KR20160085050A - Method, apparatus, computer program and computer readable recording medium for location estimation of mobile terminal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a location estimation method of a location estimation device. The method comprises: a step of receiving information about reception signal strength of other RF commutation device from each of a plurality of RF communication devices installed in a specific area and information about reception signal strength of a mobile terminal; and a step of estimating a location of the mobile terminal in the specific area by comparing the information about the reception signal strength of the other RF commutation device from each of the RF communication devices and the information about the reception signal strength of the mobile terminal. According to the present invention, the location of the mobile terminal may be precisely measured.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a position estimating apparatus, a position estimating method, a computer program, and a computer readable recording medium. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position estimating apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method, apparatus, computer program and computer-readable recording medium for locating a mobile terminal apparatus using a radio frequency (RF) signal generated in a mobile terminal apparatus.

Recently, the spread of personal portable devices capable of providing location information is rapidly increasing, and services for providing location and geographical information through mobile devices are also rapidly growing.

In accordance with this tendency, there is a need to provide a method and system for providing a real-time positioning solution using an absolute positioning solution such as GPS (Global Positioning System) and a predictive navigation solution such as an INS (Inertial Navigation System) Efforts are continuously being made to smoothly provide internal and external continuous positioning services.

In such a system, it is widely used to improve the accuracy of location information by reducing the positioning error by additionally using the geographical information of the user's location as the outdoor positioning algorithm.

However, in the case of the indoor positioning algorithm, unlike the outdoor positioning, there is no absolute positioning information such as GPS, and it is difficult to acquire the related geographical information such as the building. Also, due to the complexity of the building, There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the positioning error by correcting the user's position.

To solve this problem, a Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) has been developed. The WPS obtained the contact points or center points by converting the signal strengths of the mobile terminal devices collected from one or more receivers to distance, and estimated the position of the mobile terminal device based on the obtained distances.

However, in the case of the Wi-Fi signal, there is a problem that the measured signal intensity varies greatly due to the influence of the device error between the receiver and the transmitter, the change of the communication environment, and the like.

Here, the influence due to the device error between the receiver and the transmitter is relatively small, and the error width can be reduced to a level acceptable by a simple method.

However, when the communication environment changes such as an increase in the noise signal and an increase in the number of persons in the vicinity, the influence caused by the change is relatively large.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method that can more accurately estimate the position of the mobile terminal device in consideration of the influence of the change in the communication environment.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a position estimating apparatus, a position estimating method, a computer program and a computer readable recording medium for estimating a position of a mobile terminal apparatus in consideration of the influence of a change in a communication environment. .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for estimating a position of a position estimating apparatus, including: receiving signal strength indicator And receiving signal strength information for the mobile terminal device, comparing the received signal strength information for the other RF communication device with the received signal strength information for the mobile terminal device for each of the plurality of RF communication devices, And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in a space.

The method may further include determining a communication environment for the specific space on the basis of the received signal strength information for the other RF communication devices received from the plurality of RF communication devices.

The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of RF communication devices comprises at least three RF communication devices, and wherein the receiving is performed by the second RF communication device, the third RF communication device, The second RF communication device receives the intensity information and the time information of the signal received by the device from the first RF communication device, and the second RF communication device receives the signal information from the first RF communication device, the first RF communication device, Receiving a signal strength information and time information from the second RF communication device and transmitting a signal of the signal received by the third RF communication device according to signal transmission of the first RF communication device, Strength information and time information from the third RF communication device.

Setting a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication devices among the plurality of RF communication devices, setting an edge connected to the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs, And storing the received signal strength information and time information between the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs.

The method may further include storing received signal strength information and time information for each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses with respect to the mobile terminal apparatus.

The step of estimating the position of the mobile terminal device may further include comparing the received signal strength information of the RF communication device with the received signal strength information of the mobile terminal device with respect to each of the plurality of pairs, A first position estimating step of estimating a position of the device, and a second position estimating step of estimating a position of the mobile terminal device based on the estimated position.

Further, the first position estimating step may include a step of, when the first pair constituted by the first RF communication apparatus and the second RF communication apparatus constitutes a first edge, when the first RF communication apparatus receives from the second RF communication apparatus Comparing a strength of a signal with strength information of a signal received from the mobile terminal to estimate a position on the first edge; comparing the strength of a signal received from the first RF communication device Comparing the received signal strength information with the strength information of the signal received from the mobile terminal apparatus and estimating a position on the first edge and determining an area where the mobile terminal apparatus is likely to be located based on the estimated center positions And a step of estimating.

The first position estimating step and the second position estimating step may be performed using received signal strength information in the same time zone.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a position estimation apparatus comprising: a plurality of RF communication devices installed in a specific space; A communication unit for receiving the received signal strength information for the mobile terminal and for comparing the received signal strength information for the other RF communication apparatus and the received signal strength information for the mobile terminal apparatus with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses, And a control unit for controlling the estimation of the position of the mobile terminal device.

