WO2023193165A1

WO2023193165A1 - Positioning method, apparatus and system

Info

Publication number: WO2023193165A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/085460
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李德建; 杨常青; 程型清
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2022-04-07
Filing date: 2022-04-07
Publication date: 2023-10-12

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a positioning method, apparatus and system, which can be applied to the technical field of short-range wireless communications, and can be applied to scenarios such as smart vehicles, smart transportation, smart terminals, smart homes and smart manufacturing. The method comprises: a first device receiving a positioning instruction from a second device; the first device sending a first positioning signal according to the positioning instruction and/or receiving a second positioning signal from a target device, so as to acquire a positioning measurement result for the target device; and the first device sending the positioning measurement result to the second device, wherein in a specific scenario, the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold value, and the threshold value is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to short-range communication technology. In this way, the technical effect of positioning a target device in a short-range wireless communication scenario can be achieved, and therefore a corresponding service can be provided for a user on the basis of position information of the target device, such that the user experience can be improved.

Description

A positioning method, device and system

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of short-distance wireless communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, device and system.

Background technique

Currently, short-distance wireless communication technology is widely used in scenarios such as smart cars, smart transportation, smart terminals, smart homes, and smart manufacturing. In these scenarios, when users are in different locations, they hope that the device can provide different services. For example, Passive Entry Passive Start (PEPS) is an example of short-range wireless communication technology in a vehicle scenario. When the car key/mobile phone carried by the user is close to the vehicle, the user hopes that the door can automatically unlock, or when When the car key/mobile phone carried by the user is away from the vehicle, the user hopes that the car door can be automatically locked. These user needs must rely on locating the target device (such as car key/mobile phone).

How to locate the target device in a short-distance wireless communication scenario is an urgent technical problem that needs to be solved.

Contents of the invention

This application provides a positioning method, device and system for positioning a target device in a short-distance wireless communication scenario.

In the first aspect, a positioning method is provided, which can be applied to any short-distance wireless communication scenario, such as an indoor positioning scenario or a vehicle-mounted positioning scenario. The method includes: a first device receives a positioning instruction from a second device, and the positioning instruction is Instructing the first device to perform a positioning operation on the target device; the first device sends a first positioning signal and/or receives a second positioning signal from the target device according to the positioning instruction to obtain positioning measurement results for the target device; the first device sends a positioning signal to the target device. The second device sends the positioning measurement results. In a specific scenario, the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold, and the threshold is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-distance communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Sparklink, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

In the embodiment of the present application, the second device controls the first device to perform a positioning operation on the target device, which can achieve the technical effect of positioning the target device in a short-distance wireless communication scenario, and can further provide users with location information based on the target device's location information. Providing corresponding services can improve user experience.

In one possible design, the first device may not be a dedicated positioning station (or the first device may be a non-dedicated positioning station), but a device with a communication function that is originally used to implement other functions besides the positioning function. In other words, the second device can control other devices except the dedicated positioning station to be used as positioning stations, control them to perform positioning operations on the target device, and achieve the same or similar positioning functions as the dedicated positioning station.

In this way, the number of available positioning stations in the scene can be effectively increased, so that the number of positioning stations with Line-of-Signt (LOS) paths is increased, and the Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) value is likely to be reduced. Reduce, thereby effectively improving the positioning accuracy of the target device; at the same time, since the first device already has communication capabilities (the first device itself has an antenna), there is no need to increase additional hardware costs (such as new antennas), and you can save The cost of deploying additional positioning stations.

In this embodiment of the present application, when the first device is a non-dedicated positioning station, the first device may have one or more of the following characteristics:

1) The first device and the second device are powered by the same power supply system. For example, in a vehicle positioning scenario, both the first device and the second device are powered by the vehicle battery of the same vehicle. For example, in an indoor positioning scenario, both the first device and the second device are powered by the mains power system of the same building.

2) Before the first device receives the positioning instruction and after the second device establishes a communication connection with the target device, the first device switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or switches from the power-off state to the power-on state. In this way, the first device can be placed in a sleep or power-off state without positioning, thereby saving power.

3) The positional relationship between the first device and the second device satisfies at least one of the following: the relative position is fixed; the first device is located outside or inside the cabin, and the second device is located inside the cabin. Optionally, the cockpit may be a vehicle cockpit.

4) The location information of the first device is pre-stored in the second device. In this way, problems such as the second device frequently requesting location information of the first device and frequently calculating and refreshing the GDOP of the positioning device during positioning can be avoided, thereby improving positioning efficiency and saving power consumption.

5) The first device reports the location information of the first device to the second device. In this way, it can be ensured that the second device obtains the location information of the first device, and serves as a reference for the second device to determine whether to select the first device as a positioning station.

6) The first device can send or receive communication data. It should be noted that the "communication data" described in this article may not include data related to the positioning function (such as positioning instructions, positioning signals, etc.), or the function used to implement the "communication data" is different from the positioning function. one or more application functions. The communication data includes, for example, but is not limited to, one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data. Furthermore, the first device also has at least one of the following capabilities: the ability to collect communication data, the ability to display communication data, and the ability to play communication data.

It can be understood that the above six characteristics are only examples and not limitations.

In a possible design, before the first device receives the positioning instruction from the second device, the first device can also measure the signal sent by the target device to obtain the signal quality measurement result; the first device sends the signal to the second device Quality measurements, wherein the signal quality measurements are used by the second device to determine the first device from among the plurality of devices.

In this way, the second device can select a device with higher signal quality from at least one device as a positioning station and control the positioning station to perform a positioning operation on the target device, thereby further improving positioning accuracy.

In a possible design, the resources used by the first device to send the first positioning signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device and the third device are located in the cockpit, or, The first device and the third device are located outside the cockpit, or the first device and the third device are located indoors, or the first device and the third device are located outdoors. In other words, the resources used by the first device located in the cockpit for positioning do not overlap with the original or scheduled resources of the third device in the cockpit, or the resources used by the first device located outside the cockpit for positioning , does not overlap with the original or scheduled resources of the third device outside the cockpit.

The resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data overlap or do not overlap with the resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal to the target device or positioning control node; wherein, the fourth device is located outside the cockpit and the first device is located In the cabin, or the fourth device is located in the cabin and the first device is located outside the cabin, or the fourth device is located outdoors and the first device is located indoors, or the fourth device is located indoors and the first device is located outdoors. In other words, the resources used by the first device outside the cockpit for positioning may overlap with the original or scheduled resources of the fourth device outside the cockpit.

It can be understood that the resources referred to in this article include time domain resources and/or frequency domain resources.

In this way, resource utilization can be improved while avoiding resource conflicts between devices.

In one possible design, the fourth device is a dedicated positioning station; or the fourth device has the ability to send or receive communication data and the positioning capability, that is, the fourth device may not be a dedicated positioning station.

