TWI801384B - System and method of antenna control for mobile device communication - Google Patents

Abstract

A communications system including: first and second communications devices, each communications device including an antenna, a location system that determines a location of at least one of the first and second communications devices, a control system that receives a location indication indicative of the location from the location system, determines a relative location of the first and second communications devices and selectively controls a transmitting antenna of at least one of the first and second communications devices in accordance with the relative position to thereby optimise communication between the first and second communications devices.

Description

System and method for antenna control for mobile device communication

The present application relates to a system and method for controlling an antenna to enable communication between first and second communication devices. In a specific embodiment, the system and method optimize communication using a mobile device.

Statements herein in relation to any published reference (or information derived therefrom) or any known content (or information derived therefrom) are not and should not be considered as an endorsement, acknowledgment or suggestion in any way of a published reference Documents (or information derived therefrom) or conventional knowledge are part of the common general knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

It is a conventional practice to provide a multiplayer game field for playing games, such as playing a laser tag game. In this game, each player wears equipment such as an infrared sensor that can be hit by mines fired by other players.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems developed in recent years can provide content to wearable display devices, such as head-mounted displays (HMD), which display information based on relative spatial position and/or orientation for the wearer to view. The system generates images based on information about the pose (position and orientation) of the display device, so when the display device moves, the image is updated to reflect the display device new pose.

To avoid dizziness for the wearer, the time lag between collecting pose information and generating the corresponding image must be minimized, especially when the display device is moving rapidly. In view of this, coupled with the need to generate high-quality realistic images, it is necessary to match the processing hardware that can operate efficiently. Therefore, the current high-end systems usually need to use a static desktop, and then connect the desktop to the display device through a high-speed bandwidth and low-latency connection. As a result, existing systems such as HTC Vive ^™ , Oculus Rift ^™ , and Playstation VR ^™ all have to establish a relatively unusual connection between the computer and the head-mounted display, which is quite inconvenient.

Although a wireless system has been developed, it is still unable to meet the transmission requirements in multiplayer game scenarios with existing hardware facilities.

Regarding the wireless transmission system, another requirement is to ensure that the signal strength and bandwidth are appropriate and the delay is minimized. In this case, when using beamforming technology in a phased antenna array, the array usually performs a sweep process. At this time, the beam will sweep the entire area where the receiver is located to define the strongest received signal. beam configuration. Generally speaking, the sweeping process will take some time, such as 20 milliseconds, which may result in reduced transmission bandwidth and increased delay, making the transmission situation unsatisfactory. In addition, when the beam steering program loses the connection to the corresponding antenna, the sweep range must be increased and the defocusing process must be performed in order to refind the antenna, resulting in continued delay, if the program is used in digital reality , usually also cause the omission of image signal and head tracking at the same time. In the end, the delay will continue to increase in order to reconnect the entire system.

Another related issue that can arise in a multiplayer arena is that when different headsets are used to communicate wirelessly, the signals can interfere with each other. At this time, the communication between the headset and the base station The mode is usually two-way, and both also have their own antennas, which can scan the signal to optimize the signal. Multiple headsets scanning can cause significant interference, resulting in lost data packets and corrupted signal quality.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides a communication system, which includes: a first communication device and a second communication device, each communication device includes an antenna; a positioning system, which determines the first communication device and the second communication device the location of at least one of the communication devices; and a control system that: receives a location indication representing its location from the positioning system; determines the relative location of the first communication device and the second communication device; and based on the relative location and selectively controlling a transmission antenna of at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device, thereby optimizing communication between the first and second communication devices.

In one embodiment, the location is a location in the environment.

In one embodiment, the positioning system is a position system that determines a pose relative to the environment, and wherein the control system: determines the relative pose of the first communication device and the second communication device; and based on the relative Gesture selectively controls a transmit antenna.

In one embodiment, the control system controls the antenna to achieve at least one of the following purposes: adjusting antenna direction; implementing beam steering techniques; and implementing beamforming techniques.