In addition, the controller may determine a communication environment for the specific space based on the received signal strength information for another RF communication device received from each of the plurality of RF communication devices.

The plurality of RF communication devices may include at least three RF communication devices, and the communication unit may be configured such that, when signals are transmitted from the second RF communication device, the third RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device, Receiving a signal strength information and time information from the first RF communication device and transmitting the strength of a signal received by the second RF communication device in accordance with signal transmission of the third RF communication device, Time information from the second RF communication device and transmits the intensity information and the time information of the signal received by the third RF communication device in accordance with the signal transmission of the first RF communication device, From the third RF communication device.

The control unit sets a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication apparatuses among the plurality of RF communication apparatuses, and for each pair of the RF communication apparatuses, and may control the storage unit to store received signal strength information and time information between the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs.

The controller may control the storage unit to store received signal strength information and time information for each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses with respect to the mobile terminal apparatus.

The control unit may further include a controller for comparing the received signal strength information of the RF communication apparatus and the received signal strength information of the mobile terminal apparatus with respect to each of the plurality of pairs to estimate a position of the mobile terminal apparatus, Performing a position estimation step, and performing a second position estimation step of estimating a position of the mobile terminal device based on the estimated positions.

The first position estimating step may include a step of, when the first pair constituted by the first RF communication apparatus and the second RF communication apparatus constitutes a first edge, when the first RF communication apparatus receives from the second RF communication apparatus The second RF communication apparatus estimates a position on the first edge by comparing intensity information of a signal received from the mobile terminal and strength information of a signal received from the first RF communication apparatus, Estimates a position on the first edge by comparing intensity information of a signal received from the mobile terminal device and estimates an area in which the mobile terminal device is likely to be located based on the estimated center point of the both positions .

The first position estimating step and the second position estimating step may be performed using received signal strength information in the same time zone.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for use in a mobile communication system, which includes a position estimating device for receiving received signal strength information for each of a plurality of RF communication devices, Receiving signal strength information for a mobile terminal device and receiving signal strength information for a different RF communication device for each of the plurality of RF communication devices; And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in the specific space.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing a method for estimating a position of a position estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Receiving received signal strength indicator and received signal strength information for each of the plurality of RF communication devices from another RF communication device; And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in the specific space by comparing received signal strength information on the mobile terminal device with received signal strength information on the mobile terminal device.

According to various embodiments of the present invention described above, the position of the mobile terminal device can be estimated more accurately by considering the influence of the change of the communication environment.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention described above, it is possible to analyze the movement and density of customers visiting a shopping mall, a department store, a shopping mall, and the like based on the estimated location of the mobile terminal device.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention described above, an indoor navigation system can be constructed based on an estimated position of a mobile terminal device.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimation system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram illustrating an RF communication device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating an RF signal output operation of the RF communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating an RF signal receiving operation of the RF communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram for explaining an RF signal of a position estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 to 9 are views for explaining a position estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a flowchart schematically showing a position estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a signal processing unit of a position estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a first position estimating step according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a second position estimating step according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimation system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a diagram illustrating a usage scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art will be able to devise various apparatuses which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included in the concept and scope of the invention. Furthermore, all of the conditional terms and embodiments listed herein are, in principle, only intended for the purpose of enabling understanding of the concepts of the present invention, and are not to be construed as limited to such specifically recited embodiments and conditions do.

It is also to be understood that the detailed description, as well as the principles, aspects and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific embodiments thereof, are intended to cover structural and functional equivalents thereof. It is also to be understood that such equivalents include all elements contemplated to perform the same function irrespective of the currently known equivalents as well as the equivalents to be developed in the future, i.e., the structure.

Thus, for example, it should be understood that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of exemplary circuits embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, all flowcharts, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like are representative of various processes that may be substantially represented on a computer-readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not the computer or processor is explicitly shown .

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including the functional blocks depicted in the processor or similar concept, may be provided by use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in connection with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared.

Also, the explicit use of terms such as processor, control, or similar concepts should not be interpreted exclusively as hardware capable of running software, and may be used without limitation as a digital signal processor (DSP) (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile memory. Other hardware may also be included.

In the claims hereof, the elements represented as means for performing the functions described in the detailed description include all types of software including, for example, a combination of circuit elements performing the function or firmware / microcode etc. , And is coupled with appropriate circuitry to execute the software to perform the function. It is to be understood that the invention defined by the appended claims is not to be construed as encompassing any means capable of providing such functionality, as the functions provided by the various listed means are combined and combined with the manner in which the claims require .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: There will be. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimation system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the position estimation system 1000 may be a system for estimating the position of a mobile terminal device 300 of a user located indoors.