In a possible design, the first device has a first antenna, and the first antenna covers an area inside the cabin and an area outside the cabin, or the first antenna covers an indoor area and an outdoor area; the first antenna is used to send or receive communication data, and For sending the first positioning signal and/or receiving the second positioning signal; or, the first device has a second antenna and a third antenna, the second antenna covers the area inside the cockpit and the third antenna covers the area outside the cockpit, or, the second The antenna covers the indoor area and the third antenna covers the outdoor area; the second antenna is used to send or receive communication data, and the third antenna is used to send the first positioning signal and/or receive the second positioning signal.

In this way, the signal coverage capability of the first device can not only cover the inside of the cockpit, but also cover at least a part of the area outside the cockpit, thereby enabling the positioning of the target device located outside the cockpit; or, the signal coverage capability of the first device can not only cover the Indoors, it can also cover at least part of the outdoor area, thereby ensuring that the first device can realize its original application function and also provide positioning services for outdoor target devices.

In a possible design, the transmission power of the first device when sending the first positioning signal is greater than the transmission power when sending communication data.

In this way, it can be further ensured that the signal coverage of the first device can meet the requirements for positioning the target device, and the reliability of positioning is improved.

In a possible design, the devices participating in positioning in the embodiment of the present application (including non-dedicated positioning stations and dedicated positioning stations) use the same communication technology. For example, the first device and the fourth device use the same communication technology. Among them, communication technology includes traditional short-range wireless communication technology, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE or UWB, etc., and may also include evolving communication technology or other communication technologies that may appear in the future, such as SparkLink technology. Including StarLight basic access technology SLB, StarLight low-power access technology SLE, etc., there are no restrictions in this application.

In this way, the interaction method between the target device and the first device can follow the interaction method between the target device and the dedicated positioning station, and there is no need to make additional changes to the positioning process of the target device, which is conducive to standardized management and easy implementation.

In a second aspect, a positioning method is provided, including: the second device sends a positioning instruction to each device in at least one device, the positioning instruction is used to instruct each device to perform a positioning operation on the target device, and the at least one device includes the first device ; The second device receives the positioning measurement results reported by at least one device, and determines the location information of the target device based on the positioning measurement results reported by at least one device; In a specific scenario, the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold, and the threshold is less than Or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to short-range communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, starlight, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

In a possible design, the first device and the second device are powered by the same power supply system.

In a possible design, the positional relationship between the first device and the second device satisfies at least one of the following: the relative position is fixed; the first device is located outside or inside the cabin, and the second device is located inside the cabin.

In a possible design, the second device stores the location information of the first device in advance, or the second device receives the location information of the first device reported by the first device.

In a possible design, the first device has the ability to send or receive communication data; the communication data includes one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data; the first device also has at least one of the following capabilities: The ability to collect communication data, display communication data, and play communication data.

In a possible design, before the second device sends a positioning instruction to each of the at least one device, the second device receives a signal quality measurement result reported by at least one device; the second device determines the signal quality based on the signal quality reported by at least one device. The measurement results determine a first device from the at least one device.

In a possible design, the second device configures the resources used by the first device to send the first positioning signal, and configures the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device sends the first positioning signal. The resources used do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device and the third device are located in the cockpit, or the first device and the third device are located outside the cockpit, or the first device The device and the third device are located indoors, or the first device and the third device are located outdoors; and/or the second device configures the resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data, and configures the fourth device to send the third device. The resources used by the positioning signal; wherein the resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data overlap or do not overlap with the resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal to the target device or the positioning control node; the fourth device is located The fourth device is located outside the cabin and the first device is located inside the cabin, or the fourth device is located inside the cabin and the first device is located outside the cabin, or the fourth device is located outdoors and the first device is located indoors, or the fourth device is located indoors and the first device is located indoors. The device is located outdoors.

In one possible design, the fourth device is a dedicated positioning station; or, the fourth device has the ability to send or receive communication data and positioning capabilities.

In a possible design, the first device and the fourth device use the same communication technology, where the communication technology includes one or more of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE or UWB.

In a third aspect, a positioning device is provided. The device may be a first device or a chip in the first device. The device includes the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect. units/modules/technical means.

Exemplarily, the device may include: a transceiver unit, configured to receive a positioning instruction from a second device, the positioning instruction being used to instruct the first device where the positioning device is located to perform a positioning operation on the target device; a processing unit, configured to perform a positioning operation according to the positioning instruction Control the transceiver unit to send the first positioning signal and/or receive the second positioning signal from the target device, and obtain the positioning measurement result for the target device; the transceiver unit is also used to send the positioning measurement result to the second device; in a specific scenario, The distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold, and the threshold is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-range communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, starlight, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

In the fourth aspect, a positioning device is provided. The device may be a second device or a chip in the second device. The device includes the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect. units/modules/technical means.

Exemplarily, the apparatus may include: a transceiver unit, configured to send a positioning instruction to each device in at least one device, the positioning instruction being used to instruct each device to perform a positioning operation on the target device, and the at least one device includes the first device; And, receive positioning measurement results reported by at least one device; a processing unit configured to determine the location information of the target device based on the positioning measurement results reported by at least one device; in a specific scenario, the location information of the first device and the second device where the positioning device is located The distance is less than a threshold, which is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-range communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, starlight, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

In a fifth aspect, a positioning device is provided, including: at least one processor and an interface circuit; the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other devices other than the device and send or receive signals to the processor or send signals from the processor For other devices other than the device, the processor uses logic circuits or execution code instructions to implement the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or any possible design of the third aspect. method described.

A sixth aspect provides a positioning system, including: a first device, configured to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect; and a second device, configured to perform the method described in the first aspect. The method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

A seventh aspect provides a terminal device, including: a first device, configured to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect; and a second device, configured to perform the method described in the first aspect. The method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

Optionally, the terminal device can be a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, an intelligent transportation device, or a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific form of the terminal device.

In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Computer programs or instructions are stored in the storage medium. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect is realized or The method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided. Instructions are stored in the computer program product. When it is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect. Either of the two possible designs is described in the method.

For the beneficial effects of the above second aspect to the ninth aspect, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved by the corresponding design in the above first aspect for details, and they will not be repeated here.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible application scenario provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another possible application scenario provided by the embodiment of the present application;

Figure 3 is a flow chart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 4A is a schematic diagram of a networking method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of another networking method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of resource configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 6A is a schematic diagram of an antenna design provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 6B is a schematic diagram of another antenna design provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle-mounted PEPS function provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application can be applied to various short-distance wireless communication scenarios, such as vehicle positioning/ranging/sensing scenarios (specifically, PEPS), indoor positioning/ranging/sensing scenarios, or other wide-area wireless communications or This application does not limit the local area wireless communication scenario. It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, there are similar steps to implement positioning, ranging, angle measurement, sensing, etc., so the term "positioning" can be used to refer to "positioning", "ranging", and "angle measurement" at the same time. ”, “perception”, etc.

Refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a possible application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the vehicle positioning scenario, special positioning stations are deployed at four corners outside the car, at least one dedicated positioning station is deployed inside the car (such as the rearview mirror or inside the roof, etc.), and a positioning control node is deployed near the center console inside the car. (Specifically, it is a PEPS control node). The vehicle (specifically, it can be inside or outside the vehicle) also includes display screens, microphones, speakers, cameras, vehicle communication terminals (Telematics BOX, T-BOX), smart rearview mirrors, smart reversing mirrors, car audio, etc. with communication functions. vehicle-mounted equipment (not shown in Figure 1). The car key is a target device that needs to be positioned by the positioning control node. Its specific implementation can be a traditional car key with positioning function, or a mobile phone/wearable device with positioning function, etc. It can be understood that the type, quantity, location, etc. of the equipment in the scenario shown in Figure 1 are only examples and not specific limitations.

Refer to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of another possible application scenario provided by the embodiment of the present application. In an indoor positioning scenario, at least one dedicated positioning station is deployed on the ceiling of the room. The room also includes smart speakers, smart TVs, computers, smart refrigerators, smartphones, routers, washing machines, dishwashers, sweeping robots and other electronic devices with communication functions. (Only some of the devices are shown in Figure 2). At least one electronic device in the room can be used as a positioning control node (Figure 2 takes a smart speaker as an example, but the actual situation is not limited to this). Outdoors include cameras, smart peepholes, smart locks, etc. (only cameras are shown in Figure 2). Mobile phones, wearable devices, electronic keys, or electronic tags with positioning functions are target devices that need to be positioned by the positioning control node. It can be understood that the type, quantity, location, etc. of the devices in the scenario shown in Figure 2 are only examples and not specific limitations.

Of course, the above two scenarios are only examples. In actual applications, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other short-distance wireless communication scenarios, and this application will not give examples one by one.

Refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application. This method can be applied to short-distance wireless communication scenarios, such as the scenarios shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2. The method includes:

S301. The second device sends a positioning instruction to each device in the at least one device; correspondingly, each device in the at least one device (for example, including the first device) receives the positioning instruction from the second device.

Wherein, the first device is a device that can perform a positioning operation on the target device, and the second device is a device used to control the first device to perform positioning on the target device. The target device is the device that needs to be located.

Taking the vehicle positioning scenario shown in Figure 1 as an example, the target device can be the user's mobile phone or car key, etc. The second device may be the device to which the positioning control node in the vehicle positioning scenario belongs; the first device may be any device in the vehicle positioning scenario that has a communication function and can communicate with the positioning control node, such as a dedicated positioning station, or a display screen, Microphones, speakers, cameras, T-BOX, etc.

Taking the indoor positioning scenario shown in Figure 2 as an example, the target device can be a mobile phone, a wearable device, an electronic key or an electronic tag, etc. The second device may be a positioning control node in the indoor positioning scenario, and the first device may be any device in the indoor positioning scenario that has a communication function and can communicate with the positioning control node, such as a dedicated positioning station, or a smart speaker or smart phone. TVs, smart refrigerators, smart phones, smart cat eyes, etc.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first device and the second device can communicate through a wired method (such as a power line, or a controller area network (Controller Area Network, CAN) bus, etc.), or they can communicate through a wireless method. , this application is not limited.

When the first device and the second device communicate in a wireless manner, the first device and the second device may specifically communicate using a short-range wireless communication technology. The short-range wireless communication technology includes, but is not limited to, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). ), Bluetooth, low-power Bluetooth (Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE), or ultra-wideband (Ultra Wide Band, UWB), Sparklink (Sparklink) short-distance communication technology, etc. One or more.

The distance between the first device and the second device is less than a certain threshold. The size of the threshold is determined by the short-distance communication capabilities of the first device and the second device, and the threshold is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-distance communication between the first device and the second device. For example, if the first device and the second device communicate by Wi-Fi, the threshold can be set to a value between 5 meters and 200 meters; for example, if the first device and the second device communicate by Bluetooth/BLE , then the threshold can be set to a value within 200 meters; for example, if the first device and the second device communicate in UWB mode, the threshold can be set to a value within 100 meters; for example, if the first device and the second device communicate in UWB If the two devices communicate using StarLight technology, the threshold can be set to a value within 0 to 200 meters. It can be understood that the above threshold values are only examples and not specific limitations. In other words, the threshold is related to the communication technology used by the first device and the second device, or the threshold is the maximum communication distance supported by the communication method used by the first device and the second device. .

The positioning instruction is used to instruct each device that receives the positioning instruction to perform a positioning operation on the target device. For example, after receiving the positioning instruction, the first device will perform a positioning operation on the target device according to the positioning instruction. The positioning instruction carries information about the target device, including but not limited to at least one of the following: the layer 2 address (layer2ID/MAC address) of the target device, the name of the target device, the channel number, and the positioning signal sent by the target device. The starting time, the duration of the positioning signal sent by the target device, etc.

S302. Each of the at least one device (for example, the first device) performs a positioning operation on the target device according to the received positioning instruction, and obtains a positioning measurement result for the target device.

Wherein, the positioning operation includes sending a first positioning signal and/or receiving a second positioning signal from the target device.

For example, after receiving the positioning instruction, the first device can send a first positioning signal, and the target device receives and measures the first positioning signal, obtains the first result, and reports the first result to the first device; in addition, the target device The second positioning signal may also be sent, and the first device receives and measures the second positioning signal to obtain the second result. The first device may obtain the positioning measurement result according to the first result and/or the second result, wherein the positioning measurement result may be the first result and/or the second result itself, or may be a comparison of the first result and/or the second result. The results obtained by further calculations are not limited by this application.

It can be understood that in actual applications, the positioning measurement process can be unilateral, that is, only the first device measures the second positioning signal sent by the target device, or the target device measures the first positioning signal sent by the first device. It can be bilateral, that is, the first device measures the second positioning signal sent by the target device and the target device measures the first positioning signal sent by the first device, which is not limited by this application.

S303. Each device (including the first device) in the at least one device reports a positioning measurement result to the second device; correspondingly, the second device receives the positioning measurement reported by each device (including the first device) in the at least one device. result.

The positioning measurement results include, for example, but are not limited to the following information: ranging information (such as the relative distance between the target device and the first device, or the flight time of the positioning signal between the target device and the first device, etc.), angle information (such as the angle information of the target device relative to the first device), the position information of the target device (for example, the coordinate axis in a certain coordinate system), and the time corresponding to the ranging information.

S304. The second device determines the location information of the target device based on the positioning measurement result reported by at least one device.

For example, if the number of devices of at least one device is greater than or equal to 3, the second device can use the three-sided positioning method (intersection of three circles), based on at least three devices (such as the first device, the third device, the fourth device, etc. ) determines the location information of the target device based on the positioning measurement results reported. For the process of the third device and the fourth device performing the positioning operation, reference can be made to the process of the first device performing the positioning operation, which will not be described again here.