In one embodiment, at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device includes a plurality of antennas, and wherein the control system selects an antenna from the plurality of antennas according to the relative position.

In a specific embodiment, the control system: determines the first and second communication devices relative movement; and controlling a transmit antenna based on the relative movement.

In one embodiment, the control system tracks movement of at least one communication device based on a plurality of location indicators and controls the antenna based on the movement.

In one embodiment, the control system determines the relative positions of the first communication device and the second communication device at least in part using a relative movement and prediction algorithm.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines the signal strength; determines the location of the initial communication device according to the signal strength; and determines the location change of the mobile device according to one or more location indications.

In a specific embodiment, the positioning module includes a sensor, and determines the position of the communication device according to the signal from the sensor.

In one embodiment, the sensor includes a ranging sensor that determines the distance between the communication device and the environment.

In one embodiment, the location module uses a simultaneous location and mapping algorithm to determine the location of the communication device.

In a specific embodiment, the antenna is at least one of the following: a phased antenna array; and a mobile directional antenna.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines the relative positions of the first communication device and the second communication device within an environment; receives a map of the environment; and controls the antenna based at least in part on the relative positions and the map of the environment.

In one embodiment, the environment map is an occlusion map and a reflection map where at least one.

In one embodiment, the control system receives a shading map defining a plurality of shading locations; and transmission paths to avoid shading situations; and selectively controls the at least one antenna based on the relative positions and the shading map.

In one embodiment, the control system: detects shading of a communication device; controls the antenna to adjust transmission direction, thereby re-establishing communication with the communication device; determines the location of a communication device; and uses the location of the communication device and the transmission direction to update the occlusion map.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines a location of at least one other communication device; and controls the antenna according to the location of the at least one other communication device.

In a specific embodiment, the control system: determines a communication channel used by the at least one other communication device; and selectively controls the communication channel used by the antenna according to the communication channel of the other communication device.

In an embodiment, the first communication device is a static device, and wherein the control system uses the location of the second communication device and the known location of the first communication device to determine the relative position.

In an embodiment, the first communication device is a static device, and wherein the control system uses the location of the second communication device and the known location of the first communication device to determine the relative position.

In one embodiment, the known location is determined during initialization.

In a specific embodiment, the communication device includes: a mobile device, which includes: a a positioning module, which determines the location of a mobile device relative to an environment; a mobile device transceiver, which transmits and receives signals through the mobile device antenna; and a mobile device processor, which transmits signals representing the action through the mobile device transceiver a location indication of the device's location; and a base station, which includes: a base station transmission system that transmits and receives signals to establish communication with the mobile device, and the base station transmission system includes at least one antenna; and a control system, It: receives the location indication from the mobile device through the base station transmission system; determines the location of the mobile device; and selectively controls the at least one antenna according to the location of the mobile device, thereby making the base station and the mobile device communication optimization.

In a specific embodiment, the mobile device includes at least one of the following: a digital reality headset and a mobile communication device.

In a specific embodiment, the mobile device and the base station communicate through at least one of the following: a cellular network protocol; a short-range wireless communication protocol; and a 5G network.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides a communication method for a first communication device and a second communication device, each communication device includes an antenna, the method includes: using a positioning system to determine the first communication device and the second communication device The location of at least one of the two communication devices; and using a control system to receive a location indication from the positioning system indicating its location; determining the relative location of the first communication device and the second communication device; and based on the relative location A transmit antenna of at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device is selectively controlled, thereby optimizing communication between the first communication device and the second communication device.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides a communication system comprising: a mobile device, the mobile device comprising: a positioning module for determining a position of a mobile device relative to an environment; A mobile device transceiver, which transmits and receives signals; and a mobile device processor, which transmits a location indication indicating the location of the mobile device through the mobile device transceiver; and a base station, which includes: a base station transmission system , which transmits and receives signals to communicate with the mobile device, the base station transmission system includes at least one antenna; and a control system: receives the location indication from the mobile device through the base station transmission system; determines the the location of the mobile device; and selectively controlling the at least one antenna according to the location of the mobile device, thereby optimizing the communication between the base station and the mobile device.

