarrival-i-UD) of each of the periodically broadcasted messages from each of the plurality of KDs and the known departure times of each of the periodically broadcasted messages (Tdepart-i-md) from each of the plurality of KDs.

ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR VERIFYING RELATIVE LOCATION AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

An electronic device may include a plurality of antennas, a memory storing at least one reference data, and a processor. The processor may be configured to obtain context information associated with a state of the electronic device, when the context information meets a first specified condition, determine phase difference information corresponding to signals obtained using the plurality of antennas based on first specified reference data, when the context information meets a second specified condition, determine phase difference information corresponding to signals obtained using the plurality of antennas based on second specified reference data, and determine a relative location of an external electronic device with respect to the electronic device based on the determined phase difference information. 1. An electronic device , comprising:a plurality of antennas;a memory storing at least one reference data; anda processor configured to:obtain context information associated with a state of the electronic device;when the context information meets a first specified condition, determine phase difference information corresponding to signals obtained using the plurality of antennas based on first specified reference data;when the context information meets a second specified condition, determine phase difference information corresponding to signals obtained using the plurality of antennas based on second specified reference data; anddetermine a relative location of an external electronic device with respect to the electronic device based on the determined phase difference information from at least one of the first or second specified reference data.2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to claim 1 , when verifying at least one of when at least one of the plurality of antennas is in a specified state claim 1 , when a tilt of the electronic device is a specified tilt claim 1 , or when a cover that covers at least a portion of the electronic ...

Location Estimation System

A location estimation system includes a plurality of Kalman filters, a UWB position system, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor and a MEMs chip that provides gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer information. The data is Kalman filtered to determine precise location information that is more precise any sensor that is processed to determine the probably location of a device. 1. A method performed by a tag/processor device for estimating its probable location , comprising:receiving, via an ultra-wide band communication transceiver, ultra-wide band RF signals containing locations of each of at least three anchors;determining, via a processor, ranging information of each of at least three anchors by transmitting and receiving ultra-wideband communication messages via the ultra-wide band device and determining an associated transmission time of flight between the tag/processor device and the at least three anchors;determining an altitude of the tag/processor device based on temperature and pressure data;determining a distance between the tag/processor device and the at least three anchors from the determined ranging information;determining X, Y and Z coordinates based on the determined distances; andKalman filtering, in a plurality of Kalman filters, the X, Y and Z coordinates to determine a probable location having a first degree of resolution to adjust the X, Y and Z coordinates.2. The method of further including calculating the associated time of flight for transmissions from each of the at least three anchors by claim 1 , for each anchor claim 1 , receiving a transmission time and subtracting the transmission time from a received time.3. The method of further including determining the tag/processor device location estimate by calculating a probably distance between the tag/processor device and the at least three anchors based on the associated time of flight calculations.4. The method of further comprising receiving information from a MEMs device and ...

METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT IMPROVING REAL TIME LOCATION SYSTEMS WITH MULTIPLE LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES

An example method includes sensing, by a sensor of a mesh node, first sensor data; receiving, at the mesh node, second sensor data from an origin node, wherein the mesh node and the origin mode are different nodes; and in response to receiving an indication that the origin node is obstructed, transmitting, by the mesh node, the second sensor data. 1. A method comprising:sensing, by a sensor of a mesh node, first sensor data;receiving, at the mesh node, second sensor data from an origin node, wherein the mesh node and the origin mode are different nodes; andin response to receiving an indication that the origin node is obstructed, transmitting, by the mesh node, the second sensor data.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication comprises a message route in which the mesh node is designated.3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the indication is received from a hub.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is a distress signal.5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the distress signal is received from the origin node.6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising claim 1 , in response to not receiving the indication claim 1 , transmitting the first sensor data and not transmitting the second sensor data.7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising claim 1 , in response to not receiving the indication claim 1 , transmitting only the first sensor data and blink data generated by a location tag associated with the sensor.8. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code claim 1 , the at least one memory and computer program code configured to claim 1 , with the processor claim 1 , cause the apparatus to:sense first sensor data;receive second sensor data from an origin node, wherein the apparatus and the origin node are different nodes; andin response to receiving an indication that the origin node is obstructed, transmit the second sensor data.9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the indication comprises a ...

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADAPTIVELY SELECTING DISTANCE ESTIMATES FOR LOCALIZATION OF NODES BASED ON ERROR METRIC INFORMATION

Systems and methods for adaptively determining locations of wireless nodes in a network architecture are disclosed herein. In one example, a system includes a first plurality of wireless sensor nodes each having a known location and a second plurality of wireless sensor nodes each having an unknown location in a wireless network architecture. One or more processing units of a wireless sensor node of the first plurality of wireless nodes are configured to execute instructions to determine distance estimates between the first plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the second plurality of wireless sensor nodes for localization, determine error metric information for each distance estimate, and adaptively select the determined distance estimates for localization based on the error metric information. 1. A system for localization of nodes in a wireless network architecture , comprising:a first plurality of wireless nodes each having a known location and including a wireless device with one or more processing units and RF circuitry for transmitting and receiving communications in the wireless network architecture; anda second plurality of wireless sensor nodes each having an unknown location and including a wireless device with RF circuitry for transmitting and receiving communications in the wireless network architecture,wherein the one or more processing units of a wireless node of the first plurality of wireless nodes to configure the second plurality of wireless sensor nodes as a mesh-based network architecture for a time period sufficient for localization, determine distance estimates between the wireless node of the first plurality of wireless nodes and each of the second plurality of wireless sensor nodes for localization, determine error metric information for each distance estimate, adaptively select the determined distance estimates for localization based on the error metric information, and configure the wireless network architecture in a tree based network ...

ORTHOGONAL CORRELATION SIGNALS FOR DETECTION AND SYNCHRONIZATION AT LOW SNR

Provided is a layered process for identifying a first signal sequence within a received signal sequence by cross-correlating a received signal sequence with a first correlation sequence to derive a first correlation pattern indicating occurrences of the first correlation sequence within the received signal sequence and cross-correlating the first correlation pattern with a first correlation sequence pattern to detect a first signal sequence comprising occurrences of the first correlation sequence as indicated by the first correlation sequence pattern, within the received signal sequence. 1. A method , comprising:cross-correlating a received signal sequence with a first correlation sequence to derive a first correlation pattern indicating occurrences of the first correlation sequence within the received signal sequence; andcross-correlating the first correlation pattern with a first correlation sequence pattern to detect a first signal sequence comprising occurrences of the first correlation sequence as indicated by the first correlation sequence pattern, within the received signal sequence.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first correlation sequence is a constant amplitude zero autocorrelation claim 1 , CAZAC claim 1 , sequence.3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:cross-correlating the received signal sequence with a second correlation sequence to derive a second correlation pattern indicating occurrences of the second correlation sequence within the received signal sequence, wherein the second correlation sequence is a complex conjugate of the CAZAC sequence;cross-correlating the second correlation pattern with a second correlation sequence pattern to detect occurrences of the second correlation sequence as indicated by the second correlation sequence pattern, within the received signal sequence; anddetermining a measure of a frequency shift of the first signal sequence based on occurrences of the first correlation sequence and the second correlation ...

DETERMINING A LOCATION OF AN ELECTRONIC TAG IN AN AREA USING PROBABILISTIC METHODS

The present disclosure relates to system(s) and method(s) to determine a location of an electronic tag in an area. The system is configured to transmit a series or radio messages and receive one or more response radio messages from an electronic tag, through a transceiver. Further, the system is configured to determining metadata corresponding to each response radio message and distance covered by the transceiver at the time of transmitting the radio message. Based on the distance covered and metadata associated with each response radio message, the system is configured to determine the exact location of the electronic tag in an area. 1. A system for determining a location of an electronic tag in an area , the system comprising: transmitting a series of radio messages to an electronic tag in the vicinity of the transceiver, wherein the transceiver is configured to travel a distance after transmitting each radio message from the series of radio messages, and', 'receiving one or more response radio messages, corresponding to one or more radio messages of the series of radio messages, from the electronic tag;, 'a transceiver configured for'}a memory, and [ metadata corresponding to the response radio message, wherein the metadata includes a signal phase and a signal strength corresponding to the response radio message, and', 'a distance covered by the transceiver at the time of transmitting the radio message;, 'determining, for each response radio message,'}, 'analyzing the distance covered by the transceiver and the metadata for each response radio message using a probabilistic model to determine a probability of occurrence of the electronic tag at each location associated with the area; and', 'identifying a target location corresponding to the electronic tag, from the set of locations in the area, based on the probability of occurrence corresponding to each location in the area., 'a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute ...

BEACON AND ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS FOR A RANGING SYSTEM

A beacon () for a ranging system includes an electronic scanned array (ESA) antenna and a transceiver. The ESA antenna is configured to emit a separate radio frequency (RF) phased-array narrow beam () for each of a plurality of segments of an arc, and receive from an end user node () a response signal based on at least one of the RF phased-array narrow beam (). Each segment of the arc is scanned at a specified time interval. The transceiver is configured to transmit a pulsed signal via the RF phased-array narrow beam (), and receive the response signal. 1. A beacon for a ranging system , comprising:an electronic scanned array (ESA) antenna configured to emit a separate radio frequency (RF) phased-array narrow beam for each of a plurality of segments of an arc, and configured to receive from an end user node a response signal based on at least one of the RF phased-array narrow beam, wherein each segment of the arc is scanned at a specified time interval; anda transceiver configured to transmit a pulsed signal via the RF phased-array narrow beam, and receive the response signal.2. The beacon of claim 1 , further comprising:a processing module configured to calculate at least one of an angle-of-arrival (AOA) and a time-of-flight (TOF) from the response signal and generate a location of the end user node relative to a location of the beacon.3. The beacon of claim 2 , wherein the processing module is further configured to perform at least one of a measurement of a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) from the received response signal claim 2 , and a determination of an absolute location of the end user node by information selected from the group consisting of GPS coordinates claim 2 , horizontal level adjustments claim 2 , rotational face direction of the ESA antenna claim 2 , angle adjustment of the ESA antenna claim 2 , and combinations thereof.4. The beacon of claim 1 , further comprisinga node networking antenna configured to communicate with at least one of ...