1, the position estimation system 1000 includes a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1 to 100-3, a position estimating apparatus 200, a mobile terminal apparatus 300, . ≪ / RTI >

The plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 may be installed at specific locations in a specific space such as a mart, a department store, a shopping mall, or the like that require indoor positioning.

Each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 may periodically / non-periodically output an RF signal of predetermined intensity. Here, the output RF signal may be a Wi-Fi signal, a Bluetooth signal, or the like.

Each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, ..., 100-3 receives the RF signal output from the RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 other than its own, (Received Signal Strength Indicator).

Each of the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, 100-3 may receive the RF signal output from the mobile terminal device 300 and calculate received signal strength information. Here, the mobile terminal device 300 may be implemented as a portable device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), or a wearable device And the wearable device can be implemented as a smart glass or a smart watch that can be worn by the wearer's body. The mobile terminal device 300 can periodically or non-periodically output an RF signal of predetermined intensity, and each of the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, ..., And can receive the RF signal output from the antenna 300.

Each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 may transmit a data packet including received signal strength information to the position estimation apparatus 200. [

On the other hand, the position estimation apparatus 200 estimates a received signal strength indicator for each RF communication apparatus from a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 installed in a specific space, And may receive the received signal strength information for the device 300.

Also, the position estimation apparatus 200 determines a communication environment for a specific space based on the received signal strength information for the other RF communication apparatuses received from each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3, can do. For example, the position estimation apparatus 200 can detect a change in the communication environment due to an increase in noise signal, an increase in the number of people in the vicinity, and the like.

In addition, the position estimation apparatus 200 is configured to estimate the reception signal strength information for the other RF communication apparatuses and the reception signal strength for the mobile terminal apparatus 300, for each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, The location of the mobile terminal device 300 can be estimated in a specific space by comparing the information.

Here, the position estimation apparatus 200 may be implemented as a server apparatus having a data communication function, for example, a cloud server or the like.

The position estimating apparatus 200 may be connected to a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1 through 100-3 through a wire / wireless communication network to perform data communication with each other.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, 100-3 may be implemented by three RF communication devices. However, the number of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses can be further increased for the accuracy of the position estimation of the mobile terminal apparatus 300. Alternatively, a plurality of RF communication devices 100 may be implemented with less than three RF communication devices to minimize implementation costs.

Hereinafter, the RF communication apparatus 100 and the position estimation apparatus 200 will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an RF communication device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2, the RF communication device 100 includes all or a part of a power source 110, a storage unit 120, a first communication unit 130, a second communication unit 140, and a control unit 150.

The power supply unit 110 may supply power necessary for operation of the RF communication device 100. [ For example, the power supply 110 may be implemented with a rechargeable power supply such as a supercapacitor, a lithium ion battery, an ultra-battery or an ultra-capacitor.

The first communication unit 130 may periodically / non-periodically output an RF signal having a predetermined intensity. Here, the output RF signal may include the ID and time information of the RF communication device. For example, the first RF communication apparatus 100-1 of FIG. 1 may output a signal including information as shown in Table 1 below.

Your ID Time information (hour: minute: second) The first RF communication device 12:00:00

In addition, the first communication unit 130 can receive RF signals output from the RF communication apparatuses other than the first communication unit 130 and the RF signals output from the mobile terminal apparatus 300. In this case, the controller 150 may calculate the received signal strength indicator of the RF signal received from another RF communication device.

Here, the first communication unit 130 may be implemented as a communication module that transmits and receives RF signals such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The storage unit 120 functions to store various data and applications required for the operation of the RF communication device 100. In particular, when RF signals transmitted from other RF communication devices and mobile terminal devices 300 are received through the first communication unit 130, the storage unit 120 stores information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal device 300 . Here, the information for the position estimation may be a format in which the received signal strength information and the time information are mapped to the device ID. For example, the first RF communication device 100-1 of FIG. 1 may be stored as shown in Table 2 below.

Your ID ID of another device Received signal strength information Time information (hour: minute: second) The first RF communication device

The second RF communication device 10 12:00:00 The third RF communication device 20 12:00:00 The first mobile terminal device 10 12:00:00

Herein, the storage unit 120 may be implemented as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a ROM, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, Card, or the like, as well as a detachable type storage device such as a USB memory.

The second communication unit 140 can enable communication between the RF communication device 100 and the position estimation device 200. [ In particular, the second communication unit 140 may transmit the data as shown in Table 2 to the position estimation apparatus 200 at a specific point in time. Here, the second communication unit 140 may include a wired / wireless communication module for wirelessly or wiredly communicating through a local area network (LAN) and an Internet network, a USB interface module for communicating via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) A mobile communication module for accessing and communicating with a mobile communication network according to various mobile communication standards such as 3G (3rd Generation), 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and Long Term Evolution (LTE).

