KR20130106954A - Indoor positioning method and system and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An indoor positioning method, a system for the same and an apparatus for the same are provided to integrally store a calculated terminal estimated position value by mapping the calculated terminal estimated position value in a stored specific zone. CONSTITUTION: A receiving unit (210) receives radio environment information of transmitter radio environment information generated from a transmitter and access point (AP) radio environment information generated from an AP. A transmitter based positioning unit (230) calculates a first estimated position value which is an estimated position of a communications terminal based on the transmitter radio environment information. An AP based positioning unit (240) calculates a second estimated position value which is an estimated position of the communications terminal based on the AP radio environment information. A positioning integration unit (250) integrally stores position values of the first estimated position value and the second estimated position value by mapping the position values in a specific zone. [Reference numerals] (210) Receiving unit; (220) Signal checking unit; (230) Transmitter based positioning unit; (240) AP based positioning unit; (242) AP identification information checking unit; (244) Location checking unit; (250) Positioning integration unit; (260) Database

Description

Indoor Positioning Method and System and Apparatus Therefor

This embodiment relates to an indoor positioning method and system and apparatus therefor. More specifically, in order to position the terminal indoors, the radio wave environment information is received from the transmitter or the AP, and the terminal estimation position is obtained by using a positioning method such as a triangulation method or a signal strength method based on the received radio wave environment information. The present invention relates to an indoor positioning method and system and apparatus therefor for calculating a value, and integrating and storing the calculated terminal estimated position value in a pre-stored specific area.

The contents described in this section merely provide background information on the present embodiment and do not constitute the prior art.

Among these various multimedia communication services, LBS (Location-Based Service), which provides services using location and geographic information, has gained great attention due to its wide usability and convenience. The location measurement technology for providing location-based services uses a network-based method to identify the location in software using a radio wave environment of a relay device to measure the location of the terminal and a GPS (Global Positioning System) installed in the terminal. It is classified into a handset based method using a receiver and a hybrid method in which these two methods are mixed.

Among these methods, network-based positioning technology is increasingly used in GPS shadow areas such as indoors and underground buildings. However, it is difficult to provide indoor positioning services due to the variety of types and positioning methods of the repeaters installed indoors. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to store in the integrated map or DB because the positioning data is not constant due to the difference according to the characteristics of the various positioning methods.

In order to solve this problem, the present embodiment receives radio wave environment information from a transmitter or an AP to locate a terminal indoors, and performs positioning such as a triangulation method or a received signal strength method based on the received radio wave environment information. It is a main object to provide an indoor positioning method for calculating a terminal estimated position value using the method, and integrally storing the calculated terminal estimated position value in a pre-stored specific area and a system and apparatus therefor.

According to an aspect of the present embodiment in order to achieve this object, a database for dividing the interior area inside the building into one or more specific zones, and identifying and storing the specific zone by the respective corner coordinate values corresponding to the specific zone; A receiving unit for receiving at least one or more radio wave environment information generated from a transmitter for transmitting and receiving a signal to and from a communication terminal and AP radio environment information generated from an AP for transmitting and receiving a signal to and from the communication terminal; A transmitter-based positioning unit for calculating a first estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the communication terminal, based on the transmitter propagation environment information; An AP-based positioning unit for calculating a second estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the communication terminal, based on the AP propagation environment information; And a positioning integration unit which maps and stores at least one or more position values of the first estimated position value and the second estimated position value to the specific zone.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present embodiment, in a method for indoor positioning by the indoor positioning apparatus, transmitter radio environment information generated from a transmitter for transmitting and receiving a signal with a communication terminal and an AP radio wave generated from an AP communicating with the communication terminal. A radio wave environment information receiving step of receiving at least one or more radio wave environment information of the environment information; A transmitter-based positioning process of calculating a first estimated position value that is an estimated position of the communication terminal based on the transmitter propagation environment information; An AP based positioning process of calculating a second estimated position value which is an estimated position of the communication terminal based on the AP propagation environment information; And a location integration process of mapping and storing at least one or more location values of the first estimated location value and the second estimated location value to a predetermined specific area.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in order to position a terminal indoors, radio wave environment information is received from a transmitter or an AP, and positioning such as a triangulation method or a received signal strength method is performed based on the received radio wave environment information. The terminal estimated position value is calculated using the method, and the calculated terminal estimated position value is mapped to a pre-stored specific area to select a plurality of network devices for indoor positioning, and in various ways regardless of the type of network device. It is effective for indoor positioning. In addition, it is possible to build an integrated DB by integrated storage of the indoor location using a variety of methods, there is an effect that can provide a monitoring and client providing services.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an indoor positioning system according to the present embodiment;
2 is a block diagram schematically showing the indoor positioning device according to the present embodiment;
3 is a flowchart illustrating an indoor positioning method according to the present embodiment;
4 is an exemplary view for explaining a specific zone integrated storage method according to the present embodiment,
5 is an exemplary diagram for describing an AP location information table according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an indoor positioning system according to the present embodiment.