System and Methods for Identifying an Action Based on Sound Detection

Described in detail herein are methods and systems for identifying actions based on detected sounds in a facility. An array of microphones can be disposed in a facility. The microphones can detect various sounds and encode the sounds in an electrical signal and transmit the sounds to a computing system. The computing system can determine the sound signature of each sound and based on the sound signature the chronological order of the sounds and the time interval in between the sounds the computing system can determine the action being performed causing the sounds. 1. A system for identifying actions based on detected sounds , the system comprising:an array of microphones disposed in a first area of a facility, the microphones being configured to detect sounds and output time varying electrical signals upon detection of the sounds; and receive the time varying electrical signals from microphones;', 'identify the sounds detected by the microphones based on the time varying electric signals;', 'determine time intervals between the sounds encoded in the time varying electrical signals;', 'identify an action that produced at least some of the sounds in response to identifying the sounds and determining the time intervals between the sounds; and', 'issue an alert based on the action., 'a computing system operatively coupled to the microphones and a data storage device, the computing system programmed to2. The system in claim 1 , wherein the microphones are further configured to detect intensities of the sounds and encode the intensities of the sounds in the time varying electrical signals.3. The system in claim 2 , wherein the computing system is further programmed to determine a distance between at least one of the microphones and an origin of at least one of the sounds based on the intensity of the at least one of the sounds detected by at least a subset of the microphones claim 2 , the subset including the at least one of the microphones.4. The system in claim 1 , ...

TIME OF ARRIVAL ESTIMATION

A method is disclosed for determining a signal's time of arrival at a receiver device, the signal being transmitted by a transmitter device to the receiver device. The method comprises correlating the signal as transmitted by the transmitter device and the signal as received by the receiver device with each other. The signal comprises in its frequency spectrum a first signal component spanning a first frequency range, a second signal component spanning a second frequency range and a third signal component spanning a third frequency range. The first frequency range and second frequency range are separated by a first intermediate frequency range that does not contain a signal component of the signal. The second frequency range and third frequency range are separated by a second intermediate frequency range that does not contain a signal component of the signal. The method further comprises, based on the performed correlation, determining said time of arrival. 1. Method for determining a signal's time of arrival at a receiver device , the signal being transmitted by a transmitter device to the receiver device , the method comprising:correlating the signal as transmitted by the transmitter device and the signal as received by the receiver device with each other, wherein the signal comprises in its frequency spectrum:a first signal component spanning a first frequency range, and,a second signal component spanning a second frequency range, anda third signal component spanning a third frequency range, whereinthe first frequency range and second frequency range are separated by an intermediate frequency range that does not contain a signal component of the signal, andthe second frequency range and third frequency range are separated by a second intermediate frequency range that does not contain a signal component of the signal, and the method comprisingdetermining said time of arrival based on the performed correlation.2. The method according to claim 1 , further ...

SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF REAL-TIME ELECTRONIC FIRE SPRINKLER LOCATION AND ACTIVATION

An electronic fire sprinkler system includes a plurality of electronic fire sprinklers that each output a flow of fluid in response to receiving an activation signal, a plurality of temperature sensors that each detect a temperature and output an indication of the detected temperature, a plurality of network devices that detect a distance to at least one of the plurality of electronic fire sprinklers, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit receives a plurality of detected distances, calculates a location of each electronic fire sprinkler based on the of detected distances, determines that a fire condition is present based on the detected temperature, identifies one or more of the plurality of electronic fire sprinklers based on the calculated locations and an identifier of the temperature sensor from which the indication of the detected temperature was received, and transmits one or more activation signals to the identified electronic fire sprinklers. 1. An electronic fire sprinkler system , comprising:a plurality of electronic fire sprinklers that each output a flow of fluid in response to receiving an activation signal;a plurality of sensors that each detect a temperature and output an indication of the detected temperature;a plurality of network devices that detect a distance to at least one electronic fire sprinkler of the plurality of electronic fire sprinklers; and receives a plurality of detected distances from the plurality of network devices;', 'executes a trilateration algorithm to determine a location of each electronic fire sprinkler based on the plurality of detected distances;', 'determines that a fire condition is present based on the indication of the detected temperature;', 'identifies one or more of the plurality of electronic fire sprinklers based on the determined locations and an identifier of the temperature sensor from which the indication of the detected temperature was received; and', 'transmits one or more activation signals to ...

TERMINAL APPARATUS, LOCATION SERVER, LOCATION MEASUREMENT METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Provided is a terminal apparatus including: a receiver configured to detect a transmission direction of a signal used for communication with at least one base station apparatus; and a transmitter configured to transmit, to a location server, base station direction information for indicating the transmission direction detected. 1. A terminal apparatus comprising:a receiver configured to detect a transmission direction of a signal used for communication with at least one base station apparatus; anda transmitter configured to transmit, to a location server for calculating a position of a terminal apparatus, base station direction information for indicating the transmission direction detected.2. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1 , whereinthe base station direction information indicates the transmission direction detected, based on any one of a transmission direction of a signal used for communication with one base station apparatus, a global coordinate system, and a local coordinate system.3. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1 , whereinthe base station direction information is based on an identical one direction with respect to transmission directions of signals used for communication with multiple base station apparatuses.4. A location server comprising:an information acquisition unit configured to acquire terminal direction information for indicating a transmission direction of a signal, detected by each of multiple base station apparatuses, that is used for communication between each of the multiple base station apparatuses and a terminal apparatus, and base station direction information for indicating a transmission direction of a signal, detected by the terminal apparatus, that is used for communication between at least one of the multiple base station apparatuses and the terminal apparatus; anda position measurement unit configured to calculate a position of the terminal apparatus, based on the terminal direction information and the base station ...

AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING SYSTEMS

An autonomous positioning system for a mesh network, includes a mobile device receiving a first transmitting signal, a second transmitting signal and a third transmitting signal via the mesh network, obtaining a first, second, third received signal strength indicator (RSSI) corresponding to the first transmitting signal, the second transmitting signal, and the third transmitting signal; a first stationary access point transmitting the first transmitting signal via the mesh network and receives the a first, second, third received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and obtaining a position of the mobile device according to the first, second, third received signal strength indicator (RSSI); a second stationary access point transmitting the second transmitting signal via the mesh network; and a third stationary access point transmitting the third transmitting signal via the mesh network, wherein the first stationary access point receiving the second distance information and the third distance information. 1. An autonomous positioning system for a mesh network , comprising:a mobile device coupled to the mesh network wirelessly, receiving a first transmitting signal, a second transmitting signal and a third transmitting signal via the mesh network, obtaining a first received signal strength indicator of the first transmitting signal, a second received signal strength indicator of the second transmitting signal, and a third received signal strength indicator of the third transmitting signal, and providing inertial positioning information and displaying map information of the mesh network;a first stationary access point transmitting the first transmitting signal via the mesh network and receiving the first received signal strength indicator, the second received signal strength indicator and the third received signal strength indicator from the mobile device, wherein the first stationary access point obtains first distance information according to the first received signal ...

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR POSITION MEASUREMENT IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

The present disclosure relates to a pre-5-Generation (5G) or 5G communication system to be provided for supporting higher data rates Beyond 4-Generation (4G) communication system such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for position measurement in a wireless communication system. An operating method of a terminal in the wireless communication system includes transmitting a signal for requesting for positioning, and receiving positioning signals for the positioning of the terminal from a plurality of other terminals. 1. An apparatus for a terminal in a wireless communication system , the apparatus comprising:a transceiver; andat least one processor operatively coupled with the transceiver,wherein the at least one processor is configured to control to:transmit a signal for requesting positioning, andreceive positioning signals for positioning of the terminal from a plurality of other terminals.2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control to determine a position of the terminal on the basis of the positioning signals.3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control to:transmit measurement parameters for the positioning signals, andreceive position information of the terminal.4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control to receive at least one of information regarding a position coordinate of each of the plurality of other terminals and propagation delay information between a base station and the plurality of other terminals.5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control to confirm at least one of information regarding a position coordinate of each of the plurality of other terminals and propagation delay information between a base station and the plurality of other terminals from the positioning ...

PHASE-BASED DISTANCE DETERMINATION FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

The invention relates to methods and systems for phase-based determination of a distance and/or a frequency offset between a first node and a second node in a wireless network. The method may comprise the first node transmitting a first request message based on a first carrier signal to the second node and receiving a plurality of first response messages from the second node, the plurality of first response messages being transmitted based on a first reference carrier signal by the second node to the first node; the first node transmitting a second request message based on a second carrier signal to the second node and the first node receiving a plurality of second response messages from the second node, the plurality of second response messages being transmitted based on a second reference carrier signal by the second node to the first node; the first node receiving a first phase difference and second phase difference from the second node, the first phase difference defining a difference between a phase of the first carrier signal and a phase of the first reference carrier signal at a predetermined time instance associated with the first request message and the second phase defining a difference between a phase of the second carrier signal and a phase of the second reference carrier signal at a predetermined time instance associated with the second request message; the first node determining a set of third phase differences and a set of fourth phase differences based on the plurality of first response messages and the plurality of second response messages respectively, each of the set of third phase differences defining a difference between a phase of the first reference carrier signal and a phase of the first carrier signal at a predetermined time instance associated with one of the plurality of first response messages; and, each of the set of fourth phase differences defining a difference between a phase of the second reference carrier signal and a phase of the ...