Meanwhile, the control unit 150 controls the overall operation of the RF communication device 100. More specifically, the control unit 150 may control all or a part of the power supply unit 110, the storage unit 120, the first communication unit 130, and the second communication unit 140.

In particular, when RF signals transmitted from other RF communication devices and mobile terminal devices 300 are received through the first communication unit 130, the controller 150 can calculate the intensity information of the received signals. The control unit 150 may control the storage unit 120 to map the received signal strength information and time information to the device ID and store the information. For example, the control unit 150 may store the data as shown in Table 2 above.

In addition, the controller 150 may control the second communication unit 140 to transmit the information stored in the storage unit 120 to the position estimation apparatus 200 at a specific point in time. Here, the specific time point may be the time point when data such as Table 2 is obtained by receiving an RF signal from designated ones of the plurality of devices included in the position estimation system 100. For example, when the first RF communication device 100-1 is designated to receive RF signals from the second and third RF communication devices 100-2 and 100-3 and the mobile terminal device 300, 2, the third RF communication apparatuses 100-2 and 100-3, and the mobile terminal apparatus 300, and the data as shown in Table 2 may be obtained.

Hereinafter, the operation of the first communication unit 130 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 4 will be described in more detail.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an RF signal output operation of the RF communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the first communication unit 130 of the RF communication device 100 may determine whether an RF signal output period has arrived (S101).

In the output period, the first communication unit 130 of the RF communication device 100 can output an RF signal of a preset intensity (S102). Here, the output RF signal may include ID and time information of the RF communication device as shown in Table 1. [

4 is a flowchart illustrating an RF signal receiving operation of the RF communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the first communication unit 130 of the RF communication device 100 may wait for reception of an RF signal (S201).

When the RF signal transmitted from the other RF communication apparatus and the mobile terminal apparatus 300 is received through the first communication unit 130, the storage unit 120 of the RF communication apparatus 100 transmits the RF signal to the mobile terminal apparatus 100 Information for position estimation may be stored (S202). Here, the information for position estimation may be formatted as shown in Table 2 in which intensity information and time information of a received signal are mapped to a device ID.

Then, the second communication unit 140 of the RF communication device 100 can determine whether a specific time has arrived (S203). Here, the specific time point may be the time point when data such as Table 2 is obtained by receiving an RF signal from designated ones of the plurality of devices included in the position estimation system 100.

The second communication unit 140 of the RF communication device 100 may transmit the information for the position estimation stored in the storage unit 120 to the position estimation apparatus 200 at step S204.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5, the position estimation apparatus 200 may include all or a part of the communication unit 210, the storage unit 220, and the control unit 230.

The communication unit 210 can perform communication between the position estimation apparatus 200 and the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3. In particular, the communication unit 210 can receive received signal strength information and time information from each of a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 installed in a specific space.

Here, the communication unit 210 includes a wired / wireless communication module for wirelessly or wiredly communicating with a local area network (LAN) and an Internet network, a USB interface module for communicating via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) (3 rd Generation), 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the like, which are connected to a mobile communication network and communicate with each other. Modules.

The storage unit 220 may store various data and programs necessary for the operation of the position estimation apparatus 200. [ In particular, the storage unit 220 stores location information (e.g., distance information between devices, relative location information between devices, etc.) of a plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, 100-3 installed in a specific space, And received signal strength information in an optimal communication environment.

When information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal 300 is received from each of the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1 through 100-3 through the communication unit 210, 230) can be categorized and stored as information on the mobile terminal device 300 and information on the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, ..., 100-3.

Here, the storage unit 220 may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory 100-1, a flash memory 100-3, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM ), A register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a memory card, or the like, as well as a detachable type storage device such as a USB memory.

The storage unit 220 may be implemented in the position estimating apparatus 200 or in the form of an external database connected to the position estimating apparatus 200.

The controller 230 can control the overall operation of the position estimating apparatus 200. [ Specifically, the control unit 230 can control all or a part of the communication unit 210 and the storage unit 220.

Particularly, when the controller 230 receives the information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal 300 from each of the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1 through 100-3 through the communication unit 210, It is possible to control the storage unit 220 to store the information related to the mobile terminal device 300 and information related to the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1 to 100-3.

In one example, if the location estimation system 1000 includes three RF communication devices 100-1, ..., 100-3, as shown in Figure 6, the location estimation device 200 may include a first RF communication device 100- 1), the second RF communication device 100-2, and the third RF communication device 100-3.

The information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal device 300 transmitted from the first RF communication device 100-1 to the position estimation device 200 is transmitted to the second RF communication device 100-2 through the RF signal transmission The first RF communication apparatus 100-1 receives the RF signal transmitted from the first RF communication apparatus 100-1 according to the RF signal transmission 31 of the third RF communication apparatus 100-3 and the RF signal transmission M1 of the mobile terminal apparatus 300 The intensity information of each of the signals, and the respective time information.