In scenarios such as vehicle positioning and indoor positioning, if you only rely on dedicated positioning stations to achieve positioning, there will be problems such as few available deployment locations and high deployment costs. Line-of-Signt (LOS) paths are prone to occur during the positioning process. The problem is that the number of positioning stations is small, and even the minimum number of positioning stations required for positioning cannot be reached. For example, in a vehicle scenario, among the positioning stations deployed at four car corners outside the car, some positioning stations may not have LOS paths due to vehicle body/environment occlusion. When the number of positioning stations with LOS paths is small, the Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) will become high. Among them, GDOP reflects the amplifying effect of the geometric pattern between the target device and the positioning station on the ranging error: under the same ranging accuracy, the higher the GDOP value, the greater the amplifying effect on the ranging error, and the positioning accuracy The lower.

In view of this, in the embodiment of the present application, the second device can control other devices except the dedicated positioning station to be used as positioning stations, and control them to perform positioning operations on the target device to increase the number of available positioning stations. For example, the above-mentioned at least one device may include a first device and a dedicated positioning station.

Among them, dedicated positioning stations are devices used to implement positioning functions. The factory-set functions of these devices are positioning functions. In other words, dedicated positioning stations are only used to perform positioning-related operations without transmitting valid communication data ( Such as audio data, video data, Internet data, etc.). For example, a dedicated positioning station can perform one or more of the following operations: sending positioning signals, receiving positioning signals, measuring positioning signals, sending positioning measurement results to other devices, or receiving positioning measurement results sent by other devices, etc. This application does not Make restrictions.

Wherein, the first device is a device used to implement a preset application function. The preset application function is different from the positioning function. The preset application function includes, but is not limited to, network function, information indication, entertainment function, security function or housework. Function etc.

Optionally, the preset application function is an original application function of the first device, such as a factory-set application function.

For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 1, the original application function of the display screen is to display images. When it is used as the first device, the display screen can perform positioning operations on the target device under the control of the second device; the speaker originally The application function of the camera is to play audio, and when it is used as the first device, the speaker can perform positioning operations on the target device under the control of the second device; the original application function of the camera is to collect image data, and when it is used as the first device, the camera Positioning operations can be performed on the target device under the control of the second device, and so on.

For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 2, the original application function of the smart TV is to play programs. When it is used as the first device, the smart TV can perform positioning operations on the target device under the control of the second device; the smart speaker The original application function is to play audio, and when it is used as the first device, the smart speaker can perform positioning operations on the target device under the control of the second device; the original application function of the smart phone is to make calls and surf the Internet, etc., when it is used as the first device. device, the smartphone can perform positioning operations on the target device under the control of the second device, and so on.

In the above design, based on the communication capabilities of the first device, the first device is reused as a positioning station to achieve the same or similar positioning functions as a dedicated positioning station (for example, the first device performs a positioning operation on the target device), It can effectively increase the number of available positioning stations in short-distance wireless communication scenarios, so that the number of positioning stations with LOS paths is increased, and the GDOP value is reduced with a high probability, thereby effectively improving the positioning accuracy of the target device; at the same time, since the first device originally It has communication capabilities (the first device itself has an antenna), so there is no need to increase additional hardware costs (such as new antennas), and the cost of deploying additional positioning stations can be saved.

In this embodiment of the present application, the node used to control the first device to implement its original application function and the node used to control the first device to implement the positioning function (i.e., the positioning control node) may be logically two different nodes. In terms of physical entity implementation, they may belong to different devices or the same device, which is not limited by this application.

For the convenience of explanation, the vehicle positioning scenario is taken as an example below (for the convenience of description, the node used to control the first device to realize its original application function is defined as the vehicle device control node, and the name of the node in actual applications is not limited to this):

The vehicle positioning scenario includes positioning control nodes and vehicle equipment control nodes. The positioning control node is mainly responsible for the control related to the positioning function, such as controlling the positioning station to locate the car key. The vehicle equipment control node is mainly responsible for controlling the vehicle equipment to achieve its original purpose. Vehicle application functions, such as controlling the display screen to display images, controlling the microphone to collect audio data, controlling the speaker to play audio data, controlling the camera to collect video data, controlling T-BOX to interact with the system background/mobile APP, etc.

Example 1. As shown in Figure 4A, the positioning control node and the vehicle equipment control node belong to the same device, that is, the second device. The specific implementation is, for example, the Cockpit Domain Controller (CDC) or the Body Control Module. , BCM) etc. In this case, taking StarLight technology as an example, the second device serves as the main node (G node, that is, the management node), and the dedicated positioning station and vehicle-mounted equipment such as display screens, microphones, speakers, cameras, and T-BOX serve as the second The slave nodes (T nodes, i.e. terminal nodes) controlled by the device together constitute a communication domain in StarLight technology. These slave nodes can be used as positioning stations on the premise of ensuring the completion of the original vehicle application functions. Special positioning stations, car keys, etc. can also be used as slave nodes controlled by the second device to perform positioning, but only have the function of positioning stations. GPS. In other words, the second device can not only control the vehicle-mounted equipment to realize its original vehicle-mounted application function, but also control the dedicated positioning station, car keys, vehicle-mounted equipment and other equipment to realize the function of locating the car key. The positioning function can use some of the control signaling and/or measurement signals defined by StarLight technology, such as using the broadcast message of the StarLight access layer for initial link establishment, or using various reference signals in StarLight technology (such as the first training symbols (FTS)) as positioning measurement signals.

Example 2. As shown in Figure 4B, the positioning control node and the vehicle-mounted equipment control node respectively belong to two different devices, where the positioning control node is located in the second device and the vehicle-mounted equipment control node is located in the fifth device. The specific implementation of the second device and the fifth device may be, for example, two different BCMs or CDCs. When realizing the original vehicle application functions of the vehicle-mounted device, the fifth device serves as the master node, and the vehicle-mounted devices such as the display screen, microphone, speaker, camera, and T-BOX serve as slave nodes. These slave nodes can be completed under the control of the fifth device. The original car application function. When realizing the positioning function, the second device serves as the master node, and the fifth device, vehicle-mounted device, special positioning station, car key, etc. can all serve as slave nodes of the positioning controller, and the car key positioning is realized under the control of the second device. function. When the second device performs a positioning operation when controlling the vehicle-mounted device, the fifth device may dispatch the first device as a positioning station to make it perform the positioning operation. For example, the second device first sends a positioning instruction to the fifth device, and then The fifth device then forwards the positioning instruction to the first device.

It can be understood that whether the positioning control node and the vehicle-mounted equipment control node belong to the same device or belong to two different devices respectively, because the vehicle-mounted equipment (display screen, microphone, speaker, camera, T-BOX, etc.) is different from the positioning station and the vehicle The key can use the same communication technology. Therefore, the vehicle-mounted device serves as a positioning station and belongs to the same logical network as the dedicated positioning station. The positioning control node is the main node of the positioning function of the logical network and is responsible for selecting which devices serve as positioning stations to participate in positioning. And control these positioning stations to perform positioning operations.

In a possible design, the first device is a device capable of transmitting communication data. Correspondingly, the above method may further include: the first device transmits communication data, for example, the first device sends communication data and/or receives communication data. The transmission of communication data by the first device and the positioning operation performed by the first device on the target device may occur at the same time, or may occur at different times. This application does not limit this.