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING TIME OF ARRIVAL TOA WHEN MOBILE TERMINAL IS LOCATED

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method which including: receiving a locating reference signal sent by a locating transmitter; performing time domain related processing on the locating reference signal and a synchronization reference signal sequence to obtain a related spectrum value of a multipath signal component corresponding to a delay value; detecting a channel parameter used when the locating reference signal is received, and generating, according to the channel parameter and a function that progressively decreases with the delay value, a related spectrum threshold that progressively decreases with the delay value; and traversing the delay value in ascending order of the delay value, searching for a first traversed delay value whose related spectrum value of a multipath signal component corresponding to the delay value is greater than a related spectrum threshold corresponding to the delay value, and using the found delay value as TOA for outputting. 1. A method for obtaining time of arrival (TOA) when a mobile terminal is located , wherein the method comprising:receiving a locating reference signal sent by a locating transmitter;performing time domain related processing on the locating reference signal and a synchronization reference signal sequence to obtain a related spectrum value of a multipath signal component corresponding to a delay value;detecting a channel parameter used when the locating reference signal is received, and generating, according to the channel parameter and a function that progressively decreases with the delay value, a related spectrum threshold that progressively decreases with the delay value; andtraversing the delay value in ascending order of the delay value, searching for a first traversed delay value whose related spectrum value of a multipath signal component corresponding to the delay value is greater than a related spectrum threshold corresponding to the delay value, and using the found delay value as TOA for ...

VEHICLE COMMUNICATION CONTROL DEVICE

A vehicle communication control device used for a vehicle includes a nearby vehicle information acquirer, a subject vehicle information generator, an assistance information generator, a difference calculator, and a cycle changer. The nearby vehicle information acquirer successively acquires nearby vehicle information representing running condition of a nearby vehicle and generation time of the nearby vehicle information. The subject vehicle information generator cyclically generates subject vehicle information representing running condition of a subject vehicle. The assistance information generator generates assistance information for driving assistance of the subject vehicle by using the nearby vehicle information and the subject vehicle information. The difference calculator calculates a difference between generation time of the most recent subject vehicle information and generation time of the most recent nearby vehicle information. The cycle changer changes a generation cycle of the subject vehicle information so as to decrease the difference. 1. A vehicle communication control device used for a vehicle , comprising:a nearby vehicle information acquirer configured to successively acquire nearby vehicle information representing a running condition of at least one nearby vehicle around a subject vehicle and generation time of the nearby vehicle information, wherein the nearby vehicle information and the generation time are generated in an in-vehicle unit mounted on the at least one nearby vehicle and successively transmitted by communication from outside the subject vehicle;a subject vehicle information generator configured to cyclically generate subject vehicle information representing a running condition of the subject vehicle;an assistance information generator configured to generate assistance information for driving assistance of the subject vehicle by using the nearby vehicle information and the subject vehicle information;a difference calculator configured ...

Device Localization using RSS Based Path Loss Exponent Estimation

A method for tracking a device determines correlations among locations of the device including a set of previous locations of the device and an initial estimate of a current location of the device, and determines, for each access point (AP), a current path loss exponent for the current location of the device using previous path loss exponents determined for the previous locations of the device and the correlations among the locations of the device. The method determines the current location of the device according to a path loss model using received signal strengths (RSS) of signals received from each AP at the current location and the current path loss exponent determined for each AP. The current path loss exponent for each AP are updated using the current location of the device and the RSS of signals received from the corresponding AP. 1. A method for tracking a device , comprising:determining correlations among locations of the device, wherein the locations includes a set of previous locations of the device and an initial estimate of a current location of the device;determining, for each access point (AP), a current path loss exponent for the current location of the device using previous path loss exponents determined for the previous locations of the device and the correlations among the locations of the device;determining the current location of the device according to a path loss model using received signal strengths (RSS) of signals received from each AP at the current location and the current path loss exponent determined for each AP; andupdating the current path loss exponent for each AP using the current location of the device and the RSS of signals received from the corresponding AP, wherein steps of the method are performed using a processor.2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:updating iteratively the set of locations of the device and a set of path loss exponents corresponding to the set of locations using the correlation among locations of ...

POSITION ESTIMATION OF A RECEIVER USING ANCHOR POINTS

Estimating one or more positions of a receiver using one or more anchor points. Systems and methods for estimating a position of a receiver using a particular anchor point may identify an area of interest that includes anchor points, identify the particular anchor point, and then use information about the particular anchor point to estimate the position of the receiver. 1. A method for identifying and using anchor points in connection with one or more receivers , the method comprising:identifying an area of interest that includes anchor points; andusing one of the anchor points to determine a position of a receiver.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:generating an initial estimate of the receiver's position;identifying a location of an anchor point;determining whether the initial estimate of the receiver's position is within a threshold distance from the location of the anchor point;determining the position of the receiver using the location of the anchor point when the receiver's initial estimate of position is within the threshold distance from the location of the anchor point; anddetermining the position of the receiver without using the location of the anchor point when the receiver's initial estimate of position is not within the threshold distance from the location of the anchor point.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:determining whether the receiver receives signals transmitted from a local area network (LAN) node;if the receiver receives the signals from the LAN node, identifying a location of an anchor point associated with the LAN node and determining the position of the receiver using the location of the anchor point; andif the receiver does not receive the signals from the LAN node, determining the position of the receiver without using the location of the anchor point.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining further comprises:identifying a movement traveled by the receiver;identifying a ...

Wireless Device Ranging

A method and apparatus for detecting, by a first device, a timing measurement frame from a second device, the timing measurement frame having a plurality of time measurement samples, wherein at least the first of the measurement samples has a transmit timestamp value; determining transmit timing values for the subsequent measurement samples; applying a receive timestamp value to each of the received measurement samples; and determining a relative clock drift between a clock of the first device and a clock of the second device by comparing the receive timestamp values with transmit timing values of one or more measurement samples contained in the frame. 1. A method comprising:detecting, by a first device, a timing measurement frame from a second device, the timing measurement frame having a plurality of time measurement samples, wherein at least the first of the measurement samples has a transmit timestamp value;determining transmit timing values for the subsequent measurement samples;applying a receive timestamp value to each of the received measurement samples; anddetermining a relative clock drift between a clock of the first device and a clock of the second device by comparing the receive timestamp values with transmit timing values of one or more measurement samples contained in the frame.2. The method claim 1 , wherein determining the relative clock drift comprises comparing the receive timestamp of the first measurement sample with the transmit timestamp of the first measurement sample and comparing the receive timestamps of the one or more subsequent measurement samples with the transmit timing values of the corresponding one or more subsequent measurement samples.3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the relative clock drift value claim 1 , the receive timestamp values and transmit timing values to a network node to calculate a distance value between the first device and the second device.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmit ...

Method System and Device for Obtaining Location Information using Neighbor Awareness Networking, NAN

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining a location using Neighbor Awareness Networking, NAN, and a corresponding system as well as a method carried out by a NAN device and a corresponding NAN device so that a location can be obtained in a simple way. In particular, the method for obtaining a location using neighbor awareness networking, NAN, comprises requesting the location of a target NAN device; determining a cluster of wireless NAN devices comprising the target NAN device as well as one or more anchor NAN devices having predetermined locations to serve as positioning nodes; performing range measurements using the travel times of radio signals between the target NAN device and each of the one or more anchor NAN devices; and obtaining the location of the target NAN device based on the range measurements. 135-. (canceled)36. A method for obtaining a location using neighbor awareness networking , NAN , wherein the method comprises:requesting the location of a target NAN device;determining a cluster of wireless NAN devices comprising the target NAN device as well as at least two anchor NAN devices having predetermined locations to serve as positioning nodes;performing range measurements using the travel times of radio signals between the target NAN device and each of the at least two anchor NAN devices; andreceiving messages including range measurement information of the range measurements from NAN devices of the cluster at a location center, wherein the location center obtains the location of the target NAN device using the range measurement information.37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the location center is either one of the NAN devices of the cluster or an access point of a wireless network that serves as an additional positing node.38. The method of claim 36 , wherein location center is an access point of a wireless network that serves as an additional positioning node claim 36 , and wherein two NAN devices and the access point are the only ...

POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, TIMING, RANGING, OR BEACON TRANSMISSION SYSTEM APPARATUS WHICH UTILIZES AND EXPLOITS --- RELAYED, DELAYED, OR VIRTUAL TIMING MARKER TRANSMISSIONS OF GPS, GPS ALTERNATIVE, GNSS, PNT, ELECTRONIC, OPTIC, ACOUSTIC, OR SIMILAR SIGNALS

Aspects of the present disclosure are related to a positioning, navigation, timing, ranging, or beacon transmission system apparatus which utilizes and exploits—relayed, delayed, or virtual timing marker transmissions of GPS, GPS alternative, GNSS, PNT, electronic, optic, acoustic, or similar signals. Traditional “low-to-high waveform change” timing markers, in navigation or GPS signals, can be easily altered and require unshareable, high-resolution, high-capacity channels. However, as described herein, the use of relayed transmission pathways can eliminate cumbersome traditional nanosecond synchronization of navigation transmitters or exploit inclusion of happenstance neighborhood transmitters. 1. A PNT positioning-navigation-timing-ranging-or-beacon transmission system apparatus , comprising:one or more originating transmitters;one or more corresponding receivers;one or more physical timing marker signal pathways extending from the one or more originating transmitters to the one or more corresponding receivers;one or more sets of signal transmitters located on a first platform, the one or more sets of signal transmitters configured to place one or more physical timing markers on available space on one or more transmission signal from the originating transmitter, where the location of the signal transmitters in the one or more set of signal transmitters is known or is or determinable at a specific time corresponding to transmission of the one or more physical timing marker; andwherein the one or more physical timing marker indicates the location of a position on the one or more transmission signal and comprises a defined signal waveform change.2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second set of signal transmitters located on a second platform claim 1 , the second platform separate and physically dispersed from the first platform.3. The system of claim 1 , wherein a transmitter in the one or more set of signal transmitters is configured to place one or ...

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOCATING A WIRELESS DEVICE

A system may include at least one computer-readable storage medium including a set of instructions for locating a wireless device having wireless fidelity (WiFi) capability, and at least one processor in communication with the computer-readable storage medium, wherein when executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is directed to: obtain a positioning request from the wireless device, the wireless device is in communication with at least one WiFi network; obtain WiFi data from the wireless device; and determine a default location associated with the WiFi data as a location of the wireless device. 1. A system configured to locate a wireless device having wireless fidelity (WiFi) capability , comprising:at least one storage medium including a set of instructions for locating a wireless device having wireless fidelity (WiFi) capability; and obtain electronic signals including a positioning request from the wireless device, the wireless device being in communication with at least one WiFi network;', 'obtain electronic signals including WiFi data from the wireless device; and', 'determine a default location associated with the WiFi data as a location of the wireless device., 'logic circuits in communication with the at least one storage medium, wherein when executing the set of instructions, the logic circuits is directed to2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WiFi data is associated with at least one structure claim 1 , andthe default location includes an entrance of the at least one structure.3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one structure shields global positioning system (GPS) signals.4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device has global positioning system (GPS) capability claim 1 , and obtain electronic signals including a trace of locations of the wireless device according to GPS signals associated with the wireless device, the trace including a breakpoint at where the at least one WiFi network is located; and', ' ...

Localization Systems And Methods Using Communication Protocols With Open Channels And Secure Communication Connections

Localization systems and methods are provided and include a first sensor configured to perform wireless communication with a portable device using a communication protocol that allows for communication over open advertising communication channels and that allows for communication using a secure communication connection. The first sensor communicates with the portable device using the secure communication connection and seconds sensor communicate with the portable device by transmitting or receiving broadcast signals over the open advertising communication channels. A control module receives first signal information about signals transmitted or received by the first sensor and second signal information about signals transmitted or received by the second sensors and determines a location of the portable device based on the first signal information and the second signal information. The first signal information and the second signal information include received signal strength indicator information, angle of arrival information, and/or time difference of arrival information. 1. A system comprising:a first sensor configured to perform wireless communication with a portable device using a communication protocol that allows for communication over at least one open advertising communication channel and that allows for communication using a secure communication connection, the first sensor being configured to communicate with the portable device using the secure communication connection during a first time period;at least one second sensor configured to perform wireless communication with the portable device by transmitting or receiving at least one broadcast signal over the at least one open advertising communication channel during a second time period; anda control module configured to receive first signal information about first signals transmitted or received by the first sensor during the first time period and second signal information about second signals transmitted ...

Method for Passive Approximate Localization using Frequency Modulation and Software Defined Radio

A method for localizing for GPS denied environments is provided with a plurality of broadcasting transmitters and a software-defined radio (SDR). A pre-processing stage and a query phase is executed for localizing an unknown location. The results from the preprocessing stage are made available to the query stage. A simulated power spectrum is computed for a region of interest during the pre-processing phase via the plurality of broadcasting transmitters. A transmitter location, a radius of influence, and a power contour plot of each of the plurality of broadcasting transmitters are used for computing the simulated power spectrum. Next, a peak-finding process, a filtering process, and a localization process is executed during the query phase in order to identify the unknown location. 1. A method for passive approximate localization using broadcast waves and software-defined radio , the method comprises the steps of:(A) providing a plurality of broadcasting transmitters, wherein the broadcasting transmitters are distributed throughout a region of interest;(B) providing a software-defined radio, wherein the software-defined radio is located within the region of interest;(C) dividing the region of interest into a plurality of geo-hashes, wherein each geo-hash is associated to a simulated power spectrum;(D) sensing an observed power spectrum at an unknown location with the software-defined radio, wherein the unknown location is within the region of interest;(E) executing a peak-finding process with the software-defined radio in order to identify dominant frequencies within the observed power spectrum;(F) executing a filtering process with the software-defined radio in order to identify proximal geo-hashes from the plurality of geo-hashes, wherein the simulated power spectrum for each proximal geo-hash shares similar dominant frequencies with the observed power spectrum; and(G) executing a localization process with the software-defined radio in order to identify the ...

DETERMINING PERIPHERAL DEVICE POSITION RELATIVE TO A PRIMARY DISPLAY

A computer apparatus is provided for determining one or more peripheral device positions. A primary display of the computer apparatus may be provided with two or more signal receivers disposed at different locations in relation to the primary display and may be configured to receive signals from a signal transmitter at a peripheral device. The computer apparatus may include a processor and a memory configured to provide computer program instructions to the processor to execute a method of: determining a distance from the signal transmitter to each of the two or more signal receivers based on a strength of the received signal; using positioning determination to determine a direction and/or distance to a position of the signal transmitter from the primary display; and configuring the peripheral device based on the determined direction and/or distance.

System for trusted distance measurement

A device is arranged for determining a first distance according to a ranging protocol using a measurement message from a second device. A cooperating device ( 130 ) has a directional antenna ( 133 ) and is located at a trusted distance ( 150 ) sharing a connecting direction ( 160 ) with the first device. The cooperating device determines a third direction of the same measurement message, and transfers support data to the first device based on the third direction. The first device first determines a first angle ( 161 ) between the first direction and the connecting direction and obtains a third angle ( 163 ) between the third direction and the connecting direction using the support data. Then a verification test is performed on the first distance ( 151 ), the trusted distance ( 150 ), the first and the third angle. The first distance is reliable when said distances and angles correspond to a viable spatial constellation ( 100 ) of the devices.

Transmitters-based localization on freeway

New measurement inputs for Kalman Filter or similar estimation approaches (at each sample) may include: DSRC messages from roadside transmitters (RSTs), such as: how long it takes for a DSRC signal from one or more fixed RSTs to reach the vehicle and comparison of that information with vehicle position estimates from a signal propagation model, which is based on how long it takes a DSRC signal to reach the vehicle GPS location from a fixed known RST location. From such measurements, it can be determined how much longer (or shorter) it takes to receive the RST message compared to the previous sample, which, in turn, gives an idea how far the vehicle has moved over a sample relative to a fixed RST location.

Aircraft Navigation Light ADS-B Radio

The ADS-B radio extracts Mode transponder data from parasitic oscillations on the aircraft power line induced by transmissions of ownship radar transponder reply signals. The radio is configured for replacement installation of an aircraft lighting assembly, and connection thereby to legacy onboard power sources without resorting to wireless or wired radar transponder, or pneumatic connections. 1. An ADS-B compliant transmitter vehicle replacement light , said compliant transmitter electrically powered by an installed vehicle electrical system , said compliant transmitter not including: (i) either a pneumatic or electrical connection to a barometric pressure sensing device , (ii) a squawk code user interface system , (iii) an antenna and receiver for receiving a radar transponder output signal , and (iv) a wired signal connection to the output of a radar transponder , said compliant transmitter comprising: (1) a pair of electrical connections for electrically connecting said vehicle light to the electrical system of a vehicle, said electrical connection pair including a power wire and a ground connection;', '(2) at least one of a white, red, and green light emitting device electrically connected to said pair of electrical connections;', '(3) an ADS-B transmitter for transmitting ADS-B signals on at least one of 978 MHz (UAT) and 1090 MHz (ES); and', '(4) a processor operatively coupled to said ADS-B transmitter and said electrical connections, wherein the processor is configured to', 'reconstruct one or more data based on an induced signal on at least the power wire of said pair of electrical connections; and, '(a) a vehicle replacement light, said vehicle replacement light having a size and shape at least partially conforming to a vehicle light to be replaced, said vehicle light consisting essentially of(b) an antenna operably connected to and generally collocated with said vehicle replacement light, said antenna for transmitting compliant ADS-B signals from said ...

ENHANCED TIME OF ARRIVAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

Method, node, computer program, and computer program product in a wireless communication network, comprising a network communication unit with a medium access control layer (MAC-Layer), said node configured to calculate the Time of Arrival and/or Time of Flight based on a counted time from transmission of a response request message in the medium access control layer of said node to the corresponding arrival of a response to said response request message in the medium access control layer (MAC-Layer) of said node. 2. Method according to wherein said response request message is a Request-To-Send (RTS) message and said response is a Clear-To-Send (CTS) message.3. Method according to wherein claim 1 , said first node comprises sound means to receive and transmit acoustic or digital sound signals claim 1 , wherein after determining the distance between said first and second nodes claim 1 , said first node performs a method comprising:{'sub': 'A', 'transmitting a first acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': X', 'A, 'starting a counter (T) at transmission of the acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': 'B', 'receiving a second acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': X', 'B, 'stopping the counter (T) at reception of the second acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': 'X', 'determining based on the counter result (T) the distance between said first and second node.'}4. Method according to wherein claim 1 , said first node comprises sound means to receive and transmit acoustic or digital sound signals claim 1 , wherein after determining the distance between said first and second nodes claim 1 , said first node performs a method comprising:{'sub': 'A', 'transmitting a first acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': X', 'A, 'starting a counter (T) at transmission of the acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': 'B', 'receiving a second acoustic or digital sound signal (S),'}{'sub': X', 'B, 'stopping the counter (T) at reception of the second ...