The indoor positioning system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal 110, a transmitter 120, an AP 130, and an indoor positioning device 140.

The terminal 110 refers to a terminal capable of transmitting and receiving various data using a communication intermediary device including a transmitter 120 or an AP 130 according to a user's key manipulation, and may be a tablet PC or a laptop. ), A personal computer (PC), a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a mobile communication terminal (Mobile Communication Terminal). The terminal 110 is a terminal that performs voice or data communication using the transmitter 120 or the AP 130, and stores a program or protocol for communicating with an external device via the transmitter 120 or the AP 130. It refers to a terminal having a memory for performing, and a microprocessor for executing and controlling the program. The terminal 110 may be any terminal as long as it can communicate with the transmitter 120 or the AP 130, and is a broad concept including all communication computing devices such as a notebook computer, a mobile communication terminal, and a PDA. In this embodiment, the terminal 110 uses wireless communication such as Zigbee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ultra Wideband (UWB) to connect with the transmitter 120 or the AP 130. Can be.

The transmitter 120 performs various functions required for wireless call processing such as location registration, wireless channel allocation, handoff, etc., and receives a call request signal from the terminal 110, and performs baseband signal processing, wired / wireless conversion, and wireless signal processing. Means a device for transmitting and receiving. Here, the transmitter 120 is preferably a base station, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be extended to an eNodeB and an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). Here, UTRAN refers to UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, and UMTS refers to Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. eNodeB is a device that supports next-generation technologies and services such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), and functions such as RF transmission, transmission, reception, signal strength, quality measurement, baseband signal processing and channel card (Channel Card resource management). It is a device to perform. In addition, the eNodeB and the EPC may be collectively referred to as an EPS (Evolved Packet System).

The transmitter 120 described in this embodiment refers to a transmitter that communicates with the terminal 110 as a transmitter located around the terminal 110. That is, when the terminal 110 corresponds to the transmitter coverage of the surrounding according to the location where the terminal 110 is located, the signal is transmitted and received between the terminal 110 and the transmitter, which is a concept that collectively refers to the transmitter in this state.

AP (Access Point, 130) is a device that relays data communication, and checks the destination information included in the information sent from the sender to specify the most appropriate communication path to reach the receiver, and then the communication network corresponding to the designated communication path It is a device that can transmit data. That is, the AP 130 extracts the destination location of the data packet, specifies the best communication path for the extracted location, and delivers the data packet to the next device along the designated communication path, and the AP 130 is a terminal. Multiple lines may be shared in a general network environment between the 110. In the present embodiment, the AP 130 includes a router, a repeater, a repeater, and a bridge, and may be used as a concept including a device capable of short-range communication such as Zigbee and Bluetooth. Can be.

The indoor positioning device 140 receives transmitter radio wave environment information from the transmitter 120 or AP radio wave environment information from the AP 130, and uses a positioning method corresponding to the transmitter 120 or the AP 130. The apparatus calculates an estimated position value of the unit, and maps the calculated position value to a predetermined specific region to collectively store the integrated position.

When the indoor positioning device 140 according to the present exemplary embodiment receives the transmitter radio wave environment information from the transmitter 120, the indoor positioning device 140 uses the time difference of arrival (TDoA) method to obtain a first estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110. The second estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110, is calculated by using a received signal strength indication (RSSI) method when receiving the AP propagation environment information from the AP 130. In addition, the indoor positioning device 140 maps the first estimated position value or the second estimated position value to a pre-stored specific area and stores the combined information. On the other hand, the indoor positioning device 140 according to the present embodiment is described as positioning by using only the TDoA or RSSI method, but is not necessarily limited to this, if necessary, AoA (Angle of Arrival), ToA (Time of Arrival), As long as positioning is possible, such as time of flight (ToF) and near field electromagnetic ranging (NFER), it can be implemented in any way. A detailed description of the indoor positioning device 140 will be given in FIG. 2.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the indoor positioning device according to the present embodiment.

The indoor positioning device 140 according to the present embodiment includes a receiver 210, a signal checking unit 220, a transmitter-based positioning unit 230, an AP-based positioning unit 240, a positioning integration unit 250, and a database 260. ). In addition, the AP-based positioning unit 240 includes an AP identification information confirming unit 242 and a position confirming unit 244.