It should be noted that the "communication data" described in this article may not include data related to the positioning function (such as positioning instructions, positioning signals, etc.), or the function used to implement the "communication data" is different from the positioning function. one or more application functions. The "transmission" described in this article can be "sending", "receiving", or "sending and receiving", which is not limited in this application.

By way of example, communication data includes, but is not limited to, one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data. Among them, Internet data refers to data on the Internet or mobile Internet, such as data transmitted through Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Furthermore, the first device also has one or more of the following capabilities: the ability to collect communication data, the ability to display communication data, or the ability to play communication data, etc.

Take the vehicle positioning scenario as an example: the first device can be a display screen, which can transmit audio data, video data, and Internet data, and can also collect and/or play audio data, video data, and Internet data; or, the first device can be The microphone can transmit audio data and also collect audio data; or the first device can be a speaker, which can transmit audio data and play audio data; or the first device can be a camera, which can transmit video data and also collect audio data. Video data; alternatively, the first device can be a T-BOX, which can communicate with the background system/mobile application (Application, APP) and can transmit Internet data. Of course, the above are just examples. In practical applications, any vehicle-mounted device with communication functions can be reused as a positioning station and serve as the first device. The first device can be installed inside the car (that is, inside the cabin of the car) or outside the car (that is, outside the cabin of the car). This application does not limit it.

Taking the indoor positioning scenario as an example: the first device can be a smart TV, a computer, a smartphone, etc., which can transmit audio data, video data, and Internet data, and can also collect and/or play audio data, video data, and Internet data; or , the first device can be a smart audio or speaker, etc., which can transmit audio data, and can also play audio data; or, the first device can be a camera, a smart lock, or a smart cat eye, etc., which can transmit video data and collect video data; Or, the first device can be a smart refrigerator, which can communicate with the background system/mobile APP and can transmit Internet data. Of course, the above are just examples. In practical applications, any home electronic device with communication functions can be reused as a positioning station as the first device. The first device can be installed indoors or outdoors, and this application does not limit it.

In a possible design, the first device and the second device are powered by the same power supply system. For example, in the vehicle positioning scenario shown in Figure 1, the positioning control node and vehicle equipment such as display screen, microphone, speaker, camera, T-BOX, smart rearview mirror, smart reversing mirror, and car audio are all provided by the same vehicle. The vehicle battery provides power. For example, in the indoor positioning scenario shown in Figure 2, the positioning control node and electronic devices such as smart speakers, smart TVs, computers, smart refrigerators, smart phones, smart locks, routers, washing machines, dishwashers, and sweeping robots are all provided by the same system. The building is powered by the mains system.

Optionally, the first device and the second device can exchange control information through a connected power line (for example, using Power Line Communication (PLC)), which can avoid the use of additional CAN cables and save costs. .

In a possible design, before the second device sends a positioning instruction to the first device, the first device needs to establish a communication connection with the second device. Take the vehicle positioning scenario shown in Figure 1 as an example: after the car key is awakened by the motion sensor, it can use short-range wireless communication technologies (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, BLE or UWB, etc.), or other short-range wireless communications that may appear in the future. technology (such as starlight technology, etc.) to establish a secure communication link with the positioning controller for transmitting positioning control information and positioning data information required for positioning. The positioning control information may include, for example, the number and name of the positioning stations, and the positioning data information may include various measurement quantities such as positioning, ranging, and angle measurement between the positioning stations and the car key. In this way, the communication link can be prepared for the subsequent positioning measurement process, and the reliability of positioning can be improved.

In a possible design, before the first device receives the positioning instruction and after the first device establishes a communication connection with the second device, the second device controls the first device to switch from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or from the power-off state. to the power-on state. In other words, the first device can remain in a sleep or power-off state before the second device establishes a communication connection with the target device; after the second device establishes a communication connection with the positioning target, it can wake up multiple devices that are in sleep or power-off mode. first device in the electrical state, and then controls the first device to start performing positioning-related operations, such as configuring resources used for positioning for the first device, sending positioning instructions to the first device, etc.

For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 1, when the user carries the car key and is not within the preset range of the car, the car door is locked, so the vehicle-mounted equipment in the car can be controlled to be in a sleep or power-off state. After the car key is close to the car, wake up the vehicle equipment or power on the vehicle equipment.

For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 2, when the user brings the smartphone and does not enter the room or is not within the preset range of the room, some devices in the room (such as smart TVs, smart air conditioners, etc.) can be controlled to sleep or shut down. When the user brings the smartphone close to the room or enters the room, the device can be woken up or powered on.

Through this design, the first device can be placed in a sleep or power-off state without positioning, thereby saving power.

In a possible design, the positional relationship between the first device and the second device satisfies at least one of the following: the relative position is fixed; the first device is located outside or inside the cabin, and the second device is located inside the cabin; the first device is located Outdoor or indoor, the second device is located indoors.

Taking the scenario shown in Figure 1 as an example, the first device can be a display screen in the car or a smart reversing mirror outside the car, and the second device can be a CDC in the car. The relative positions of the display screen or smart reversing mirror and the CDC are fixed. constant. Similarly, the first device can also be a camera located outside the vehicle in a 360-degree surround view application, and the second device can also be a CDC/BCM inside the vehicle. The relative positions of the camera and CDC/BCM are fixed.

Taking the scene shown in Figure 2 as an example, the first device can be an indoor smart TV or an outdoor camera, and the second device can be an indoor smart speaker. The relative positions of the smart TV or camera and the smart speaker are fixed.

In a possible design, the location information of the first device is pre-stored in the second device, and/or the first device reports the location information of the first device to the second device.

For example, in a vehicle positioning scenario, after the first device is powered on or wakes up, it can report its location information together with the device information (layer2ID or MAC address, etc.) to the second device, and the second device stores the first device's location information. information and location information. During subsequent positioning, the second device can no longer request the device information and location information of the first device, but directly obtains the previously stored device information and location information of the first device, which can improve positioning efficiency and save power consumption.

For example, in an indoor positioning scenario, the second device can select a device with a relatively fixed position as the first device, such as a smart TV, camera, etc., and store the location information of these devices in advance. During subsequent positioning, the second device does not need to refresh the device frequently. The location information and calculation refresh the GDOP of the positioning device, which can improve positioning efficiency and save power consumption. For devices whose positions rarely change, such as smart refrigerators, smart speakers, etc., these devices will only redirect to the second device after they communicate with the second device for the first time, or if their position changes (such as detecting their own movement through a motion sensor). The second device sends a positioning request for itself, so that the second device refreshes the location information of these devices, avoiding these devices from frequently reporting and refreshing their own location information to the second device during positioning, which can improve positioning efficiency and save power consumption.