LOCATION TRACKER

Devices, methods, systems, and computer-readable media for calculating a distance and direction from a location tracker to a location of a node are described herein. One or more embodiments include a transmit element to transmit a search command for a first node to one or more nodes, a receive element to receive wireless transmissions from the one or more nodes including range data between the location tracker and each of the one or more nodes, and a time of flight (ToF) ranging calculator to convert the range data to a distance measurement from the location tracker to the first node. 1. A location tracker , comprising:a transmit element to transmit a search command for a first node to one or more nodes;a receive element to receive wireless transmissions from the one or more nodes including range data between the location tracker and each of the one or more nodes;a time of flight (ToF) ranging calculator to convert the range data to a distance measurement from the location tracker to the first node; anda speaker to provide a particular audio tone based on the distance measurement from the location tracker to the first node.2. The location tracker of claim 1 , wherein the wireless transmissions are via at least one of: long range (LoRa) modulated claim 1 , LoRaWAN claim 1 , WiFi claim 1 , 15.4 mesh claim 1 , Bluetooth claim 1 , or Bluetooth mesh.3. The location tracker of claim 1 , wherein the search command includes an address of the first node from a lookup table.4. The location tracker of claim 1 , wherein the wireless transmissions include relative received signal strength (RSSI) data.5. The location tracker of claim 4 , further including a high gain antenna to receive the RSSI data.6. The location tracker of claim 5 , further including a RSSI calculator to analyze the RSSI data to determine a direction from the location tracker to the first node.7. The location tracker of claim 6 , wherein the speaker provides a different audio tone based on the direction from ...

AREA DETERMINATION SYSTEM, AREA DETERMINATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

An area determination system includes a decision unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. The decision unit decides, based on a strength of a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter and received by a receiver, a location of the transmitter. The calculation unit calculates a presence determination value. The presence determination value is based on a number of times that the location of the transmitter is determined to be in a presence determination region during a presence determination time period. The presence determination region corresponds to a target area. The determination unit, when a presence condition is satisfied, determine that the transmitter is in the target area. The presence condition is that a state where the presence determination value is greater than or equal to a presence threshold continues for a presence determination time. 1. An area determination system , comprising:a decision unit configured to decide, based on a strength of a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter and received by a receiver, a location of the transmitter;a calculation unit configured to calculate a presence determination value based on a number of times that the location of the transmitter is determined to be in a presence determination region during a presence determination time period, the presence determination region corresponding to a target area; anda determination unit configured to, when a presence condition is satisfied, determine that the transmitter is in the target area, the presence condition being that a state where the presence determination value is greater than or equal to a presence threshold continues for a presence determination time.2. The area determination system of claim 1 , whereinthe presence determination value is a value based on a ratio of a number of times of determination that the location of the transmitter is in the presence determination region to a number of times of determination as to whether or not the location of ...

Method and system for satellite signal processing

A method of tracking a plurality of signals from a single satellite comprises receiving a first signal transmitted by a satellite; receiving at least a second signal transmitted by the same satellite; applying a pre-filtering process to determine the cumulative in-phase and quadrature components of the first, second signals, and optionally any further signals; and applying a filtering process to the cumulated in-phase and quadrature components of the first and at least second signals to determine a range and range rate of the satellite; wherein the filtering process comprises applying a Kalman filter. The method results in a determination of the range and range rate from a single satellite with improved signal to noise ratio. The range and range rate so determined may be used, with data from other satellites, to produce a navigational position. The method may be used with each such satellite used in producing the navigational position.

RESPONDING TO A RANGING REQUEST FROM A PEER DEVICE IN A WIRELESS NETWORK

The application layer of a first wireless device may be configured to receive a ranging request indication from a MAC layer of the first wireless device, determine whether the MAC layer should respond to the ranging request, and send a ranging response to the MAC layer with an indication of whether to respond to the ranging request. The MAC layer may be configured to decode a ranging set-up request from a second wireless device, where the ranging set-up request comprises time slots. If an auto-response is set to false, send a ranging request indication to the application layer and receive from the application layer a ranging response, and if the auto-response is set to true or the ranging response indicates the MAC layer should respond to the ranging set-up request, select a time slot, and encode a ranging response with an indication of the selected time slot. 1. (canceled)2. An apparatus of a Neighbor Awareness Network (NAN) device , the NAN device configured for NAN ranging operations , the apparatus comprising:Media Access Control (MAC) layer circuitry; anda physical (PHY) layer,wherein the MAC layer circuitry comprises a NAN engine configured to interface with an application layer of the NAN device,wherein the application layer of the NAN device is configured to operate a NAN service, andwherein as part of the NAN ranging operations, the NAN engine is configured to:set an auto-response if a range response received from the application layer includes an auto-response flag that is set to true;decode a ranging request frame received from a peer NAN device, the ranging request frame being a request to start a ranging session setup procedure;in response to receipt of the ranging request frame, determine if the auto-response is set;if the auto-response is set, encode a ranging response frame for transmission to the peer NAN device to accept the request; generate a range request indication for the application layer;', 'receive, in response to the range request ...

ULTRA WIDEBAND (UWB)-BASED HIGH PRECISION POSITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM

An ultra wideband (UWB)-based high precision positioning method and system is provided. According to the method and system, a precise position measurement according to a UWB signal characteristic can be achieved by an interaction between a UWB tag and an access point without a separate server in a real-time positioning system, further, a user terminal can receive information even when a user terminal is not connected to a separate Internet communication network by receiving position information of the UWB tag and additional information based on the position information through Bluetooth or a universal serial bus (USB). 1. A precise positioning system using ultra wideband (UWB) , comprising:one or more access points configured to transmit a UWB position measurement starting signal every first scheduling period; anda UWB tag configured to measure its own position in response to the UWB position measurement starting signal received from the one or more access points.2. The precise positioning system using the UWB of claim 1 , further comprising:a user terminal which is paired with the UWB tag and configured to receive the measured position from the UWB tag.3. The precise positioning system using the UWB of claim 2 , wherein the UWB tag measures the position by a two-way-ranging (TWR) method of calculating a round trip time (RTT) claim 2 , and converting the calculated RTT into a distance to the one or more access points.4. The precise positioning system using the UWB of claim 2 , wherein the one or more access points are synchronized with each other based on the first scheduling period claim 2 , andthe UWB tag measures the position by a time difference of arrival (TDOA) method of measuring an arrival time of the UWB position measurement starting signal received from the one or more access points.5. The precise positioning system using the UWB of claim 2 , wherein the user terminal is paired with the UWB tag by one of a universal serial bus (USB) or Bluetooth.6. The ...

VARIABLE RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR LOCALIZATION

A method for localizing one or more devices in an environment make use of repeated allocation of resources for one or more sensor measurements. Each sensor measurement is characterized by the amount of resources allocated to the measurement, by a quality factor, and by direction-dependent characteristics of information that is obtainable from that sensor measurement. Knowledge of a current location of each of the one or more devices determined from past sensor measurements is characterized by a distribution, with each of the distribution containing information about the current location of the device, including the direction-dependent information and the uncertainty of the location. The allocation of resources makes use of the quality factors and direction-dependent characteristics of the sensor measurements, in combination with the distributions characterizing the current location of each of the one or more devices to allocate a variable amount of a resource to each of the one or more sensor measurements. 1. A method for localizing one or more devices in an environment using location knowledge for each device of the one or more devices , location knowledge of each device being characterized by a distribution determined from past sensor measurements , wherein each distribution represents information about a current location of the device , including the direction-dependent information and the uncertainty of the location , the method comprising: wherein each sensor measurement of the one or more sensor measurements is characterized by a quality factor, and by direction-dependent characteristics of information that is obtainable from that sensor measurement for devices of the one or more devices, and', 'wherein the allocating of the resources makes use of the quality factors and direction-dependent characteristics of the sensor measurements, in combination with the distributions characterizing knowledge of the current location of each of the one or more devices;, ' ...

METHOD FOR GEOLOCATING A RECEIVER

A method for geolocating a receiver by measuring times of reception, by the receiver, of a plurality of geolocation signals originating from a plurality of emitters, the geolocation signals are emitted on multiple different wavelengths, at least one geolocation signal having a frequency less than 1 GHz. 1. A method for geolocating a receiver by measuring times of reception , by the receiver , of a plurality of geolocation signals originating from a plurality of emitters , the geolocation signals are emitted on multiple different wavelengths , at least one geolocation signal having a frequency less than 1 GHz.2. The method according to claim 1 , the receiver having a clock synchronized with the emitters claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:determining the propagation times of the geolocation signals from the emitters and to the receiver,computing the distances between the receiver and the emitters based on these propagation times, anddetermining the position of the receiver using a localization technique on the basis of the computed distances.3. The method according to claim 1 , the receiver not having a clock synchronized with the emitters claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:for at least three transmitters, determine, for at least one couple M1 and M2 of its transmitters, a slice delimited by two hyperbolic surfaces of revolution around the line linking the transmitters M1 and M2, the two hyperbolas are defined by the position of the emitters M1 and M2 and a difference in length of the points of the hyperbolas at the two positions of the emitters M1 and M2,determine the position of the receiver by intersection of said slice and a plane formed by the three transmitters.4. The method according to claim 1 , the receiver not having a clock synchronized with the emitters claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:{'sub': 1', '2', '1', '2', '1', '2, 'determining, for multiple pairs of emitters M1 and M2, a slice delimited by two hyperbolic surfaces ...

