KR20100073744A - Method and apparatus for estimating indoor position based rf - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An RF(Radio Frequency) based indoor position estimating method and an apparatus thereof are provided to by utilizing relationship information of the signal transmission consumption time of an RF signal according to a signal attenuation model and distance. CONSTITUTION: A communication unit(110) supports an RF communications interface between a navigation support node, included in a plurality of navigation support units, and a plurality of RF transmission nodes. A navigation controller(120) comprises a signal measuring unit(121), a distance measuring unit(123), and a position estimator(125). An IO(Input Output) interface(130) is inputted with the control command of a user.

Description

Method and apparatus for estimation of indoor position based on RF {Method and apparatus for estimating indoor position based RF}

The present invention relates to an RF-based indoor location estimation method and apparatus, and more particularly, to effectively determine the location of an indoor moving object, which is an essential element for providing ubiquitous service in an indoor non-line of sight (NLOS) environment. An indoor location estimation method and apparatus based on RF.

The present invention is derived from research conducted as part of the IT growth engine technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Information and Communication Research and Development. [Task management number: 2008-S-023-01, Task name: Development of sensor network simulator technology based on NanoQplus] ].

Recently, with the rapid development of wireless communication technology, interest in location-based services (LBS), which is one of the core technologies of ubiquitous, is increasing. Positioning technology, a key technology for location-based services, is widely used for location tracking in outdoor environments.

However, since GPS is difficult to apply in an indoor environment, a new type of positioning technology is required. Therefore, a lot of research has been done on the current position measurement, and some issues have been raised.

In particular, much research has been done on accuracy issues that are most important in the field of position measurement. Here, NLOS (Non Line of Sight) problem has the biggest impact on accuracy when measuring position.

Location measurements in a wireless environment are affected by many environmental factors due to the nature of radio waves. Line of Sight (LOS) propagation environments are essential for high accuracy, but in real environments many factors interfere with the direct path.

Important obstacles include path loss, multipath propagation, and NLOS. These disturbances cause problems such as reflection of the radio waves, diffraction, etc. As a result, the length of the path becomes longer, which makes it difficult to accurately measure the position.

This NLOS problem is recognized as an important factor for improving location accuracy, and many studies for NLOS discovery and mitigation continue.

An object of the present invention, by using the signal attenuation model in the indoor environment generated based on the signal strength information according to the obstacle properties of the indoor environment and the relationship information of the signal transmission time of the RF signal according to the distance, the accurate indoor position To provide an RF-based indoor location estimation method and apparatus for grasping.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an accurate and efficient RF-based indoor location estimation method and apparatus in consideration of the NLOS environmental elements that are radio interference.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an RF-based indoor position estimation method includes a surrounding environment element of a position estimation apparatus in an indoor space in which a positioning support node and a plurality of positioning support means including a plurality of RF transmitting nodes are disposed. A method for estimating indoor location based on RF, wherein the location estimating apparatus supports reference positioning on the basis of positioning information received from a plurality of positioning support means arranged in a corresponding indoor space and an RF signal for selecting the reference positioning support means. Selecting a means, determining the distance measurement model applied to the distance measurement by using the positioning information received from the reference positioning support means and the received signal strength of the RF signal, and determining the distance measurement model information determined in the determining step; Together, requesting an RF signal for measuring a distance to the reference positioning support means, and the reference positioning The distance between the position estimating device and the plurality of RF transmitting nodes is estimated based on the RF signals received from the plurality of RF transmitting nodes provided in the original means and the position information of the corresponding RF transmitting node, and the estimated distance information Estimating a current position of the corresponding position estimating apparatus based on the estimated position.

In the selecting step, the positioning information received from the plurality of positioning support means includes at least one of space ID information of the indoor space where the corresponding positioning support means is disposed and information on a threshold value for applying the distance measurement model.

The determining may include comparing the received signal strength of the RF signal with a threshold value for applying the distance measurement model included in the positioning information received from the reference positioning support means, according to the comparison result of the comparing step, When the received signal strength of the RF signal is smaller than the threshold of applying the distance measurement model, it is a received signal strength (RSS) based distance measuring model. It is characterized by determining by a time (RTT) based distance measurement model.

In addition, the position estimation method according to the present invention, based on the positioning information received from the plurality of positioning support means for detecting a space ID of the indoor space in which the location estimation apparatus is located, and the selection step The method may further include transmitting the detected space ID to reference positioning support means.