The information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 300 transmitted from the second RF communication apparatus 100-2 to the position estimating apparatus 200 is transmitted from the third RF communication apparatus 100-3 through the RF signal transmission The second RF communication device 100-2 receives the RF signal transmitted from the first RF communication device 100-2 according to the RF signal transmission 12 of the first RF communication device 100-2 and the RF signal transmission M2 of the mobile terminal device 300 The intensity information of each of the signals, and the respective time information.

The information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 300 transmitted from the third RF communication apparatus 100-3 to the position estimating apparatus 200 is transmitted to the first RF communication apparatus 100-1 through the RF signal transmission The third RF communication device 100-3 receives the RF signal transmitted from the second RF communication device 100-2 in accordance with the RF signal transmission 23 of the second RF communication device 100-2 and the RF signal transmission M3 of the mobile terminal device 300 The intensity information of each of the signals, and the respective time information.

The information for the position estimation can be implemented, for example, in the format shown in Table 2 above.

On the other hand, when the information for the position estimation is received, the control unit 230 transmits information about the mobile terminal device 300 and information about the plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, ..., Information can be stored in the storage unit 220 so as to be stored.

The controller 230 controls the storage unit 220 to store received signal strength information and time information for the mobile terminal apparatuses 300 to the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, Can be controlled. For example, it can be stored as shown in Table 3 below.

RF communication device ID Mobile terminal device
ID Received signal strength information Time information (hour: minute: second) The first RF communication device
The first mobile terminal device 10 12:00:00 The second mobile terminal device 20 12:00:20 The second RF communication device The first mobile terminal device 5 12:00:00 The second mobile terminal device 10 12:00:20 The third RF communication device
The first mobile terminal device 3 12:00:00 The second mobile terminal device 8 12:00:20

In addition, the control unit 230 sets a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication apparatuses among the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3, The reception signal strength information and the reception time information between the RF communication devices included in the storage unit 220. For example, if the position estimation system 1000 includes three RF communication devices 100-1, ..., 100-3 as shown in FIG. 6, it can be stored as shown in Table 4 below.

Pair Received signal strength information Time information (hour: minute: second)
(First RF communication device, second RF communication device)
1 - > 2: 10 (intensity of the RF signal received by the second RF communication device according to the RF signal output of the first RF communication device)
2 -> 1: 8 12:00:00
1 -> 2: 9
2 -> 1: 9 12:00:20
(First RF communication device, third RF communication device)
1 -> 3: 5
3 -> 1: 6 12:00:00 1 -> 3: 6
3 -> 1: 5 12:00:20 (Second RF communication device, third RF communication device)
2 -> 3: 10
3 -> 2: 20 12:00:00 2 -> 3: 8
3 -> 2: 22 12:00:20

On the other hand, the control unit 230 can determine the communication environment for the specific space based on the received signal strength information for the other RF communication apparatuses received from each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 have. Specifically, the controller 230 may compare the received signal strength information in the optimal communication environment with the received signal strength information at the specific time, such as Table 4, to determine the communication environment for the specific space. Accordingly, when the communication environment changes, such as an increase in the number of noise signals, an increase in the number of people in the vicinity, etc., the controller 230 can roughly determine the influence thereof.

Also, the controller 230 compares the received signal strength information for the different RF communication apparatuses with the received signal strength information for the mobile terminal apparatus with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3, It is possible to estimate the position of the mobile terminal device in the space. As an example, if the location estimation system 1000 includes three RF communication devices 100-1, ..., 100-3 as shown in FIG. 6, then the mobile based on the first RF communication device 100-1 The position estimation of the terminal device 300 is performed based on the RF signal transmission 21 of the second RF communication device 100-2 and the RF signal transmission 31 of the third RF communication device 100-3 May be performed by comparing the signal strength information with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission (M1) of the mobile terminal device (300). The position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the second RF communication device 100-2 can be performed using the RF signal transmission 32 of the third RF communication device 100-3 and the first RF communication device 100-3 100-1 by comparing the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 12 with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M2 of the mobile terminal 300. [ The position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the third RF communication device 100-3 can be performed by the RF signal transmission 13 of the first RF communication device 100-1 and the second RF communication device 100-3 100-2 by comparing the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 23 with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M3 of the mobile terminal 300. [

Hereinafter, a position estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. Referring to Figs. 6-9, the position estimation system 1000 may include a plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, ..., 100-3.

Referring to FIG. 7, the controller 230 sets a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication devices among a plurality of RF communication devices 100-1, 100-3, For each pair of RF communication devices included in the pair. Here, the edge may be in the form of a connection line connecting both devices.