The receiver 210 refers to a module that receives transmitter radio environment information from the transmitter 120 or AP radio environment information from the AP 130. Here, the transmitter propagation environment information refers to information necessary for positioning the terminal 110 in the transmitter-based positioning unit 230 in a time difference of arrival (TDoA) method. For example, the transmitter propagation environment information includes transmitter identification information, signal arrival time difference information, signal transmission time information, signal strength information, and the like. In addition, the AP radio wave environment information includes information such as AP identification information, received signal strength information, SSID information, latitude information, longitude information, altitude information, the number of floors, and specific area information.

The signal checking unit 220 confirms whether the information included in the signal received from the receiving unit 210 is transmitter propagation environment information or AP propagation environment information. In more detail, when the information received from the receiver 210 is transmitter propagation environment information, the transmitter propagation environment information is transmitted to the transmitter-based positioning unit 230, and the information received from the receiver 210 is AP propagation environment information. If the AP-based positioning unit 240 transmits the AP radio environment information. The signal checking unit 220 according to the present embodiment is described as a separate module from the receiving unit 210, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be implemented in the receiving unit 210.

The transmitter-based positioning unit 230 refers to a module that calculates an estimated position of the terminal 120 using transmitter propagation environment information received from the transmitter 120. Techniques for calculating the estimated position of the terminal 120 include AOA (Angle of Arrival) using a reception angle, Time of Arrival (ToA) using a signal arrival time, etc. However, the transmitter-based positioning unit 230 according to the present embodiment ) Calculates a first estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110, by using a time difference of arrival (TDoA) scheme when the signal transmission time between the terminal 110 and the transmitter 120 is not confirmed. . TDoA is a method used when the exact transmission time between the terminal 110 and the transmitter 120 cannot be determined. The transmitter-based positioning unit 230 has a difference in signal transmission time between the terminal 110 and the plurality of transmitters 120. Is converted into a distance value (ie 'distance = time * speed of light'). Here, based on the converted distance value, each transmitter 120 connects points having the same distance difference to display a hyperbola to display coordinate values of a point where a plurality of hyperbolas intersect, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110. It calculates by estimated position value.

The AP-based positioning unit 240 checks the location of the AP with reference to the AP location information table previously stored in the database 260 with the AP identification information included in the AP radio environment information, and receives the received signal strength according to the identified location of the AP. The module calculates a second estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110, by reflecting a weight corresponding to information (RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indication). Here, the RSSI method using the received signal strength information refers to a method of calculating the position using the signal strength of the plurality of AP (130). In addition, the AP radio wave environment information includes information such as AP identification information, received signal strength information, SSID information, latitude information, longitude information, altitude information, the number of floors, and specific area information. On the other hand, the AP identification information is preferably a MAC address (MAC Address) of the AP 130, but is not necessarily limited thereto. A detailed description of the components included in the AP-based positioning unit 240 according to the present embodiment is as follows.

The AP identification information confirming unit 242 refers to a module for confirming AP identification information included in the AP radio environment information. The AP identification information confirming unit 242 according to the present embodiment selects the AP identification information having the strongest signal when there is a plurality of AP identification information included in the AP propagation environment information.

The positioning unit 244 maps the AP identification information to the AP location information table previously stored in the database 260 to identify the location of the AP, and based on the identified location of the AP, a second estimated location value that is an estimated location of the terminal. To calculate.

The positioning integration unit 250 according to the present embodiment matches the first estimated position value calculated by the transmitter-based positioning unit 230 or the second estimated position value calculated by the AP-based positioning unit 240 to a previously stored specific region. Refers to a module that integrates and stores. In more detail, when the location integration unit 250 receives the first estimated location value from the transmitter-based location unit 230, the first estimated location value is included in the corner coordinate value for the specific area previously stored in the database 260. Mapping stores the location of the specific area in the database 260 integrated. In this case, integrated storage refers to storing the first estimated position value or the second estimated position value in one map and the database 260 and may be interpreted in the same sense as standardization.

In addition, when the location integration unit 250 receives the second estimated location value from the AP-based location unit 240, the location integration unit 250 maps the second estimated location value to corner coordinate values for a specific area previously stored in the database 260. The location of the specific area is integrated and stored in the database 260.

In the present invention, the database 260 is described as being implemented separately from the AP-based positioning unit 240, which is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, the general knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs Those having a modification may apply to the database 260 being implemented in the AP-based positioning unit 240 without departing from the essential features of the present invention.