On the other hand, if the distance measurement model of the determining step is determined as the received signal strength based distance measurement model, after the step of requesting the RF signal, the space ID information received from the position estimation device by the reference positioning support means And determining whether the propagation path between the reference positioning support means and the corresponding position estimating device is a visible line (LOS) or an invisible line (NLOS) on the basis of the check. Visible line attenuation rate information is provided from the reference positioning support means, and in the case of an invisible line, the invisible line attenuation rate information is provided according to the material and state of the obstacle by detecting an open / close state of the obstacle.

The estimating may include estimating a distance between the position estimating apparatus and the plurality of RF transmitting nodes using any one of visible line attenuation rate information and invisible line attenuation rate information received from the reference positioning support means.

Meanwhile, when the distance measuring model of the determining step is determined as the round trip time-based distance measuring model, the estimating includes calculating a signal transmission time of RF signals received from the plurality of RF transmitting nodes. And estimating a distance between the position estimating device and the plurality of RF transmitting nodes using the signal transfer time and the position information calculated in the calculating step.

In addition, the position estimation method according to the present invention, the position estimation information of the corresponding position estimation apparatus estimated in the estimating step, the space information, the position information, the obstacle information, the indoor environment of the indoor space in which the plurality of positioning support means are arranged. And transmitting location information including at least one of the factor and the distance measurement model application reference information to a location management server, and receiving drawing data indicating the current location of the location estimation device from the location management server. do.

On the other hand, the RF-based indoor location estimation apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, taking into account the environmental factors in the indoor space in which a plurality of positioning support means having a positioning support node and a plurality of RF transmitting nodes are disposed. An RF-based indoor position estimation device, comprising: a communication unit configured to transmit and receive an RF signal with the plurality of positioning support means, and location information received from the positioning support node of the plurality of positioning support means and received from the plurality of RF transmitting nodes. A signal measuring unit for measuring the received signal strength of the reference positioning support means selected based on the RF signal, based on the received signal strength (RSS) according to the received signal strength measured by the signal measuring unit and the state of the obstacle located in the indoor space A plurality of RF transmissions provided in the reference positioning support means using any one of a distance measurement model and a round trip time (RTT) based distance measurement model Positioning control unit provided with a distance measuring unit for calculating the distance between the new node and the position estimating apparatus, and a position estimating unit for predicting the position of the position estimating apparatus in the indoor space by using the distance information calculated by the distance measuring unit. It includes.

The positioning information includes at least one of spatial information, location information, obstacle information, indoor environment factor information, and distance measurement model application reference information of an indoor space in which the plurality of positioning support means are disposed, and manages the positioning information. Characterized in that provided from the location management server.

According to the present invention, in order to consider the NLOS environment element in which multiple paths occur due to reflection or diffraction, a position estimation method using a signal attenuation model based on received signal strength and an RTT-based distance measurement model is applied according to an obstacle property in a room. By doing so, there is an advantage of more accurately estimating the position of the node moving in the indoor environment.

In addition, the present invention in selecting a reference node for position measurement, using the received signal strength to select the reference node closest to where the mobile node is currently located, using the three RF transmitting nodes associated with the reference node By estimating the position of the mobile node, the position of the moving node can be estimated more precisely.

In addition, by using a distance-model measurement method based on RSS (Received Signal Strength), a distance-based distance measurement model technique is applied to the range where the distance value cannot be matched. It can work.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a system configuration diagram referred to describe a system configuration to which an RF-based position estimation apparatus is applied in an indoor environment according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram referred to describing a configuration of the position estimation apparatus according to the present invention. . In particular, the present invention relates to an RF-based indoor location estimation apparatus considering the environmental factors in the indoor environment.

First, referring to FIG. 1A, the position estimating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention estimates the current position of the position estimating apparatus 100 based on the positioning information provided from the positioning support means 200.

At this time, the positioning support means 200 receives and registers the positioning information of the indoor space in which the corresponding positioning support means 200 is disposed from the positioning management server 300, and is registered according to the request of the position estimating apparatus 100. Position information is transmitted to the location estimation apparatus 100.