In one possible design, before the second device sends a positioning instruction to each of the at least one device (the first device receives the positioning instruction from the second device), each of the at least one device Measure the sent signal, obtain the signal quality measurement result, and report it to the second device; after the second device receives the signal quality measurement result reported by at least one device, the second device starts from at least one device based on the signal quality measurement result reported by each device in the at least one device. A device participating in performing the positioning operation is determined among a device, and the determined device includes the first device.

Among them, the signal quality measurement results include but are not limited to one or more of the following: LOS, non-line of sight (No Line Of Sight, NLOS), received signal strength indication (Received Signal Strength Indication, RSSI), signal to noise ratio (Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), etc.

Of course, in addition to the signal quality measurement results, the second device can also select a device to participate in the positioning operation based on other factors such as GDOP, which is not limited by this application.

Through this design, the second device can select a device with higher signal quality from at least one device as a positioning station to perform positioning operations on the target device, further improving positioning accuracy.

In a possible design, the second device can also configure resources required for transmitting communication data and/or performing positioning operations for each device in the positioning scenario.

The following vehicle positioning scenario is taken as an example:

(1) The first device and the third device are located in the cockpit: the second device can configure the resources used for sending the first positioning signal for the first device, and configure the resources used for transmitting communication data for the third device; wherein, the first device The resources used by the device to send the first positioning signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to transmit communication data. The third device may not be a dedicated positioning station, but may be a speaker, a microphone, a display screen, etc.

To put it simply, the resources used by the first device (such as speakers or microphones, etc.) located in the cockpit are different from the original or existing resources of other devices in the cockpit (ie, third devices, such as speakers, microphones, displays, etc.) Scheduled resources do not overlap. The original or scheduled resources include resources required for transmitting communication data and/or resources required for performing positioning operations.

In this way, resource conflicts between multiple devices in the cockpit can be avoided, and the smooth progress of the positioning process can be ensured without affecting the original communication process of the devices.

(2) The first device and the third device are located outside the cockpit: the second device can configure the resources used for sending the first positioning signal for the first device, and configure the resources used for transmitting communication data for the third device; wherein, the first device The resources used by the device to send the first positioning signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to transmit communication data. Among them, the third device is not a dedicated positioning station, such as smart car lights or smart reversing mirrors.

Simply put, the resources used by the first device located outside the cabin (such as a camera located outside the vehicle in a 360-degree surround view application) for positioning do not overlap with the original or scheduled resources of the device outside the cabin (such as smart car lights). The original or scheduled resources include resources required for transmitting communication data and/or resources required for performing positioning operations.

In this way, resource conflicts between multiple devices outside the cockpit can be avoided, and the smooth progress of the positioning process can be ensured without affecting the original communication process of the devices.

(3) The fourth device is located outside the cockpit and the first device is located inside the cockpit, or the fourth device is located inside the cockpit and the first device is located outside the cockpit: the second device can configure the resources used to transmit communication data for the first device, Configure resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal; wherein the resources used by the first device to transmit communication data overlap or are different from the resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal to the target device or the positioning control node. overlapping. Among them, the fourth device may be a dedicated positioning station, or it may not be a dedicated positioning station, but other vehicle-mounted devices, such as smart reversing mirrors, smart car lights, etc. The fourth device has the ability to transmit communication data and positioning capabilities.

To put it simply, the resources used by the first device (such as car audio, etc.) located in the cockpit (such as the resources used to transmit positioning signals) are different from the resources used by the fourth device outside the cockpit (such as the device located outside the vehicle in the 360 surround view application). Cameras, smart lights, dedicated positioning stations, etc.) original or scheduled resources can overlap. The original or scheduled resources include resources required for transmitting communication data and/or resources required for performing positioning operations. This is because the attenuation of the metal parts of the vehicle is large, and the positioning signal transmitted by the equipment outside the cabin has less interference with the communication of the equipment inside the cabin. Therefore, the resources of the equipment inside the cockpit and the equipment outside the cockpit can be in the time domain and/or frequency domain. overlapping.

In this way, resource utilization can be improved.

Refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of a possible resource configuration, in which the resources used by the equipment in the cockpit for positioning and the resources used for transmitting communication data in the cockpit do not overlap in the time domain, while the resources used for positioning outside the cockpit are not the same as those used inside the cockpit. Resources for transmitting communication data may or may not overlap in the time domain.

Of course, the several resource configuration methods listed above are only examples and not specific limitations.

For the resource configuration method in the indoor positioning scenario, you can refer to the resource configuration method in the vehicle positioning scenario mentioned above. For example, the resources used for indoor device positioning do not overlap with the original or scheduled indoor resources, and the resources used for outdoor device positioning do not overlap. It can overlap with the original or scheduled indoor resources (that is, it can overlap or not), and no examples will be given here.

In the specific implementation process, the resource configuration process can be implemented through wired communication (for example, in the vehicle scenario, the second device sends resource configuration information to the dedicated positioning station and vehicle-mounted equipment through the power line or CAN bus), or through wireless communication (For example, in a vehicle scenario, the second device sends resource configuration information to the vehicle device, dedicated positioning station, and car keys through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE, or UWB, etc.), this application does not limit this.

Through the above design, resource conflicts between various devices in the scene can be avoided, and resource utilization can also be improved.

In a possible design, the first device has a first antenna, and the first antenna covers an area inside the cabin and an area outside the cabin, or the first antenna covers an indoor area and an outdoor area; the first antenna is used to transmit communication data, and Send a first positioning signal and/or receive a second positioning signal.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A , the first device is a speaker, and the antenna of the speaker is an omnidirectional/quasi-omnidirectional antenna. The area marked by the dotted line in FIG. 6A represents the coverage area of the antenna.

In another possible design, the first device has a second antenna and a third antenna, the second antenna covers the area inside the cabin and the third antenna covers the area outside the cabin, or the second antenna covers the indoor area and the third antenna covers the outdoor area. area; the second antenna is used to transmit communication data, and the third antenna is used to send the first positioning signal and/or receive the second positioning signal.

For example, as shown in Figure 6B, the first device is a speaker, and the speaker is designed with multiple sets of antennas. When the speaker implements its original application function (for example, when playing audio), it uses the antenna 1 covering the cockpit. In Figure 6B, a practical The sector-shaped area marked with a line represents the coverage area of antenna 1; when the speaker performs positioning operations (sending positioning signals and/or receiving positioning signals), antenna 2 covering the outside of the cockpit is used. The sector-shaped area marked with a dotted line in Figure 6B represents the coverage area of antenna 2. coverage area.

Through the above two design methods, the signal coverage capability of the first device can not only cover the cockpit, but also cover at least part of the area outside the cockpit, thereby enabling the positioning of the target device located outside the cockpit; or, the signal of the first device In addition to being able to cover indoors, the coverage capability can also cover at least part of the outdoor area, thus ensuring that the first device can not only realize its original application functions, but also provide positioning services for the target device.