LOW-POWER, LONG-RANGE RF LOCALIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

A system is presented for non-line-of-sight localization between RF enabled devices. A transmitting node is configured to transmit an RF ranging signal at a first carrier frequency, where the RF ranging signal is modulated with a symbol. The reflecting node is configured to receive the RF ranging signal and further operates to convert the RF ranging signal to a second carrier frequency and retransmit the converted ranging signal while simultaneously receiving the RF ranging signal. The localizing node is configured to receive the converted ranging signal from the reflecting node. The localizing node operates to identify, in frequency domain, the symbol in the converted ranging signal and compute a distance between the reflecting node and the localizing node based in part on the identified symbol in the converted ranging signal. The transmitting node and the localizing node may be on the same or different devices. 1. A system for non-line-of-sight localization between RF enabled devices , comprising:a transmitting node configured to transmit an RF ranging signal at a first carrier frequency across a wireless medium, where the RF ranging signal is modulated with a symbol;a reflecting node having a wireless transceiver and configured to receive the RF ranging signal from the transmitting node, wherein the reflecting node operates to convert the RF ranging signal to a second carrier frequency and retransmit the converted ranging signal across the wireless medium while simultaneously receiving the RF ranging signal, such that the second carrier frequency differs from the first carrier frequency; anda localizing node configured to receive the converted ranging signal from the reflecting node, wherein the localizing node operates to identify, in frequency domain, the symbol in the converted ranging signal and compute a distance between the reflecting node and the localizing node based in part on the identified symbol in the converted ranging signal.2. The system of wherein ...

Ear piece with pseudolite connectivity

An earpiece includes an earpiece housing and a location receiver disposed within the ear piece housing. The earpiece is configured to determine location of the earpiece using the location receiver. The ear piece is configured to generate three-dimensional sounds based on the location of the earpiece relative to location of one or more sound sources. The location receiver may be configured to receive signals from one or more pseudo satellites and use the signals to determine the location. The earpiece may be configured to receive signals from one or more terrestrial or ground-based transmitters and use the signals to determine the location. The ear piece may further include an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing. 1. An earpiece comprising:an earpiece housing;a location receiver disposed within the ear piece housing;wherein the earpiece is configured to determine location of the earpiece using the location receiver;wherein the ear piece is configured to generate three-dimensional sounds based on the location of the earpiece relative to location of one or more sound sources.2. The earpiece of wherein the location receiver is configured to receive signals from one or more pseudo satellites and use the signals to determine the location.3. The earpiece of wherein the location receiver of the earpiece is configured to receive signals from one or more ground-based transmitters and use the signals to determine the location.4. The earpiece of further comprising an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing.5. The earpiece of wherein the ear piece is configured to generate three-dimensional sounds based on the location of the earpiece relative to one or more sound sources.6. A system comprising:at least one pseudolite;a set of earpieces comprising a left ear piece and a right ear piece, each of the earpieces comprising an ear piece housing, at least one speaker, at least one microphone, a wireless transceiver disposed within the ear piece housing; ...

POSITIONING SYSTEM

An ultrawide band two-way ranging based positioning system includes a number of active tags each having a position, and a number of beacons configured for location of a position of a tag of the plurality of active tags. The active tags and the beacons are synchronized continuously to a common time base. 1. An ultrawide band two-way ranging based positioning system , comprising:a plurality of active tags each having a position; anda plurality of beacons configured for location of a position of a tag of the plurality of active tags;wherein the plurality of active tags and the plurality of beacons are synchronized continuously to a common time base.2. The positioning system of claim 1 , wherein each active tag in the system has a globally designated window for two-way ranging polls between it and at least one of the plurality of beacons.3. The positioning system of claim 1 , wherein each beacon of the plurality of beacons listens for a two-way ranging poll from a tag of the plurality of active tags in a predefined window.4. The positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of active tags has a global reporting time slot.5. The positioning system of claim 1 , wherein each tag of the plurality of active tags is configured to determine its position based on two-way ranging between it and at least one beacon of the plurality of beacons.6. The positioning system of claim 5 , wherein each tag of the plurality of tags is configured to determine its position based on two-way ranging between it and at least three beacons.7. The positioning system of claim 5 , and further comprising:a processing unit coupled via a data network to the plurality of beacons, the beacons configured to receive tag positions from the plurality of active tags, and the processing unit configured to receive position information of the plurality of active tags from the plurality of beacons.8. The positioning system of claim 7 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to update positions ...

SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED INDOOR AND OUTDOOR POSITION MEASUREMENT

A system for measuring the position of one or more object in an area of interest. The system has one or more portable tag which is attachable to the object and four or more beacons each positioned in separate fixed locations in or near the area of interest, The beacons have a primary beacon function and a secondary beacon function and the portable tag measures the time referenced signal from the beacon using its primary beacon function and the time referenced echo from the beacons using their secondary beacon function to calculate the position of the portable tag with respect to the beacon. A controller switches said beacons between their primary beacon function and their secondary beacon function to create a plurality of calculations of the position of the portable tag. 1. A system for measuring the position of one or more object in an area of interest , the system comprising:one or more portable tag, the portable tag being attachable to the object; a primary beacon function and a secondary beacon function such that the primary beacon function emits a primary signal, measures the time at which the primary signal is sent and measures the time at which an echo signal is received;', 'the secondary beacon function generates an echo signal and measures the time at which the primary signal is received and echo signal sent;, 'four or more beacons each positioned in separate fixed locations in or near the area of interest, wherein at least four of the beacons in the system are configured to havethe portable tag measures the time referenced signal from the beacon using its primary beacon function and the time referenced echo from the beacons using their secondary beacon function to calculate the position of the portable tag with respect to the beacon using its primary beacon function and the beacons using their secondary beacon function; anda controller which switches said beacons between their primary beacon function and their secondary beacon function to create a ...

DEVICE FOR IDENTIFYING A POSITION OF AN ELECTRONIC UNIT ON A MOTOR VEHICLE

The present invention relates to a device (DISP) for identifying a position (PosB) of a secondary electronic unit (BA) on a motor vehicle (V), comprising: —a central electronic unit (PE) suitable for managing the power supply to a plurality of secondary electronic units (BA) and having: —a switching device (DC) for switching the power supply to all the secondary electronic units (BA); —a main timer (CPTA) suitable for being triggered in a time-correlated manner with the activation of the power supply to said secondary electronic units (BA) by said switching device (DC); —and said plurality of secondary electronic units (BA); wherein each of said secondary electronic units (BA) comprises a secondary timer (CPTB) suitable for being triggered in a time-correlated manner with the power supply to said secondary electronic unit (BA); and is suitable for performing internally at least one measurement of a voltage (VH, VL) when it is powered, said at least one measurement of a voltage (VH, VL) representing the position (PosB) of said secondary electronic unit (BA) on the motor vehicle (V). 1. A device for identifying a position of a secondary electronic unit on a motor vehicle , wherein said identification device comprises:a central electronic unit suitable for managing the power supply of a plurality of secondary electronic units and comprising a switching device for switching the power supply of all the secondary electronic units;a main timer for being triggered in a time-correlated manner with the activation of the power supply of said secondary electronic units by said switching device; comprising a secondary timer for being triggered in a time-correlated manner with the power supply of said secondary electronic unit, and', 'being for performing at least one internal voltage measurement when the secondary electronic unit is powered, said at least one voltage measurement being representative of the position (PosB) of said secondary electronic unit on said motor vehicle., ...

POSITIONING SYSTEM

A positioning system, includes a plurality of anchor stations each configured to transmit a radio frequency signal. A mobile station includes a radio frequency transceiver configured to transmit and receive a radio frequency signal from at least one of the plurality of anchor stations. A processing unit is configured to determine position information of the mobile unit based upon the transmitted and received radio frequency signal. Another positioning system uses a number of beacons ranging a number of mobile tags with ultra-wide band ranging, and communicating wirelessly with an application server. 1. A positioning system , comprising:a plurality of anchor stations, each configured to transmit and receive a radio frequency signal; 'a radio frequency transceiver configured to transmit and receive a radio frequency signal from at least one of the plurality of anchor stations; and', 'a mobile station includinga processing unit configured to determine position information of the mobile unit based upon transmitted and received radio frequency signals.2. A positioning system , comprising:a plurality of beacons, each of which are at least partially battery powered and are configured for wireless communication; andan application server configured to communicate wirelessly with the beacons based on a communication standard.3. The positioning system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of beacons comprises a plurality of fixed location beacons and at least one mobile beacon.4. The positioning system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one mobile beacon is configured to communicate with beacons of the plurality of fixed location beacons claim 3 , wherein ranging between the at least one mobile beacon and the beacons of the plurality of beacons is based on ultra-wide band (UWB) technology.5. The positioning system of claim 2 , wherein the communication standard comprises an IEEE 802.15.4-2003 compliant protocol network.6. The positioning system of claim 2 , wherein the ...