Here, the positioning information provided from the positioning management server 300 includes space information, location information, obstacle information, indoor environment information, etc. disposed in the corresponding indoor space, and uses the distance measurement model in the location estimating apparatus 100. In the case of measuring the distance, reference information applied to the corresponding distance measurement model is included.

Spatial information includes information such as building and floor. The location information includes information such as a space ID and a position of the corresponding indoor space. The obstacle information includes information on the properties and materials of the obstacles disposed in the corresponding indoor space and the attenuation rate according to the open / close state. The indoor environment information includes information such as the maximum allowable temperature and the allowable humidity according to the properties and materials of the obstacles arranged. The reference information applied to the distance measurement model includes a distance measurement model application threshold (TH _RSS ) based on received signal strength (hereinafter, referred to as 'RSS').

The positioning management server 300 is an indoor floor plan for an indoor space in which a plurality of positioning support means, for example, positioning support means A 210, positioning support means B 220, and positioning support means C 230 are disposed; The indoor obstacle property information is managed and location information such as obstacle information related to the obstacle on which the device is disposed and indoor environment factor information and distance measurement model application criteria information are transmitted at the request of the positioning support means 200.

In addition, the positioning management server 300 registers the location information estimated by the location estimating apparatus 100, displays the corresponding location on the indoor floor plan for the corresponding indoor space, and provides the location to the corresponding location estimating apparatus 100, It is easy to determine the current position of the position estimation apparatus 100.

On the other hand, the positioning support means 200 includes a plurality of nodes to enable the position estimation apparatus 100 to recognize the space and position information currently located.

In other words, the positioning support means 200 is a positioning support node 211 for providing the positioning information requested by the position estimating apparatus 100, and an RF signal for transmitting the RF signal necessary for the position estimating apparatus 100 to estimate the position. It includes a plurality of RF transmitting nodes (213, 215, 217). In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, 217 are RF transmitting node X (N _X , 213), RF transmitting node Y (N _Y , 215), RF transmitting node Z (N _Z , 217) It shall be

Positioning support means 200 is provided in plural in one space. In this case, the position estimating apparatus 100 selects any one of the plurality of positioning support means 210, 220, and 230 as the reference positioning support means 200a, and the positioning support node 211 is the reference positioning support means 200a. ) And transmits a signal necessary for selecting) to the position estimating apparatus 100. In addition, after the positioning support node 211 is disposed in the indoor space, receives the positioning information from the positioning management server 300 serves to register in the corresponding positioning support means (200).

At this time, the positioning support node 211, according to the request of the position estimating apparatus 100, the space ID information and the distance measurement model application threshold information of the indoor space in which the positioning supporting means 200 is disposed, the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 To send). Therefore, the position estimating apparatus 100 selects the reference positioning support means 200a to which the position estimating apparatus 100 is adjacent. Detailed embodiments thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 4B.

In addition, the positioning support node 211 detects the state information of the obstacle in the currently located indoor space and provides the positioning information according to the detected state information of the obstacle to the corresponding location estimation apparatus 100.

On the other hand, the positioning support node 211 is to send the notification to the positioning management server 300 when the limit value, such as the allowable temperature and allowable humidity of the obstacle is exceeded. In addition, the positioning support node 211 transmits the corresponding information to the positioning management server 300 when it detects the positioning information and other obstacle information initially provided from the positioning management server 300. Therefore, the positioning management server 300 to update the corresponding information provided from the positioning support node 211.

The plurality of RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217 are arranged at a predetermined interval and pattern in the corresponding indoor space. Each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) according to the request of the position estimation device 100, the position information and the RF signal in the space in which each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) is arranged position estimation device (100) Send each to Accordingly, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates distance information by using an RSS-based distance measurement model and a round-trip time (RTT) based distance measurement model, and estimates the estimated distance information. Based on the Pythagorean definition and the sign / cosine law, the position is estimated. Detailed embodiments thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 6B.

Therefore, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates the space to which the space ID information received from the plurality of positioning support means 210, 220, and 230, the signal strength, the signal transmission time, and the like is concerned, and the reference positioning support means ( Select 200a). In addition, after the position estimation apparatus 100 selects the reference positioning support means 200a, the position estimation device 100 requests an RF signal for estimating a position to the reference positioning support means 200a. In this case, the position estimating apparatus 100 includes positioning information received from the positioning support node 211 of the reference positioning support means 200a, signal strengths and signals received from three RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217, respectively. The current position is estimated based on the transfer time and location information. The location estimating apparatus 100 transmits the estimated current location information to the positioning management server 300.