The database 260 refers to a general data structure implemented in a storage system (hard disk or memory) of a computer system by using a database management program (DBMS). The database 260 can search, extract, delete, edit, and add data. It is a form of data storage that can be freely performed. It is a relational database management system (RDBMS) such as Oracle, Infomix, Sybase, DB2, Gemston, Orion. Object-Oriented Database Management System (OODBMS) such as O2, and XML Native Database such as Excelon, Tamino, Sekaiju, etc. It can be implemented to fit into and has appropriate fields or elements to achieve its function.

The database 260 according to the present exemplary embodiment refers to a module that divides the stored indoor area into specific zones through an operation of an administrator, and divides each specific zone into corner coordinate values and stores them. For example, the database 260 may set and store an area having an x-axis coordinate value of 1 to 5 and a y-axis coordinate value of 8 to 10 as a specific zone A on the x and y coordinates. In addition, the database 260 includes an AP location information table for identifying the location of the AP in the AP-based positioning unit 240. Here, the AP location information table means a table storing the location of the AP according to the AP identification information.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an indoor positioning method according to the present embodiment.

The indoor positioning device 140 receives transmitter propagation environment information from the transmitter 120 communicating with the terminal 110 or receives AP propagation environment information from the AP 130 communicating with the terminal (S310). Here, the AP propagation environment information includes information such as AP identification information, received signal strength information, SSID information, latitude information, longitude information, altitude information, floor number, and specific area information. In addition, the transmitter propagation environment information includes information about a difference in signal transmission time between the terminal 110 and the transmitter 120. For example, the transmitter propagation environment information includes transmitter identification information, signal arrival time difference information, signal transmission time information, signal strength information, and the like.

When the indoor positioning device 140 receives the AP radio wave environment information from the AP 130 (S320), the indoor positioning device 140 checks the AP identification information included in the AP radio wave environment information (S330) and identifies the AP. The second estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110, is calculated based on the position of the AP 130 identified by referring to the AP position information table previously stored in the database 260 (S350). Here, the second estimated position value is calculated using the RSSI method for positioning the position of the terminal 110 using the received signal strength between the terminal 110 and the AP 130.

On the other hand, when the indoor positioning device 140 receives the transmitter radio wave environment information from the transmitter 120 in step S320, the indoor positioning device 140 calculates the first estimated position value based on the transmitter wave environment information (S340). ). In operation S340, the indoor positioning device 140 uses the easy TDoA method when the signal transmission time is not confirmed between the terminal 110 and the transmitter 120 to obtain a first estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the terminal 110. Calculate.

The indoor positioning device 140 maps the first estimated position value or the second estimated position value generated through the steps S340 and S350 to a previously stored specific area and stores the integrated location (S360). Here, the specific zone refers to a zone that is stored at each corner coordinate value by dividing the indoor area previously stored in the database 260. For example, when a specific zone previously stored in the database 260 is set to a specific zone A for a zone having x-axis coordinate values of 1 to 5 and y-axis coordinate values of 8 to 10 on the x and y coordinates, If the first estimated position value calculated at 140 is an x, y coordinate value (1, 10), it is mapped and stored in a specific area A.

In FIG. 3, steps S310 to S360 are described as being sequentially executed. However, this is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present embodiment belongs may use the present embodiment. 3 may be modified and modified in various manners, such as by changing the order described in FIG. 3 or executing one or more steps of steps S310 to S360 in parallel without departing from the essential characteristics, and thus, FIG. It is not limited.

Figure 4 is an exemplary view for explaining a specific area integrated storage method according to this embodiment.

The transmitter-based positioning unit 230 receives transmitter radio wave environment information from the transmitter 120 and checks the difference in signal transmission time between the terminal 110 and the plurality of transmitters 120 using the TDoA method and converts the distance value into a distance value. do. Here, the hyperbolic is displayed by connecting points having the same distance difference in each transmitter 120 based on the converted distance value, and the x, y coordinate values of the points where the plurality of hyperbolas intersect are estimated positions of the terminal 110. It calculates by the 1st estimated position value which is.

The AP-based positioning unit 240 receives AP propagation environment information from the AP 130 and substitutes AP identification information included in the AP propagation environment information into the AP location information table previously stored in the database 260 to access the AP 130. The location of the AP 130 is calculated and a second estimated location value, which is an estimated location of the terminal 110, is calculated by using the RSSI method.

The positioning unit 250 maps the first estimated position value calculated by the transmitter-based positioning unit 230 or the second estimated position value calculated by the AP-based positioning unit 240 to a specific area preset in the database 260. To save. For example, when the first estimated position value received by the positioning unit 250 is a coordinate of (1, 10), the positioning unit 250 integrates and stores the position of the terminal 110 as being located in a specific zone A. . In addition, when the second position value received by the positioning unit 250 is a coordinate of (10, 9), the positioning unit 250 integrates and stores the position of the terminal 110 as being located in a specific zone B.