For example, in a vehicle scenario, when the first device is located in the cockpit, in addition to having an antenna covering the inside and outside of the cockpit, the first device also needs to increase the transmission power to cooperate with the antenna to cover the area outside the cockpit. For example, when the first device sends communication data, it uses a lower transmit power (for example, 10 dBm). When the first device locates the car key outside the cabin, it sends a positioning signal using a higher transmit power (for example, 20 dBm). Optionally, the specific power of the first positioning signal sent by the first device can be based on the coverage R of the exterior positioning station, the antenna gain x of the interior positioning station, the window glass penetration loss L, the path loss PL, and the reception sensitivity r. , margin B and other parameters are calculated. For example, the transmission power required by the first device to send the first positioning signal is P, where P>r-x+L+PL+B. In the above formula, the units of P and r are decibel milliwatts (dBm), and the units of other variables are decibels (dB).

In a possible design, the devices participating in positioning in the embodiment of the present application (including non-dedicated positioning stations, such as the first device, and dedicated positioning stations, such as the fourth device) use the same communication technology. Among them, the communication technology includes traditional short-range wireless communication technology, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE or UWB, etc., and may also include evolving communication technology or other communication technologies that may appear in the future, such as SparkLink technology. , including SparkLink Basic (SLB), Sparklink Low Energy (SLE), etc., which are not limited by this application.

In this way, the communication technology used by the first device and the dedicated positioning station allows the interaction method between the target device and the first device to follow the interaction method between the target device and the dedicated positioning station, and there is no need to make additional changes to the positioning process of the target device. It is conducive to standardized management and easy to implement.

In one possible design, when the target device is located in a different location, the second device provides different services to the user. Refer to Figure 7, taking vehicle PEPS as an example: 1) In the sensing area, the second device begins to use short-range wireless communication technology to locate the car key; 2) After the second device detects that the car key enters the welcome area, the second device Turn on the vehicle lights (car lights, vehicle ambient lights, etc.) to flash, and/or turn on the vehicle music/sound to welcome the user and help the user find the specific location of the vehicle; 2) The second device continues to process the car key Positioning, when it detects that the car key enters the unlocking area, it controls the door to automatically unlock, or the user touches the door handle to unlock; 3) The second device continues to locate the car key, and when it detects that the car key enters the car, it controls The vehicle starts automatically and realizes the PEPS function.

It can be understood that each of the above designs can be implemented separately or in combination with each other, and is not limited in this application.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced above with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the device provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application provide a positioning device, which includes modules/units/means for executing the method performed by the first device and/or the second device in the above method embodiment. This module/unit/means can be implemented by software, or implemented by hardware, or it can also be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

For example, referring to FIG. 8 , the device may include a transceiver unit 801 and a processing unit 802 .

When the device is the above-mentioned first device or is located in the above-mentioned first device, the transceiver unit 801 is used to receive a positioning instruction from the second device. The positioning instruction is used to instruct the first device where the positioning device is located to perform a positioning operation on the target device. ; The processing unit 802 is used to control the transceiver unit 801 to send the first positioning signal and/or receive the second positioning signal from the target device according to the positioning instruction, and obtain the positioning measurement result for the target device; the transceiver unit 801 is also used to send the first positioning signal to the third positioning signal; The two devices send positioning measurement results; in a specific scenario, the distance between the first device and the second device is less than a threshold, and the threshold is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-distance communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, starlight, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is also configured to: before the transceiver unit 801 receives the positioning instruction and after the second device establishes a communication connection with the target device, control the first device to switch from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or to switch from the power-off state. to the power-on state.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 801 is also used to: send or receive communication data; the communication data includes one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data, and the first device has at least one of the following capabilities: collecting communication data The ability to display communication data, or the ability to play communication data.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is also configured to: before the transceiver unit 801 receives the positioning instruction from the second device, measure the signal sent by the target device to obtain the signal quality measurement result; the transceiver unit 801 is also configured to: send the signal to the second device. The device sends signal quality measurements, where the signal quality measurements are used by the second device to determine the first device from among the plurality of devices.

When the device is the above-mentioned second device or is located in the above-mentioned second device, the transceiver unit 801 is used to send a positioning instruction to each device in at least one device, and the positioning instruction is used to instruct each device to perform a positioning operation on the target device. , at least one device includes a first device; and, receiving a positioning measurement result reported by at least one device; the processing unit 802 is configured to determine the location information of the target device according to the positioning measurement result reported by at least one device; in a specific scenario, the first The distance between the device and the second device where the positioning device is located is less than a threshold, and the threshold is less than or equal to the maximum distance corresponding to the short-distance communication technology. Among them, short-distance communication technologies include, but are not limited to, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, starlight, etc. The short-distance communication technology is the technology used by the first device and the second device to perform the above-mentioned communication.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 801 is also configured to: before sending a positioning instruction to each of the at least one device, receive the signal quality measurement result reported by at least one device; the processing unit 802 is also configured to: based on the signal quality measurement result reported by at least one device. The signal quality measurement determines a first device from the at least one device.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is also configured to: configure resources used by the first device to send the first positioning signal, and configure resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device sends the first positioning signal. The resources used by the signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device and the third device are located in the cockpit, or the first device and the third device are located outside the cockpit, or the third device The first device and the third device are located indoors, or the first device and the third device are located outdoors; and/or,

Configure the resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data, and configure the resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal; wherein, the resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data are the same as those used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal to the target. The resources used by the device or the positioning control node to send the third positioning signal overlap or do not overlap; the fourth device is located outside the cockpit and the first device is located inside the cockpit, or the fourth device is located inside the cockpit and the first device is located outside the cockpit, or , the fourth device is located outdoors and the first device is located indoors, or the fourth device is located indoors and the first device is located outdoors.

It should be understood that all relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be quoted from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be described again here.

During specific implementation, the above device can have multiple product forms. Several possible product forms are introduced below.

Referring to Figure 9, an embodiment of the present application also provides a positioning device. The device includes at least one processor 901 and an interface circuit 902; the interface circuit 902 is used to receive signals from other devices other than the device and send or receive them to the processor. The processor 901 may send signals from the processor 901 to other communication devices outside the device. The processor 901 may implement the method executed by the first device or the second device through logic circuits or execution of code instructions.

It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in memory.

For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), or other general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), or application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC) , off-the-shelf programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

It should be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), programmable read-only memory (Programmable ROM, PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (Erasable PROM, EPROM), electrically removable memory. Erase electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may be Random Access Memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of illustration, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (Static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (Dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (Double Data Eate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (Enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (Synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM) ) and direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM).

It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated in the processor.

It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, including a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are run on a computer, the method performed by the above-mentioned second device or the first device is be executed.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions. The computer program product stores instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, it causes the method executed by the above-mentioned second device or the first device. be executed.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a positioning system, including the above-mentioned second device and the first device.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a terminal device, including the second device and the first device described above. Among them, the terminal device can be a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, an intelligent transportation device, or a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific form of the terminal device.

In this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And/or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character "/" generally indicates that the related objects before and after are an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character "/" indicates that the related objects before and after are a kind of "division" Relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" may mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment that combines software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It will be understood that each process and/or block in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a use A device for realizing the functions specified in one process or multiple processes of the flowchart and/or one block or multiple blocks of the block diagram.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that causes a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including the instruction means, the instructions The device implements the functions specified in a process or processes of the flowchart and/or a block or blocks of the block diagram.