Meanwhile, the location estimating apparatus 100 includes RSS-based ranging model information and RTT-based ranging model information. Here, the RSS-based distance measurement model estimates the distance from the reference positioning support means 200 using the signal strength information of the signal received from the reference positioning support means 200a. Line of Sight (hereinafter referred to as 'NLOS') utilizes a signal attenuation model that considers environmental factors. In addition, the RTT-based distance measuring model estimates the distance from the reference positioning support means 200a by using the time required for transmitting the RF signal received from the reference positioning support means 200a.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the position estimating apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a communication unit 110, a positioning control unit 120, an input / output interface 130, a storage unit 140, and a control unit 150.

The communication unit 110 includes a communication module supporting an RF communication interface with the positioning support node 211 included in the plurality of positioning support means 210, 220, and 230 and the plurality of RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217. And a communication module supporting wireless communication with the positioning management server 300.

The positioning controller 120 includes a signal measuring unit 121, a distance measuring unit 123, and a position estimating unit 125.

Here, the signal measuring unit 121 is positioning information received from the positioning support node 211 of the plurality of positioning support means (210, 220, 230) and RF received from the plurality of RF transmitting nodes (213, 215, 217) The received signal strength of the reference positioning support means 200a selected based on the signal is measured. In addition, the signal measuring unit 121 measures the signal transmission time of the RF signal received from each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217).

In addition, the distance measuring unit 123 is based on the received signal strength measured by the signal measuring unit 121 and the state of the obstacle located in the corresponding indoor space using either the RSS-based distance measurement model or the RTT-based distance measurement model The distance between the plurality of RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, 217 provided in the positioning support means 200a and the position estimating apparatus 100 is calculated. In addition, the position estimator 125 estimates the position of the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 in the indoor space by using the distance information calculated by the distance measuring unit 123.

Meanwhile, the input / output interface 130 is a means for receiving a user's control command or outputting predetermined information provided from the positioning management server 300. The storage unit 140 stores location information and the like provided from the plurality of positioning support means 210, 220, and 230, and stores information of the reference positioning support means 200a. In addition, the storage unit 140 stores the data measured by the positioning control unit 120, and the predetermined information provided from the positioning management server 300 is stored.

The controller 150 controls the operations of the communication unit 110, the positioning controller 120, the input / output interface 130, and the storage 140.

2 to 6B are exemplary views referred to to explain the operation of the RF-based location estimation apparatus in an indoor environment according to the present invention.

First, Figure 2 is an exemplary view showing the positioning information provided to the positioning support means from the positioning management server. Referring to FIG. 2, first, the positioning support means 200 is disposed in an indoor space, and then transmits the location information and device information of the indoor space in which the corresponding positioning support means 200 is disposed to the positioning management server 300. Request location information of the indoor space (1).

At this time, the positioning management server 300 grasps the space in which the requesting positioning support means 200 is disposed, and includes location information including information such as a space ID and position for the indoor space in which the positioning supporting means 200 is disposed. (A), obstacle information including information on the properties and materials of the obstacles disposed in the indoor space and the attenuation rate according to the open / close state (B), the maximum according to the properties and materials of the obstacles arranged in the indoor space The positioning support means 200 includes the indoor environment factor information including information such as the allowable temperature and the allowable humidity, and the distance measurement model application reference information (D) including the RSS-based distance measurement model application threshold value (TH _RSS ). (2).

3 is an exemplary view showing an operation of selecting a reference positioning support means 200a from a plurality of positioning support means arranged in an indoor space by the position estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. At this time, Figure 3 is a plan view of the interior, showing the current position of the positioning support means and the position estimation device disposed in each indoor space.

3, three positioning support means 200 (210a), AB (220a), AC (230a) is disposed in the 'space A', three positioning support means ('space B' ( BA 210b, BB 220b, and BC 230b which are 200 are arranged. In this case, the position estimating apparatus 100 is located at 'space A'.