That is, the edge includes a first edge 601, a second RF communication device 100-2, and a second edge, which are connection lines connecting the first RF communication device 100-1 and the second RF communication device 100-2. A second edge 602 which is a connection line connecting the third RF communication device 100-3 and a third edge which is a connection line connecting the third RF communication device 100-3 and the first RF communication device 100-1, (603).

The controller 230 compares the received signal strength information of the RF communication device with the received signal strength information of the mobile terminal device with respect to each of the plurality of pairs to estimate the position of the mobile terminal device calculated in each pair, The position estimation process can be performed. Here, the first position estimation process may be performed as follows.

7, the controller 230 determines whether the intensity of the signal 21 received from the first RF communication device 100-1 is greater than the intensity of the signal 21 received from the second RF communication device 100-2, 300 to estimate the position 601-1 on the first edge 601 by comparing the intensity information M1 of the received signal.

The controller 230 determines whether the intensity information of the signal 12 received from the first RF communication device 100-1 by the second RF communication device 100-2 and the intensity information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device 300 It is possible to estimate the position 601-2 on the first edge 601 by comparing the intensity information of the second edge M2.

In this case, the controller 230 may estimate the positions 601-1 and 601-2 on the first edge 601 based on the intensity difference of the comparison target signals. The intensity information of the signal 21 received from the first RF communication device 100-1 from the second RF communication device 100-2 is 20 and the intensity of the signal received from the mobile terminal device 300 is M2 The control unit 230 determines that the mobile terminal 300 is located closer to the second RF communication device 100-2 and determines that the position 601- 1) can be estimated.

8, the controller 230 estimates an area 601-3 where the mobile terminal 300 is highly likely to be located based on the estimated center positions of the two positions 601-1 and 601-2 . Here, the size of the area 601-3 is smaller as the distance between the positions 601-1 and 601-2 is closer, and may be larger as the distance is longer.

On the other hand, the controller 230 performs the above-described first position estimating process to obtain positions 602-1 and 602-2 on the second edge 602 and positions 603-1 and 603-2 on the third edge 603 ) Can be estimated.

Referring to FIG. 9, the controller 230 may perform a second position estimation process for estimating the position of the mobile terminal device by combining the regions 601-3, 602-3, and 603-3 calculated in the first position estimation process have. Specifically, the control unit 230 sets connection lines 604, 605, and 606 connecting the center point of the first area 601-3, the center point of the second area 602-3, and the center point of the third area 603-3 , And the position can be estimated on the connecting lines (604, 605, 606) by applying weights according to the sizes of the regions (601-3, 602-3, 603-3). For example, if the size of the first area 601-3 is smaller than the size of the second area 602-3, the mobile terminal device 300 may have a possibility of being located in the first area 601-3 It is possible to estimate the position 604-1 in the connecting line 604 so as to be closer to the first area 601-3 than the second area 602-3. Also, the control unit 230 can estimate the positions 605-1 and 606-1 in the above-described connecting lines 605 and 606. [ Then, the center point of the estimated positions 604-1, 605-1, and 606-1 can be estimated as the position of the mobile terminal device 300. [

Meanwhile, the first position estimating step and the second position estimating step described above may be performed using received signal strength information in the same time zone. That is, in order to estimate the precise position of the corresponding time zone, the controller 230 uses the received signal strength information in the same time zone among the information stored in the storage unit 220, Step can be performed.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the position of the mobile terminal device is estimated by comparing the received signal strength information with respect to the other RF communication device and the received signal strength information with respect to the mobile terminal device, The location of the mobile terminal device can be estimated by considering the influence of the environment change. Accordingly, it is possible to analyze the movement and density of customers who visited a mart, a department store, a shopping mall, and the like based on the estimated location of the mobile terminal device, and utilize it for marketing. In addition, the indoor navigation system can be constructed based on the estimated position of the mobile terminal device.

10 is a flowchart schematically showing a position estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10, the position estimating apparatus 200 receives information for estimating the position of the mobile terminal 100 from each of a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 provided in a specific space (S301). In one example, the information for the position estimation may be in the format shown in Fig. 2 described above in which the received signal strength information and the time information are mapped to the device ID.

The position estimating apparatus 200 compares received signal strength information for different RF communication apparatuses with received signal strength information for the mobile terminal apparatus with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses to estimate the position of the mobile terminal apparatus in a specific space (S302).

11 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a first position estimating step according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, the position estimation apparatus 100 can set a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication apparatuses out of a plurality of RF communication apparatuses 100-1, 100-3 S401).

Then, the position estimation apparatus 100 can set an edge connecting the RF communication devices included in the pair to each of the plurality of pairs (S402).