Methods and Nodes for Managing Position Information Associated with a Group of Wireless Devices

Methods and nodes () for managing position information associated with a group of wireless devices (-) configured to be served in a wireless communication network (). It is obtained (--) information indicating a first wireless device () as member and positioning representative of the group and at least one other, second, wireless device () as further member of the group. Said at least one second wireless device () being able to communicate wirelessly and directly with the first wireless device () over a direct communication link (). A position of said at least one second wireless device () is estimated based on communication of positioning supporting information over said direct communication link (). 144-. (canceled)45. One or more nodes configured for managing position information associated with a group of wireless devices configured to be served in a wireless communication network , wherein the one or more nodes comprise:communication circuitry configured for communicating directly or indirectly with the group of wireless devices; and obtain information indicating a first wireless device as a member and positioning representative of the group and at least one other, second, wireless device as a further member of the group, wherein the at least one second wireless device is able to communicate wirelessly and directly with the first wireless device over a direct communication link; and', 'receive, from the first wireless device, group position information being position information associated with the group and relating to at least an estimated position of the at least one second wireless device that is based on communication of positioning supporting information over the direct communication link., 'processing circuitry operatively associated with the communication circuitry and configured to46. The one or more nodes as claimed in claim 45 , wherein the communication of the positioning supporting information comprises positioning aiding information received by ...

SHORT RANGE DIGITAL RADIO LOCATION DETERMINATION TO FACILITATE PETROLEUM TRANSPORT

A method may include the following steps: determining, based on timing measurements between a first digital radio communication device (DRCD) node and at least a second DRCD node, a distance between the first DRCD disposed on a tanker and the second DRCD disposed about a loading/unloading facility; and facilitating, in response to determining a position based on the timing measurements, fluid payload loading/unloading of the tanker at the loading/unloading facility. 1. A method comprising:determining, based on a timing measurement between a first digital radio communication device (DRCD) node and a second DRCD node, a distance between the first DRCD disposed on a tanker and the second DRCD disposed about a loading/unloading facility; andfacilitating, in response to determining the distance based on the timing measurement, fluid payload loading/unloading of the tanker at the loading/unloading facility.2. The method of claim 1 ,wherein the first DRCD node is disposed on the tanker to identify a position of at least a compartment coupler of the tanker;wherein the second DRCD node is disposed about the loading/unloading facility to identify the position of at least a loading/unloading equipment of the loading/unloading facility.3. The method of claim 2 , wherein facilitating loading/unloading of the tanker comprises:detecting, in response to measuring the distance, a mismatch between the tanker and the loading/unloading equipment; andpreventing, in response to detecting the mismatch, fluid payload loading/unloading of the tanker from the loading/unloading equipment.4. The method of claim 2 , wherein facilitating loading/unloading of the tanker comprises:detecting, in response to measuring the distance, a mismatch between the compartment coupler and the loading/unloading equipment; andpreventing, in response to detecting the mismatch, fluid payload loading/unloading of the tanker via the compartment coupler from the loading/unloading equipment.5. The method of claim 4 , ...

Indoor navigation with low energy location beacons

Low energy location beacons provide a robust indoor navigation solution that is potentially accessible to anyone with a cell phone. 1. A low energy location beacon comprising:a memory that stores: a fixed location of the beacon, the location expressed in a local coordinate system, and a location of a reference point of the local coordinate system expressed in a geocoordinate system; and,a radio transmitter that is connected to an antenna, the transmitter periodically broadcasting the fixed location of the beacon and the location of the reference point that are stored in the memory.2. The beacon of claim 1 , the transmitter using two or more different power levels in sequence and the transmitter further broadcasting the power level in use at any particular time.3. The beacon of claim 1 , the transmitter further broadcasting additional information stored in the memory.4. The beacon of further comprising a radio receiver for receiving position information and storing it in the memory.5. The beacon of claim 1 , the transmitter producing a radio frequency signal power of 0 dBm or less while transmitting.6. The beacon of claim 1 , broadcasts from the transmitter having a range of 50 m or less.7. The beacon of claim 1 , broadcasts from the transmitter being encrypted.8. The beacon of claim 1 , the transmitter broadcasting with a duty cycle less than 1%.9. The beacon of further comprising an electrical energy storage unit that supplies power to the transmitter.10. The beacon of claim 9 , the transmitter broadcasting with a duty cycle low enough to permit beacon operation for more than one year using power stored in the storage unit.11. The beacon of claim 9 , the electrical energy storage unit being a battery.12. The beacon of claim 9 , the electrical energy storage unit being a capacitor.13. The beacon of further comprising a photovoltaic cell to charge the electrical energy storage unit.14. The beacon of claim 1 , the transmitter operating in the 2.4 GHz band.15. The ...

REMOTE UNIT DATA REGISTRATION

A system and method is provided for registering outputs from a plurality of remote positional data sources, the system having: a plurality of positional data sources disposed on a plurality of units providing a plurality of types of positional data relative to at least one commonly tracked object held as a local positional data source; a processor disposed on a unit configured to process the positional data from each positional data source and apply a filter to the positional data; and the processor configured to weigh the positional data based on a probability of that a positional datum in the positional data is accurate and using weighted positional data to identify an absolute location of the commonly tracked object. 1. A system for registering outputs from a plurality of remote positional data sources with local positional data sources for commonly tracked objects , said system comprising:a plurality of remote positional data sources disposed on a plurality of units providing a plurality of types of positional data relative to at least one commonly tracked object;a processor disposed on a local unit configured to process said positional data from said remote positional data sources and apply a filter to said remote positional data; andsaid local processor configured to weigh said remote positional data based on a probability that a positional datum in said remote positional data is accurate and using weighted positional data to identify an absolute local positional location of said commonly tracked object.2. The system of wherein each said positional data source within said plurality of positional data sources provides a single type of positional data.3. The system of wherein at least one commonly tracked object is provided between local and remote positional data sources.4. The system of wherein said positional data comprises communications data.5. The system of wherein said communications data comprises message time stamps.6. The system of wherein datum having ...

Method and Apparatus for Synchronising a Location Network

Apparatus and methods are presented for synchronising a slave device signal to a reference timebase, in situations where the slave device lacks knowledge of the propagation delay for signals from the reference device, e.g. if the positions of one or both of the devices are unknown or classified, or the inter-device signal propagation distance is otherwise a-priori unknown. Reference signal propagation delay is determined using an exchange of signals between the devices, with each device using a differencing procedure for eliminating effects of receiver line bias and other hardware delays. In another aspect an exchange of signals between the devices is used to detect a time residual arising from an inaccurate propagation delay estimate. The synchronisation methods can be applied to a plurality of slave devices for providing a synchronised location network. In certain embodiments signals are transmitted wirelessly, while in other embodiments they are transmitted via a fixed line. 1. In an apparatus in which a second device generating and transmitting a second signal has synchronised said second signal to the timebase of a first device using a first signal generated and transmitted by said first device , a method for mitigating the effect on the synchronisation of environment-related variations in the propagation of said first signal , said method comprising the steps of:(i) said first device receiving and interpreting said second signal and said first signal;(ii) said first device measuring a phase or time difference between the received and interpreted first and second signals;(iii) said first device transmitting the measured phase or time difference or a related quantity; and(iv) said second device adjusting the generation of said second signal according to the measured phase or time difference or the related quantity, such that the synchronisation of said second signal to said timebase is maintained.2. An apparatus for mitigating the effect , on the synchronisation ...

METHOD OF ESTIMATING THE POSITION OF A USER DEVICE USING RADIO BEACONS AND RADIO BEACONS ADAPTED TO FACILITATE THE METHODS OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed is the estimation of the position of a user device using radio beacons which are operable at a plurality of transmit power levels. The radio beacons may transmit their position and current transmit power level. Estimates of distance between a user device and a radio beacon can take into account both received signal strength and the current transmit power level of the radio beacon. The position of the user device can be estimated taking into account whether a radio beacon can be detected at a given transmit power level. The transmit power level of the radio beacon may vary according to a cycle. The transmit power level of the radio beacon may be changed to facilitate positioning, for example in response to a signal from a user device. A radio beacon changes transmit power level in a cycle. The radio beacon can reduce transmit power level responsive to a signal. The radio beacon may be compatible with Bluetooth short range wireless connectivity standard core specification version 4.0. 1. A method of estimating the position of a user device comprising a Bluetooth receiver , the method comprising: the user device detecting one or more Bluetooth beacons configured to transmit signals at any of a plurality of discrete transmit power levels , and a computer processing system comprising a processor calculating an estimate of the position of the user device taking into account transmit power data concerning the transmit power level of the one or more said Bluetooth beacons at the time when the respective Bluetooth beacon is detected and beacon position data concerning the position of the one or more said Bluetooth beacons.2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the beacon position data is received from the Bluetooth beacons.3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the transmit power data is received from the Bluetooth beacons.4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein claim 1 , in at least some circumstances claim 1 , the method does not take into account any ...

Method and system for beam assisted positioning

A method for determining a location of a communication device in a communication system is provided. The communication system comprises at least one transmission reception point, transmitting a plurality of beams. Especially, the method comprises establishing a connection between the communication device and the at least one transmission reception point, determining a transit time of messages between the at least one transmission reception point and the communication device, determining at least one strongest beam of the plurality of beams of the at least one transmission reception point, with regard to the communication device, and determining a location of the communication device, based upon the at least one transit time to the at least one transmission reception point and the at least one strongest beam of the at least one transmission reception point.