First, the position estimating apparatus 100 requests a signal for selecting the reference positioning support means 200a to the surrounding positioning support means 200. At this time, the positioning support node of the AA (210a), AB (220a), AC (230a) disposed in the 'space A' located around the position estimation device 100, and the BA (210b) disposed in the 'space B' 211 transmits a signal for selecting the reference positioning support means 200a to the position estimating apparatus 100. At this time, the signal transmitted from the positioning support node 211 includes information about the space ID and the RSS-based distance measurement model application threshold (TH _RSS ) registered in the positioning support means 200.

Therefore, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates the indoor space in which the position estimating apparatus 100 is disposed based on the signals received from AA, AB, AC, and BA. At this time, since three positioning support means 200 arranged in 'space A' and one positioning support means 200 arranged in 'space B', the position estimation apparatus 100 has a corresponding indoor space of 'space' It is assumed to be A '.

In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 measures the received signal strength of the signal received from AA, AB, AC and BA, and the reference positioning support means with the positioning support means 200 having the measured received signal strength as priority. Select 200a. In this case, the position estimating apparatus 100 selects the positioning support means 200 having the strongest received signal strength as the reference positioning support means 200a.

However, the position estimating apparatus 100, if the propagation path with the positioning support means 200 having the strongest signal strength is NLOS and the RSS-based distance measuring model cannot be applied, the positioning support means 200 having the next priority level. To be selected as the reference positioning support means (200a).

In the embodiment of Figure 3, the positioning support means AA (210a) is selected as the reference positioning support means (200a) because the strength of the received signal is the strongest.

4A and 4B are exemplary views referred to for explaining an operation of measuring the distance of the reference positioning support means. In this case, the RSS-based distance measurement model or the RTT-based distance measurement model is applied to the distance measurement of the reference positioning support means 200a. 4A illustrates an operation of measuring the distance of the reference positioning support means by applying an RSS-based distance measurement model, and FIG. 4B illustrates an operation of measuring the distance of the reference positioning support means by applying an RTT-based distance measurement model. will be.

First, the position estimating apparatus 100 measures a signal propagation time T _AA based on a signal received from AA selected as the reference positioning support 200a in FIG. 3. At this time, by comparing the 'TH _RSS ' and the 'T _AA ' included in the signal received from the _AA , it is checked whether the 'T _AA ' is outside the application range of the 'TH _RSS '.

If, as shown in Figure 4a 'T _AA <TH _RSS ', the location estimation apparatus 100 to estimate the distance of the reference positioning support means 200a by applying the RSS-based ranging model.

That is, the position estimating apparatus 100 requests the RF signal to the reference positioning support means 200a. In this case, the location estimating apparatus 100 transmits the space ID information and the distance measurement model information estimated in FIG. 3, that is, the information indicating that the RSS distance measurement model is applied.

The positioning support node 211 of the reference positioning support means 200a uses the space ID information received from the position estimating apparatus 100 between the reference positioning support means 200a and the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 in the current indoor space. Check whether the propagation path of is line of sight (LOS) or NLOS. If the LOS, the positioning support node 211 transmits the LOS attenuation rate information to the position estimating apparatus 100, and in the case of NLOS, the NLOS attenuation rate information according to the material and state of the obstacle by detecting an open / close state of the obstacle. To be transmitted to the position estimating apparatus 100. In this case, each RF transmitting node 213, 215, 217 of the reference positioning support means 200a transmits an RF signal to the position estimating apparatus 100, respectively.

At this time, the position estimating apparatus 100 uses the attenuation ratio information received from the positioning support node 211 of the reference positioning support means 200a and the RF signals received from the RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217. After estimating the distance between the transmitting nodes 213, 215, 217 and the position estimating apparatus 100, the position of the position estimating apparatus 100 is estimated by applying the Pythagorean definition and the sine / cosine law.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 4b 'T _AA > TH _RSS ', the position estimating apparatus 100 to estimate the distance of the reference positioning support means 200a by applying the RTT-based ranging model.

The position estimating apparatus 100 requests the RF signal to the reference positioning support means 200a. In this case, the location estimating apparatus 100 transmits the space ID information and the distance measurement model information estimated in FIG. 3, that is, the information indicating that the RTT distance measurement model is applied.

On the other hand, the reference positioning support means 200a requests the RTT-based RF signal to the position estimating apparatus 100. At this time, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits the RTT-based RF signal to the reference positioning support means 200a together with the transmission time information of the RF signal.