Then, the position estimation apparatus 100 compares the received signal strength information between the RF communication apparatuses included in each pair with the received signal strength information on the mobile terminal apparatus, and estimates the position of the mobile terminal apparatus 300 on the edge (S403). For example, the first RF communication device 100-1 may transmit the intensity information of the signal 21 received from the second RF communication device 100-2 and the intensity information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device 300 M1 to estimate the position 601-1 on the first edge 601 and the second RF communication device 100-2 estimates the position 601-1 on the first edge 601 by comparing the signal 12 received from the first RF communication device 100-1 And the intensity information of the signal M2 received from the mobile terminal device 300 so as to estimate the position 601-2 on the first edge 601. [

Then, based on the estimated center positions of the two positions 601-1 and 601-2, it is possible to estimate an area in which the mobile terminal device is likely to be located (S404).

12 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a second position estimating step according to an embodiment of the present invention. 12, the position estimation apparatus 100 estimates the center point of the first area 601-3, the center point of the second area 602-3, the third area 603-3, 3) are connected to each other (S501).

The position of the mobile terminal 300 can be estimated on the connection lines 604, 605, and 606 by applying weights according to the sizes of the regions 601-3, 602-3, and 603-3 (S502).

Then, the center point of the estimated positions 604-1, 605-1, and 606-1 can be estimated as the position of the mobile terminal device 300 (S503).

13 is a block diagram illustrating a position estimation system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 13, the position estimation system 2000 may further include a fourth RF communication device 100-4 in addition to the position estimation system 1000 of FIG.

In this case, the control unit 230 of the position estimating apparatus 200 receives the RF signal transmission 21 of the second RF communication apparatus 100-2, the RF signal transmission 31 of the third RF communication apparatus 100-3, Received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 41 of the fourth RF communication apparatus 100-4 and the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M1 of the mobile terminal 300 It is possible to perform position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the first RF communication device 100-1. The control unit 230 of the position estimating apparatus 200 further includes an RF signal transmitter 12 of the first RF communication apparatus 100-1, an RF signal transmitter 32 of the third RF communication apparatus 100-3, The received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 42 of the fourth RF communication apparatus 100-4 is compared with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M2 of the mobile terminal 300 Thereby performing position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the second RF communication device 100-2. The control unit 230 of the position estimating apparatus 200 further includes an RF signal transmitter 13 of the first RF communication apparatus 100-1, an RF signal transmitter 23 of the second RF communication apparatus 100-2, The received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 43 of the fourth RF communication apparatus 100-4 is compared with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M3 of the mobile terminal device 300 And perform position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the third RF communication device 100-3. The controller 230 of the position estimating apparatus 200 may also be configured to transmit the RF signal 14 of the first RF communication device 100-1, the RF signal 24 of the second RF communication device 100-2, The received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission 34 of the third RF communication apparatus 100-3 is compared with the received signal strength information calculated according to the RF signal transmission M4 of the mobile terminal 300 And perform position estimation of the mobile terminal device 300 based on the fourth RF communication device 100-4.

According to such a position estimation system 2000 of another embodiment of the present invention, the position of the mobile terminal device 300 can be more accurately estimated by further increasing the number of RF communication devices to which the signal strength is compared.

14 is a diagram illustrating a usage scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 14, the location estimation system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention analyzes the movement and density of customers visiting a mart, a department store, a shopping mall, etc. based on the estimated location of the mobile terminal 300, .

<1. Promoting franchisees to customers located outside the merchant store>

After detecting a customer located outside the merchant through position estimation, the merchant can be promoted to the mobile terminal of the customer.

<2. Providing merchant information to customers visiting merchants>

After detecting the customer visiting the merchant through the location estimation, the mobile terminal device of the customer can provide information necessary for using the merchant, such as map information of the merchant, merchandise location information of the merchant, coupon information, and the like.

<3. Provide product information for products>

When a customer visiting a merchant through a location estimation is located in a specific shelf, the mobile terminal device of the customer can provide product information such as the type of merchandise displayed on a specific shelf, a price, a discount coupon, inventory and the like.

Meanwhile, the position estimation method according to various embodiments of the present invention described above may be implemented as a program and provided to a server or devices. Accordingly, each device can access the server or the device in which the program is stored, and download the program.

In addition, the position estimation method according to various embodiments of the present invention described above may be implemented as a program and stored in various non-transitory computer readable media. A non-transitory readable medium is a medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, memory, etc., but semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the apparatus. In particular, the various applications or programs described above may be stored on non-volatile readable media such as CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray disk, USB, memory card, ROM,

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1000: Position estimation system 100: RF communication device
200: position estimation apparatus 300: mobile terminal apparatus

Claims (18)