In summary, an aspect of the present invention provides a method of providing communication between a mobile device and a base station, comprising: using a positioning module in the mobile device to determine a location of a mobile device relative to an environment; and in a In the mobile device processor, transmitting a location indication representing the location of the mobile device through a mobile device transceiver; and in a control system of the base station: receiving the position indication from the mobile device through the base station transmission system , the base station transmission system includes at least one antenna; determining the location of the mobile device; and selectively controlling the at least one antenna according to the location of the mobile device, thereby optimizing the communication between the base station and the mobile device .

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides an antenna control system for communicating a first communication device with a second communication device, each communication device including an antenna, the antenna control system being configured to: receive from a positioning system a position indication, the position indication indicating the position of at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device; determining the relative position of the first communication device and the second communication device; and according to the relative position, optionally At least one transmit antenna is controlled, thereby optimizing communication between the communication devices.

In a specific embodiment, the control system controls the antenna to achieve the following objectives: One less: adjust antenna direction; implement beam steering techniques; and implement beamforming techniques.

In an embodiment, at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device includes a plurality of antennas, and wherein the control system selects a respective one of the plurality of antennas according to the relative position.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines the relative movement of the first communication device and the second communication device; and controls a transmission antenna according to the relative movement.

In one embodiment, the control system controls a transmit antenna using, at least in part, relative movement and prediction algorithms.

In one embodiment, the control system tracks movement of at least one communication device based on a plurality of location indicators and controls the antenna based on the movement.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines a signal strength; determines a location of an initial communication device based on the signal strength; and determines a change in a location of a mobile device based on one or more location indicators.

In one embodiment, the location indication is determined using a simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm.

In a specific embodiment, the antenna is at least one of the following: a phased antenna array; and a mobile directional antenna.

In an embodiment, the control system: determines relative positions of the first communication device and the second communication device within an environment; receives a map of the environment; and controls the transmitting antenna based at least in part on the relative positions and the map of the environment.

In one embodiment, the environment map is at least one of an occlusion map and a reflection map.

In an embodiment, the control system: receives a shading map defining shading locations and transmission paths to avoid shading situations; and selectively controls the at least one antenna according to the relative position and the shading map.

In one embodiment, the control system: detects shading of a communication device; controls the antenna to adjust transmission direction, thereby re-establishing communication with the communication device; determines the location of a communication device; and uses the location of the communication device and the transmission direction to update the occlusion map.

In one embodiment, the control system: determines the location of at least one other communication device; and controls the transmission antenna according to the location of at least one of the other communication devices.

In a specific embodiment, the control system: determines the communication channel used by the at least one other communication device; and selectively controls the communication channel used by the antenna according to the communication channel of the at least one other communication device.

In an embodiment, the first communication device is a static device, and wherein the control system uses the location of the second communication device and the known location of the first communication device to determine the relative position.

In an embodiment, the first communication device is a static device, and wherein the control system uses the location of the second communication device and the known location of the first communication device to determine the relative position.

In one embodiment, the known location is determined during initialization.

In one embodiment, the communication devices include a mobile device and a base station, wherein the control system is configured to: receive a location indication from a mobile device, the location indication representing the location of the mobile device relative to the environment; determine The location of the mobile device; and selectively controlling at least one antenna based on the relative location of the mobile device, thereby optimizing communication between the base station and the mobile device.

In an embodiment, the antenna communicates using at least one of the following: a cellular network protocol; a short-range wireless communication protocol; and a 5G network.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides an antenna control method for communication between a first communication device and a second communication device, each communication device includes an antenna, and the antenna control method includes in a control system: A positioning system receives a position indication indicating the position of at least one of the first and second communication devices; determines the relative position of the first and second communication devices; and selectively controls at least one of the first and second communication devices according to the relative position. A transmission antenna, thereby optimizing communication between the communication devices.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides an antenna control system for mobile device communications configured to: receive a location indication from a mobile device, the location indication indicating the location of the mobile device relative to an environment; determine the location of the mobile device location; and selectively controlling the at least one antenna according to the location of the mobile device, thereby optimizing communication between the base station and the mobile device.