Claims

A positioning method, characterized by including:

The first device receives a positioning instruction from the second device, where the positioning instruction is used to instruct the first device to perform a positioning operation on the target device;

The first device sends a first positioning signal and/or receives a second positioning signal from the target device according to the positioning instruction, and obtains a positioning measurement result for the target device;

The first device sends the positioning measurement result to the second device.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first device and the second device are powered by the same power supply system.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further includes:

Before the first device receives the positioning instruction and after the second device establishes a communication connection with the target device, the first device switches from the sleep state to the wake-up state, or switches from the power-off state to the power-on state. state.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the positional relationship between the first device and the second device satisfies at least one of the following: the relative position is fixed; the first device is located Outside the cockpit or inside the cockpit, the second device is located in the cockpit.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the location information of the first device is pre-stored in the second device, or the first device reports the location information to the second device. location information of the first device.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the method further includes:

The first device sends or receives communication data;

The communication data includes one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data, and the first device has at least one of the following capabilities: the ability to collect the communication data, the ability to display the communication data, or the ability to play said communication data.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, before the first device receives the positioning instruction from the second device, it further includes:

The first device measures the signal sent by the target device to obtain a signal quality measurement result;

The first device sends the signal quality measurement result to the second device, wherein the signal quality measurement result is used by the second device to determine the first device from a plurality of devices.
The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that,

The resources used by the first device to send the first positioning signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device and the third device are located in the cockpit, or , the first device and the third device are located outside the cabin, or the first device and the third device are located indoors, or the first device and the third device are located outdoors; and/ or,

The resources used by the first device to send or receive communication data overlap or do not overlap with the resources used by the fourth device to send a third positioning signal to the target device or positioning control node; wherein the fourth device is located in the cockpit The fourth device is located outside the cabin and the first device is located inside the cabin, or the fourth device is located inside the cabin and the first device is located outside the cabin, or the fourth device is located outdoors and the first device is located indoors, or , the fourth device is located indoors and the first device is located outdoors.
The method of claim 8, characterized in that:

The fourth device is a dedicated positioning station; or,

The fourth device has the ability to send or receive communication data and positioning capabilities.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that,

The first device has a first antenna, the first antenna covers the area inside the cabin and the area outside the cabin, or the first antenna covers the indoor area and the outdoor area; the first antenna is used to send or receive communication data, And for sending the first positioning signal and/or receiving the second positioning signal; or,

The first device has a second antenna and a third antenna, the second antenna covers an area inside the cabin and the third antenna covers an area outside the cabin, or the second antenna covers an indoor area and the third antenna Covering an outdoor area; the second antenna is used to send or receive communication data, and the third antenna is used to send the first positioning signal and/or receive the second positioning signal.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the transmission power of the first device when sending the first positioning signal is greater than the transmission power when sending communication data.
The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the first device and the fourth device use the same communication technology, wherein the communication technology includes wireless fidelity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, low power consumption One or more of Bluetooth BLE or ultra-wideband UWB.
A positioning method, characterized by including:

The second device sends a positioning instruction to each device in at least one device, the positioning instruction is used to instruct each device to perform a positioning operation on the target device, and the at least one device includes the first device;

The second device receives the positioning measurement result reported by the at least one device, and determines the location information of the target device according to the positioning measurement result reported by the at least one device.
The method of claim 13, wherein the first device and the second device are powered by the same power supply system.
The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the positional relationship between the first device and the second device satisfies at least one of the following: the relative position is fixed; the first device is located outside the cabin or In the cockpit, the second device is located in the cockpit.
The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the second device stores the location information of the first device in advance, or the second device receives the location information reported by the first device. The location information of the first device.
The method according to any one of claims 13-16, characterized in that the first device has the ability to send or receive communication data;

The communication data includes one or more of audio data, video data, or Internet data;

The first device also has at least one of the following capabilities: the ability to collect the communication data, the ability to display the communication data, and the ability to play the communication data.
The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that, before the second device sends a positioning instruction to each of the at least one device, it further includes:

The second device receives the signal quality measurement result reported by the at least one device;

The second device determines the first device from the at least one device based on the signal quality measurement result reported by the at least one device.
The method according to any one of claims 13-18, characterized in that the method further includes:

The second device configures the resources used by the first device to send the first positioning signal, and configures the resources used by the third device to send or receive communication data; wherein the first device sends the first positioning signal. The resources used by the signal do not overlap with the resources used by the third device to send or receive the communication data; wherein the first device and the third device are located in the cockpit, or the first device and The third device is located outside the cabin, or the first device and the third device are located indoors, or the first device and the third device are located outdoors; and/or,

The second device configures resources used for sending or receiving communication data for the first device, and configures resources used for sending a third positioning signal for the fourth device; wherein the first device sends or receives the communication The resources used by the data overlap or do not overlap with the resources used by the fourth device to send the third positioning signal; the fourth device is located outside the cockpit and the first device is located inside the cockpit, or the third device The four devices are located inside the cabin and the first device is located outside the cabin, or the fourth device is located outdoors and the first device is located indoors, or the fourth device is located indoors and the first device is located outdoors. .
The method of claim 19, characterized in that:

The fourth device is a dedicated positioning station; or,

The fourth device has the ability to send or receive communication data and positioning capabilities.
The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the first device and the fourth device use the same communication technology, wherein the communication technology includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE, or UWB. one or more.
A positioning device, characterized by including:

A transceiver unit configured to receive a positioning instruction from a second device, where the positioning instruction is used to instruct the first device where the positioning device is located to perform a positioning operation on the target device;

A processing unit configured to control the transceiver unit to send a first positioning signal and/or receive a second positioning signal from the target device according to the positioning instruction, and obtain positioning measurement results for the target device;

The transceiver unit is also configured to send the positioning measurement result to the second device.
A positioning device, characterized by including:

a transceiver unit, configured to send a positioning instruction to each device in at least one device, the positioning instruction being used to instruct each device to perform a positioning operation on a target device, the at least one device including a first device; and, receiving The positioning measurement results reported by the at least one device;

A processing unit configured to determine the location information of the target device based on the positioning measurement result reported by the at least one device.
A positioning device, characterized by including: at least one processor and interface circuit;

The interface circuit is configured to receive signals from other devices other than the device and send or receive signals to the processor or send signals from the processor to other devices other than the device, and the processing The processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-21 through logic circuits or execution of code instructions.
A positioning system, characterized by including:

First device, used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12;

Second device, used to perform the method according to any one of claims 13-21.
A terminal device, characterized by including:

First device, used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12;

Second device, used to perform the method according to any one of claims 13-21.
A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program or instructions are stored in the storage medium. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication device, the implementation as described in any one of claims 1-21 is achieved. Methods.
A computer program product, characterized in that instructions are stored in the computer program product, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-21.