A method for estimating a position of a position estimating apparatus,
Receiving received signal strength indicator and received signal strength information for a mobile terminal device from each of a plurality of RF communication devices installed in a specific space; And
And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in the specific space by comparing received signal strength information for different RF communication devices with received signal strength information for the mobile terminal device with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication devices Position estimation method. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising: determining a communication environment for the specific space based on received signal strength information for another RF communication device received from each of the plurality of RF communication devices. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of RF communication devices include at least three RF communication devices,
Wherein the receiving comprises:
From the first RF communication device, intensity information and time information of a signal received by the first RF communication device according to signal transmission of the second RF communication device, the third RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device,
From the second RF communication device, intensity information and time information of a signal received by the second RF communication device according to signal transmission of the third RF communication device, the first RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device,
And receives from the third RF communication device the strength information and the time information of the signal received by the third RF communication device according to the signal transmission of the first RF communication device, the second RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device Position estimation method. The method of claim 3,
Establishing a plurality of pairs implemented with two of the plurality of RF communication devices;
Setting an edge connected to the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs; And
And storing the received signal strength information and time information between the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs. 5. The method of claim 4,
Further comprising storing received signal strength information and time information for each of the plurality of RF communication devices with respect to the mobile terminal device. 6. The method of claim 5,
The step of estimating the position of the mobile terminal apparatus includes:
A first position estimation step of comparing the received signal strength information of the RF communication device with the received signal strength information of the mobile terminal device for each of the plurality of pairs and estimating a position of the mobile terminal device calculated in each pair; And
And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device by summing up the estimated positions. The method according to claim 6,
The first position estimating step comprises:
If the first pair consisting of the first RF communication device and the second RF communication device constitute the first edge,
Comparing the strength information of the signal received from the second RF communication device by the first RF communication device with the strength information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device and estimating the position on the first edge;
Comparing the strength information of the signal received from the first RF communication device by the second RF communication device with the strength information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device and estimating the position on the first edge; And
And estimating an area in which the mobile terminal device is likely to be located based on the estimated center point of the two positions. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the first position estimating step and the second position estimating step comprise:
And the received signal strength information of the same time zone. In the position estimating apparatus,
A communication unit for receiving received signal strength indicators and received signal strength information for a mobile terminal from each of a plurality of RF communication apparatuses installed in a specific space; And
And a control unit for controlling the RF communication apparatus to estimate the position of the mobile terminal apparatus in the specific space by comparing received signal strength information for different RF communication apparatuses and received signal strength information for the mobile terminal apparatus with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses / RTI &gt; 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein,
Wherein the communication environment determination unit determines the communication environment for the specific space based on the received signal strength information for the other RF communication apparatuses received from each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the plurality of RF communication devices include at least three RF communication devices,
Wherein,
From the first RF communication device, intensity information and time information of a signal received by the first RF communication device according to signal transmission of the second RF communication device, the third RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device,
From the second RF communication device, intensity information and time information of a signal received by the second RF communication device according to signal transmission of the third RF communication device, the first RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device,
And receives from the third RF communication device intensity information and time information of a signal received by the third RF communication device according to signal transmission of the first RF communication device, the second RF communication device, and the mobile terminal device. Estimating device. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein,
Setting a plurality of pairs implemented by two RF communication devices among the plurality of RF communication devices,
For each of the plurality of pairs, an edge connecting the RF communication devices included in the pair,
And controls the storage unit to store received signal strength information and time information between the RF communication devices included in the pair for each of the plurality of pairs. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein,
And controls the storage unit to store received signal strength information and time information for each of the plurality of RF communication apparatuses with respect to the mobile terminal apparatus. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein,
A first position estimation step of comparing the received signal strength information for the RF communication device with the received signal strength information of the mobile terminal device for each of the plurality of pairs and estimating the position of the mobile terminal device calculated in each pair ,
And a second position estimating step of estimating a position of the mobile terminal device by summing up the estimated positions. 15. The method of claim 14,
The first position estimating step comprises:
If the first pair consisting of the first RF communication device and the second RF communication device constitute the first edge,
The first RF communication device compares the strength information of the signal received from the second RF communication device with the strength information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device to estimate the position on the first edge,
The second RF communication device compares the intensity information of the signal received from the first RF communication device with the intensity information of the signal received from the mobile terminal device and estimates the position on the first edge,
And estimates an area in which the mobile terminal device is likely to be located based on a center point of the estimated both positions. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the first position estimating step and the second position estimating step comprise:
And the received signal strength information of the same time zone. In combination with the position estimation device,
Receiving received signal strength indicator and received signal strength information for a mobile terminal device from each of a plurality of RF communication devices installed in a specific space; And
And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in the specific space by comparing received signal strength information for another RF communication device with received signal strength information for the mobile terminal device with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication devices A computer program stored on a recording medium. A recording medium on which a computer program for executing a position estimation method of a position estimation apparatus is recorded,
In the position estimation method,
Receiving received signal strength indicator and received signal strength information for a mobile terminal device from each of a plurality of RF communication devices installed in a specific space; And
And estimating a position of the mobile terminal device in the specific space by comparing received signal strength information for different RF communication devices with received signal strength information for the mobile terminal device with respect to each of the plurality of RF communication devices Recording medium.

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