In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 is connected to the RTT-based RF signal together with the position information of each RF transmitting node 213, 215, 217 from the RF transmitting node 213, 215, 217 of the reference positioning support means 200a. When receiving the response signal, the signal transmission time is calculated from the received response signal. At this time, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates the distance between each RF transmitting node 213, 215, 217 and the position estimating apparatus 100 using the calculated signal transfer time and position information, and then defines the Pythagorean definition. A sign / cosine law is applied to estimate the position of the position estimating apparatus 100.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating each position of three RF transmitting nodes and a position estimating apparatus provided in the reference positioning support unit, and a distance between each RF transmitting node and the position estimating apparatus estimated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. 6A and 6B are exemplary views illustrating an operation of estimating the position of the position estimating apparatus by applying the distance information of FIG. 5 to the Pythagorean definition and the sine / cosine law.

In FIG. 5, three RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217 provided in the reference positioning support means 200a are N _X 213, N _Y 215, and N _Z 217. In addition, it is assumed that the current position of the position estimation device 100 is P _A. At this time, the distance between N _X 213 and P _A is R1, the distance between N _Y 215 and P _A is R2, and the distance between N _Z 217 and P _A is R3. Further, the distance between N _X 213 and N _Y 215 is D _XY, and the distance between N _Y 215 and N _Z 217 is D _YZ .

FIG. 6A is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operation of estimating a position of a position estimating apparatus by applying distance information between N _X , N _Y, and P _A to a Pythagorean definition and a sine / cosine law in FIG. 5. First, N _X (213) and N _Y (215) as y1 line perpendicular to the side between the, N _X (213) in N _X (213), and y1 is the distance from point x to meet La P _A Assume

[Equation 1] shows an equation in which the distance information of FIG. 6A is applied to the Pythagorean definition, and [Equation 2] shows an equation applied to the sign / cosine law using the position information of FIG. 6A.

The position estimating apparatus 100 calculates x and y1 values from [Equation 1].

In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 calculates a value of θ ₁ from [Equation 2].

6B is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operation of estimating the position of the position estimating apparatus by applying distance information between N _Y , N _Z, and P _A to the Pythagorean definition and the sine / cosine law in FIG. 5. First, a line orthogonal to the side between N _Y 215 and N _Z 217 at P _A is y 2, and z is the distance from N _Y 215 to the point where N _Z 217 and y 2 meet. Assume

[Equation 3] shows an equation in which the distance information of FIG. 6B is applied to the Pythagorean definition, and [Equation 4] shows an equation applied to the sign / cosine law using the location information of FIG. 6B.

The position estimating apparatus 100 calculates y2 and z value from [Equation 3].

In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 calculates a value of θ ₂ from [Equation 4].

Therefore, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates the current position of the position estimating apparatus 100 with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

At this time, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits the estimated position information to the positioning management server 300. Therefore, the positioning management server 300 displays the corresponding position on the indoor floor plan based on the position information received from the position estimating apparatus 100 to provide the position estimating apparatus 100 so that the user can identify the position.

Looking at the operation of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the operation flow of the position estimation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow of the position estimating apparatus 100 selecting the reference positioning support means among the positioning support means A, the positioning support means B, and the positioning support means C.

As shown in FIG. 7, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits positioning information of each positioning support means 200 to the positioning support means A 210, the positioning support means B 220, and the positioning support means C 230. Request (S700, S720, S740).

At this time, the positioning support means A 210, the positioning support means B 220 and the positioning support means C 230 are positioning information registered in each positioning support means 200, that is, space ID information and a distance measurement model application threshold The RF signal used to select the reference positioning support means 200a together with the information on the value is transmitted to the position estimating apparatus 100 (S710, S730, and S750).

The position estimating apparatus 100 is a space of an indoor space in which the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 is located from a space ID received from the positioning supporting means A 210, the positioning supporting means B 220, and the positioning supporting means C 230, respectively. The ID is estimated (S760).

In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 calculates the received signal strength of each RF signal received from the positioning support means A 210, the positioning support means B 220, and the positioning support means C 230, and applies a distance measurement model. To calculate the range measurement model application range from the threshold (S770). In this case, the position estimating apparatus 100 selects the reference positioning support means 200a according to the received signal strength and the range measurement model application range calculated in step S770. Here, the reference positioning support means 200a selects the received signal strength among the positioning support means A 210, the positioning support means B 220, and the positioning support means C 230 as priority.