Method, Apparatus, and Computer Program Product for Processing Received Signals for Locating

An example disclosed system for locating a signal source includes a receiver; and a plurality of node devices, wherein the receiver includes processing circuitry configured to perform operations including generating signal timing information including one or more pulses corresponding to a correlation with one or more frequencies based on each of a plurality of wireless signal streams, each of the wireless signal streams including a signal of interest; applying times and one or more determined gains for the signal of interest to permit estimate of a phase of the received signal; obtaining, from a memory device that stores the wireless signal streams, symbols of the signal of interest based on window periods associated with the pulses; formatting the symbols; and determining time-of-arrival information based on the formatted symbols. 1. A system for locating a signal source , the system comprising:a receiver; and generating signal timing information including one or more pulses corresponding to a correlation with one or more frequencies based on each of a plurality of wireless signal streams, each of the wireless signal streams including a signal of interest;', 'applying times and one or more determined gains for the signal of interest to permit estimate of a phase of the received signal;', 'obtaining, from a memory device that stores the wireless signal streams, symbols of the signal of interest based on window periods associated with the pulses;', 'formatting the symbols; and', 'determining time-of-arrival information based on the formatted symbols., 'a plurality of node devices, wherein the receiver includes processing circuitry configured to perform operations including2. A system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the pulses are time-compressed portions of the signal of interest.3. A system as defined in claim 1 , further comprising providing the time-of-arrival information to a location processing service claim 1 , wherein the location processing service is ...

LOCATION TRACKING USING FIBER OPTIC ARRAY CABLES AND RELATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS

Fiber optic array cables and related systems and methods to determine and/or track locations of objects are disclosed. The fiber optic array cables can be employed in an optical-fiber-based communication system, including a centralized optical-fiber based communication system. In one embodiment, the fiber optic array cable is configured to carry optical RF or radio-over-fiber (RoF) signals to establish communications with objects. The fiber optic array cable includes multiple reference units along the length of the cable. The reference units can be configured to convert received optical RF signals into electrical RF signals to establish RF communications with objects capable of receiving electrical RF signals. The reference units are also configured to convert received electrical RF signals from the objects into optical RF signals, which are then used to determine the location of the object. Having the availability of the multiple reference units on one or more the fiber optic array cables can provide enhanced reliability in tracking objects. 1. An optical-fiber-based wireless communication system , comprising:at least one service unit configured to receive signals from at least one outside network; anda plurality of fiber optic array cables configured to provide signals to the service unit, each fiber optic array cable having multiple reference units disposed along a length of the fiber optic array cable, each of the multiple reference units containing at least one antenna, an electrical-to-optical (E/O) converter, and an optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter, cause a radio frequency (RF) signal to be transmitted from one or more of the at least one antennas in the multiple reference units to form a wireless coverage area associated with the reference unit;', 'receive a corresponding signal from at least three of the multiple reference units indicative of a distance between each of the respective reference units and an object in the wireless coverage areas ...

CALCULATING A RANGING MEASUREMENT IN A CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

A method and apparatus for calculating a ranging measurement in a cellular communications network. The method comprises: receiving () at a receiver () a first signal associated with a first cell-sector of a sectorised base station in the cellular communications network; determining () at least one first time of arrival at the receiver () of a portion of the first signal; receiving () at the receiver () a second signal associated with a second cell-sector of the sectorised base-station; determining () at least one second time of arrival at the receiver () of a portion of the second signal; and calculating () a ranging measurement between the base station and the receiver (), based on a combination of the at least one first time of arrival and the at least one second time of arrival. 1. A method of calculating a ranging measurement in a cellular communications network comprising:{'b': 710', '910, 'receiving () at a receiver () a first signal associated with a first cell-sector of a sectorised base station in the cellular communications network;'}{'b': 712', '812', '910, 'determining (; ) at least one first time of arrival at the receiver () of a portion of the first signal;'}{'b': 711', '910, 'receiving () at the receiver () a second signal associated with a second cell-sector of the sectorised base-station;'}{'b': 713', '813', '910, 'determining (; ) at least one second time of arrival at the receiver () of a portion of the second signal; and'}{'b': 720', '820', '910, 'calculating (; ) a ranging measurement between the base station and the receiver (), based on a combination of the at least one first time of arrival and the at least one second time of arrival.'}2714. The method of claim 1 , further comprising claim 1 , before the step of calculating the ranging measurement claim 1 , identifying () that the first signal and the second signal were transmitted by the same base station.3714. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step () of identifying that the first signal ...

POSITIONING SYSTEM, POSITIONING METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

In order to derive the position of communication device even when it is difficult to derive the position of the communication device using GPS and radio waves in an allocated frequency band, this positioning system is provided with a reception processing unit for deriving second frequency band quality information, which is information representing the quality of second frequency band radio waves received from a second frequency band communicator which emits the second frequency band radio waves, which are radio waves in a second frequency band, being a frequency band that does not overlap a first frequency band allocated for radio communications performed by the communication device, and a deriving unit for deriving and outputting second frequency band position information, which is information representing the position of the communication device derived by means of the second frequency band quality information relating to each of three or more second frequency band communicators. 1. A positioning system comprising:a reception processing unit that derives second frequency band quality information being information representing quality of a second frequency band radio wave that is a radio wave in a second frequency band being a frequency band that does not overlap a first frequency band allocated to wireless communication to be performed by a communication device, and is received from a second frequency band communicator for transmitting the second frequency band radio wave; anda deriving unit that derives and outputs second frequency band position information being information representing a position of the communication device being derived from the second frequency band quality information relating to each of three or more of the second frequency band communicators, whereinat least a position of the reception processing unit out of the reception processing unit and the deriving unit lies within the communication device.2. The positioning system according to claim ...

OMNIDIRECTIONAL, ELECTRIC NEAR-FIELD DISTANCE SENSING DEVICE

A sensor system is disclosed for sensing the position of an object. The system can include a power source and a nullification circuit electrically connected to the power source, the nullification circuit including an output voltage. An electrical medium can be integrated into the nullification circuit, the electrical medium producing a standing wave electric field about the electrical medium when power is supplied from the power source to the electrical medium. The nullification circuit is configured such that the output voltage of the nullification circuit is substantially zero when power is supplied to the electrical medium and the object is not within a predetermined minimum distance from the electrical medium, the output voltage of the nullification circuit having a non-zero value when the object is within the predetermined minimum distance from the electrical medium. 1. A sensor system for sensing the position of an object , the system comprising:a power source; an output voltage, and', 'a voltage balancer; and, 'a nullification circuit electrically connected to the power source, the nullification circuit including'}an electrical medium integrated into the nullification circuit, the electrical medium producing a standing wave electric field about the electrical medium when power is supplied from the power source to the electrical medium, the output voltage of the nullification circuit is substantially zero when power is supplied to the electrical medium and the object is not within a predetermined minimum distance from the electrical medium, and', 'the output voltage of the nullification circuit is substantially non-zero when the object is within the predetermined minimum distance from the electrical medium., 'wherein the nullification circuit is configured such that'}2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises an alternating power source.3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the voltage balancer comprises at least one of:an adjustable resistor;a ...

LOCATION DETECTION USING A SINGLE BEACON

Disclosed is a method of location identification using a single beacon. The method comprises determining a first distance between a beacon and a first sensor, where the first sensor is embedded in a mobile device. It also includes determining a second distance between the beacon and a second sensor, where the second sensor is embedded in the mobile device. The method also includes defining a vector, where the vector has a magnitude equal to the distance between the first and second sensor, and a direction pointing from the first sensor to the second sensor. The method further includes calculating a plurality of potential locations. The method then determines the actual location. 110-. (canceled)11. A system comprising:a processor; and calculating a first distance from a beacon to a first sensor at a first time, and wherein the first sensor is embedded in a mobile device;', 'calculating a second distance from the beacon to a second sensor at the first time, wherein the second sensor is embedded in the mobile device, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are separated by a third distance;', 'defining a first vector at the first time, wherein the first vector comprises a direction and a magnitude, wherein the direction points from the first sensor to the second sensor, and wherein the magnitude is equivalent to the third distance;', 'calculating a first plurality of potential locations of the mobile device based on the first distance, the second distance, and the first vector; and', 'determining an actual location of the mobile device from the first plurality of potential locations., 'a computer-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the processor and storing program instructions which, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to perform a method comprising12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform a method further comprising:recording the ...

LOCATION DETECTION USING A SINGLE BEACON

Disclosed is a method of location identification using a single beacon. The method comprises determining a first distance between a beacon and a first sensor, where the first sensor is embedded in a mobile device. It also includes determining a second distance between the beacon and a second sensor, where the second sensor is embedded in the mobile device. The method also includes defining a vector, where the vector has a magnitude equal to the distance between the first and second sensor, and a direction pointing from the first sensor to the second sensor. The method further includes calculating a plurality of potential locations. The method then determines the actual location. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:calculating a first distance from a beacon to a first sensor at a first time, and wherein the first sensor is embedded in a mobile device;calculating a second distance from the beacon to a second sensor at the first time, wherein the second sensor is embedded in the mobile device, and wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are separated by a third distance;defining a first vector at the first time, wherein the first vector comprises a direction and a magnitude, wherein the direction points from the first sensor to the second sensor, and wherein the magnitude is equivalent to the third distance;calculating a first plurality of potential locations of the mobile device based on the first distance, the second distance, and the first vector; anddetermining an actual location of the mobile device from the first plurality of potential locations.2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:recording the first plurality of potential locations and the first time;calculating a fourth distance from the beacon to the first sensor at a second time;calculating a fifth distance from the beacon to the second sensor at the second time;defining a second vector at the second time;determining a second plurality of potential locations based ...