5 is an exemplary diagram for describing an AP location information table according to the present embodiment.

The AP location information table according to the present embodiment refers to an information table previously stored in the database 260 to calculate a second estimated location value in the AP-based positioning unit 240. In more detail, the AP-based positioning unit 240 may check the AP identification information included in the AP propagation environment information and substitute the identified AP identification information into the AP location information table to determine the location of the AP. For example, when the AP-based positioning unit 240 substitutes information of the AP identification information MAC address 00: 11: 33: 11: 3e: 11 into the AP location information table, the device S * T AP1 can be identified. It can be seen that S * T AP1 is provided at the position where the coordinate value of the specific zone A is (1, 10).

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and various modifications and changes may be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiments. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be construed as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the scope of the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present embodiment should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present embodiment is applied to a field, and receives radio wave environment information from a transmitter or an AP for positioning a terminal indoors, and based on the received radio wave environment information, a triangulation method or a received signal strength method, etc. It is a useful invention to generate an effect of calculating the terminal estimated position value using the same positioning method and mapping the calculated terminal estimated position value to a pre-stored specific area to collectively store the terminal position.

110: terminal 120: transmitter
130: AP 140: indoor positioning device
210: receiver 220: signal checker
230: transmitter based positioning unit 240: AP based positioning unit
242: AP identification information check unit 244: location check unit
250: positioning integration unit 260: database

Claims (10)

A database for dividing an interior area of a building into one or more specific zones, and identifying and storing the specific zones as respective corner coordinate values corresponding to the specific zones;
A receiving unit for receiving at least one or more radio wave environment information generated from a transmitter for transmitting and receiving a signal to and from a communication terminal and AP radio environment information generated from an AP for transmitting and receiving a signal to and from the communication terminal;
A transmitter-based positioning unit for calculating a first estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the communication terminal, based on the transmitter propagation environment information;
An AP-based positioning unit for calculating a second estimated position value, which is an estimated position of the communication terminal, based on the AP propagation environment information; And
Positioning integration unit for mapping and storing at least one or more position values of the first estimated position value and the second estimated position value to the specific zone.
Indoor positioning device comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The database includes:
Indoor positioning apparatus, characterized in that for mapping and storing the AP identification information in the specific area. The method of claim 1,
Signal confirmation unit for checking whether the signal received in the receiver is transmitter radio environment information or AP radio environment information
Indoor positioning device further comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The transmitter-based positioning unit,
Time difference of TDoA using the signal arrival time difference information among the transmitter propagation environment information including at least one of signal arrival time difference information, transmitter identification information, signal transmission time information, and signal strength information between the communication terminal and the transmitter. And calculating a first estimated position value for the communication terminal by an Arrival method. The method of claim 1,
The AP based positioning unit,
AP identification information for identifying the AP identification information in the AP radio environment information including at least one or more of AP identification information, received signal strength information, SSID information, latitude information, longitude information, altitude information, floor number and specific area information. Identification unit; And
Positioning unit for positioning the position of the AP by substituting the AP identification information in the AP position information table previously stored in the database
Indoor positioning device comprising a. The method of claim 5, wherein
The AP based positioning unit,
And calculating the second estimated position value by reflecting a weight corresponding to Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) according to the position of the AP. In the method of indoor positioning the indoor positioning device,
A radio wave environment information receiving step of receiving at least one or more radio wave environment information of transmitter radio environment information generated from a transmitter for transmitting and receiving a signal with a communication terminal and AP radio environment information generated from an AP communicating with the communication terminal;
A transmitter-based positioning process of calculating a first estimated position value that is an estimated position of the communication terminal based on the transmitter propagation environment information;
An AP based positioning process of calculating a second estimated position value which is an estimated position of the communication terminal based on the AP propagation environment information; And
Positioning integration process of mapping and storing at least one or more position values of the first estimated position value and the second estimated position value to a predetermined specific zone
Indoor positioning method comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein
The AP-based positioning process,
An AP identification information confirming step of confirming AP identification information included in the AP propagation environment information; And
Positioning process of positioning the position of the AP by substituting the AP identification information into the AP position information table
Indoor positioning method comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein
The transmitter-based positioning process,
Indoor positioning method, characterized in that for calculating the first estimated position value by using a Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) method. The method of claim 7, wherein
The AP-based positioning process,
And calculating the second estimated position value by reflecting a weight corresponding to Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) according to the position of the AP.

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