8A and 8B are flowcharts illustrating an operation flow of estimating the position of the corresponding position estimating apparatus based on the distance information estimated between the position estimating apparatus and the reference positioning support means. 8A illustrates an operation of estimating the distance of the reference positioning support means by applying an RSS-based distance measurement model, and FIG. 8B illustrates an operation of estimating the distance of the reference positioning support means by applying an RTT-based distance measurement model. will be.

First, before performing FIGS. 8A and 8B, the position estimating apparatus 100 may apply an RSS-based distance measurement model by using the distance measurement model application threshold TH _RSS acquired when the reference positioning means 200a is selected. Decide whether to use RTT-based distance measurement model.

Referring to FIG. 8A, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits an RF signal to the reference positioning support means 200a together with space ID information and distance measurement model information estimated in FIG. 7, that is, information indicating that an RSS distance measurement model is applied. Request (S800).

The positioning support node 211 of the reference positioning support means 200a determines whether the propagation path between the reference positioning support means 200a and the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 is LOS from the space ID received from the position estimating apparatus 100. Check whether it is (S810). In addition, the positioning support node detects the state of the obstacle (S815). At this time, the positioning support node 211 to provide the RSS-based positioning related information to the location estimation apparatus 100 (S820). In this case, the RSS-based positioning related information includes LOS attenuation rate information or NLOS attenuation rate information according to the result of checking 'S810'.

In addition, each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) of the reference positioning support means (200a) to provide the position information of the RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) to the position estimation apparatus (100) (S825). .

On the other hand, the position estimating apparatus 100 measures the received signal strength of each RF signal received in the 'S825' process (S830), the location information received in the 'S820' process and the received signal strength measured in the 'S830' process The distance between the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 and each RF transmitting node 213, 215, 217 is estimated (S835). In addition, the position estimating apparatus 100 estimates the current position of the position estimating apparatus 100 using the distance information estimated in step S835 (S870).

Referring to FIG. 8B, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits the RF signal to the reference positioning support unit 200a together with the space ID information and the distance measurement model information estimated in FIG. 7, that is, the information indicating that the RSS distance measurement model is applied. Request (S800).

On the other hand, the reference positioning support means 200a requests the RTT-based RF signal to the position estimating apparatus 100 (S840). At this time, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits the RTT-based RF signal to the reference positioning support means 200a together with the transmission time information of the RF signal (S845). In addition, each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) of the reference positioning support means (200a), along with the position information of the RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) the position estimation device for the response signal to the RF signal based on the RTT To transmit to (100) (S850).

At this time, the position estimation apparatus 100 measures the signal transmission time for each RF transmitting node (213, 215, 217) from the response signal received in the 'S850' process (S855), measured in the 'S855' process The distance between the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 and each of the RF transmitting nodes 213, 215, and 217 is estimated using the signal transmission time (S860). In addition, the location estimating apparatus 100 estimates the current position of the corresponding location estimating apparatus 100 using the distance information estimated in step S860 (S870).

9 illustrates an operation of receiving information on the location estimation apparatus from the positioning management server based on the estimated position in the position estimation apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 9, the position estimating apparatus 100 transmits the position estimation information obtained from FIG. 8A or 8B to the positioning management server 300 (S900).

At this time, the positioning management server 300 to display the location of the position estimation apparatus 100 in the pre-registered indoor drawing according to the position estimation information received from the position estimation apparatus 100 (S910). In operation 'S910', the indoor drawing in which the position of the corresponding position estimating apparatus 100 is displayed is stored in the positioning management server 300 (S920). Of course, if the position of the position estimation apparatus 100 is changed later, the positioning management server 300 to update and display the position of the position estimation apparatus 100 displayed in the indoor drawing.

On the other hand, the positioning management server 300 transmits an indoor drawing in which the location of the location estimation device 100 is displayed to the location estimation device 100, to notify the current location (S930).

As described above, the RF-based indoor location estimation method and apparatus according to the present invention may not be limitedly applied to the configuration and method of the embodiments described as described above. All or part of the examples may be optionally combined.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a system configuration to which the position estimation apparatus according to the present invention is applied;

2 is a block diagram referred to for explaining the configuration of the position estimation device according to the present invention;

2 to 6B are views referred to for explaining an operation of estimating a position in an indoor space in a position estimating apparatus according to the present invention; and

7 to 9 are flowcharts showing an operation flow for the position estimation method according to the present invention.

Claims (10)

An RF-based indoor location estimation method considering a surrounding environment element in an indoor space in which a plurality of positioning support means including a positioning support node and a plurality of RF transmitting nodes are disposed, Selecting reference positioning support means based on positioning information and RF signals received from the plurality of positioning support means; According to the obstacle property located in the indoor space, using the received positioning information and the received signal strength of the RF signal to determine the distance measurement model applied when measuring the distance to the reference positioning support means, for measuring the distance Requesting an RF signal; And Estimates a distance to the plurality of RF transmitting nodes based on the RF signals received from the plurality of RF transmitting nodes provided in the reference positioning support means and the position information of the corresponding RF transmitting node, and based on the estimated distance information Estimating a current location by using the RF-based indoor location estimation method. The method according to claim 1, In the step of selecting, Positioning information received from the plurality of positioning support means, RF-based indoor location estimation method, characterized in that it comprises at least one of space ID information of the indoor space where the corresponding location support means is disposed and information on the threshold for applying the distance measurement model. The method according to claim 1, And comparing the received signal strength of the RF signal with a ranging model application threshold included in the received positioning information when determining the ranging model. When the received signal strength of the RF signal is smaller than the ranging model application threshold according to the comparison result, the received signal strength of the RF signal is a threshold value applying the ranging model. If larger, RF based indoor location estimation method characterized in that determined by the distance-based distance model. The method according to claim 1, Detecting a space ID of a corresponding indoor space based on positioning information received from the plurality of positioning support means; And And transmitting the sensed space ID to the reference positioning support means selected in the selecting step. The method according to claim 4, If the distance measurement model is determined as the received signal strength-based distance measurement model, the propagation path from the reference positioning support means to the reference positioning support means is based on the received space ID information, Determining whether it is an eye (NLOS); As a result of the check, the visible line attenuation rate information is provided from the reference positioning support means in the case of the visible line, and the invisible line attenuation rate information is provided according to the material and state of the obstacle by detecting the open / close state of the obstacle. RF based indoor location estimation method. The method according to claim 5, The estimating step, RF-based indoor position estimation method, characterized in that for estimating the distance between the plurality of RF transmitting node using any one of the visible line attenuation rate information and the invisible line attenuation rate information received from the reference positioning support means. The method according to claim 1, The estimating step, Calculating a signal transfer time of RF signals received from the plurality of RF transmission nodes when the distance measurement model is determined as a round trip time based distance measurement model. RF-based indoor position estimation method, characterized in that for estimating the distance between the plurality of RF transmitting nodes using the signal transmission time and the position information calculated in the calculating step. The method according to claim 1, The location information estimated in the estimating step includes location information including at least one of spatial information, location information, obstacle information, indoor environment factor, and distance measurement model application reference information of the indoor space in which the plurality of positioning support means are arranged. Transmitting to the stored location management server; And Receiving the drawing data indicating the current location from the positioning management server; RF-based indoor location estimation method further comprising. An RF-based indoor position estimation apparatus in an indoor space in which a plurality of positioning support means including a positioning support node and a plurality of RF transmitting nodes is disposed, Communication unit for transmitting and receiving the RF signal with the plurality of positioning support means; And A signal measuring unit for measuring the received signal strength of the reference positioning support means selected based on the positioning information and the RF signal received from the plurality of positioning support means; According to the received signal strength measured by the signal measuring unit and the state of the obstacle located in the corresponding indoor space using any one of the received signal strength (RSS) based distance measurement model and the round trip transfer time (RTT) based distance measurement model A distance measuring unit for calculating a distance between the plurality of RF transmitting nodes provided in the reference positioning support unit and the corresponding position estimating apparatus, and Location estimator for predicting the location of the location estimation apparatus in the indoor space using the distance information calculated by the distance measuring unit RF-based indoor location estimation apparatus comprising a; positioning control unit provided with. The method according to claim 9, The positioning information, And at least one of spatial information, location information, obstacle information, indoor environment factor information, and distance measurement model application reference information of the indoor space in which the plurality of positioning support means are disposed. RF-based indoor location estimation device, characterized in that provided from the positioning management server for managing the positioning information.

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