In summary, one aspect of the present invention provides an antenna control method for mobile device communication, which includes in an antenna control system: receiving a location indication from a mobile device, the location indication indicating the location of the mobile device relative to the environment; determining The location of the mobile device; and selectively controlling the at least one antenna according to the location of the mobile device, thereby optimizing communication between the base station and the mobile device.

It should be understood that the generalized forms of the present invention and their respective features can be used in combination, interchanged and/or independently, and the content described for each generalized form is not limiting.

100: system

101: Venue

110: Content System

120: Display system

120.1: Display devices/head-mounted devices

120.2: Associated Controllers

130: Positioning system

140: Transmission system

141: Transmission system antenna

150: Control system

210: Content Engine

221: Transceiver/Transceiver Module

222: Display system (device) antenna

231:Positioning processing system

232: Positioning module

233: Beacon

241: Transmission module

242: multiplexer

251: Controller

252: Controller

300-340: steps

322: decoder

342: Encoder

400-490: steps

511: Microprocessor

512: Memory

513: Input/Output Device

514: external interface

515: busbar

521: Receiver

522: decoder

523: memory

524: output unit

541: input interface

542: Encoder

543: memory

544: sender

644: electric motor

645: electric motor

651: Controller input unit

652: controller processor

653: Controller memory

654: Controller output unit

731: Positioning module transceiver

732: Positioning module processor

733:Locate module memory

734:Positioning module antenna

735: Microprocessor

736:Memory

737: Input/Output Device

738: external interface

739: busbar

800-870: Steps

921: Decoder input buffer

922: decoder processing device

923: decoder output buffer

924: Transceiver

925: data buffer

941: Encoder input buffer

942: Encoder processing device

943: Encoder output buffer

944: Transceiver

945: data buffer

1100: communication network

1110: Processing system

1120: mobile device

1121: Transceiver

1122: Antenna

1123: Processor

1124: Memory

1125: Input/Output Device

1126: busbar

1130: positioning system

1131: Location processing system

1132: Positioning module

1141: Transmission system antenna/base station antenna

1142: Transmission module

1150: Control system

1151: Controller

1152: Control module

1160: base station

1200-1260: steps

1320:Mobile device/communication device

1321: Transceiver

1322:antenna

1323: Processor

1324: Memory

1325: Input/Output Device

1326: busbar

1332: Positioning module

1352: Control module

A number of examples and specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: the first figure is a schematic diagram of a first example of a system, which is used to send multiple Users displaying content; Second Figure A is a schematic diagram of a second example of a system for displaying content to a plurality of users in a multiplayer gaming arena; Second Figure B is a schematic diagram showing a second An example of a beacon location in the system in Figure A; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a second example of a system for displaying content to multiple users in a multiplayer gaming arena; Figure 3 is a process An example flow chart for configuring the system in Figure 2 A; Figure 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the system operation in Figure 2 A; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the system in Figure 2 A An example of the transmission system used; the sixth figure is a schematic diagram showing an example of the control system of the second figure A device; the seventh figure A is a schematic diagram showing an example of the positioning system used by the second figure A system; FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing an example of a positioning system used by the system in FIG. 7; Figure 8 is a flowchart of an example of an encoding process; Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an encoding system; Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the masking situation of the display system; Figure 11 is a schematic diagram , which shows an example of a system used to communicate between a mobile device and a base station; FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the system operation in FIG. 11; FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a system for using An example of a system where multiple communication devices communicate.

An example of a system used in a multiplayer gaming arena to display content to a plurality of players is described below with reference to the first figure.

In this example, the system 100 is dedicated to use in a venue 101 that includes multiple users using the wearable display system 120 . Each wearable display system 120 is worn by a specific user, and generally includes a display device 120.1 for displaying content streams, and optionally includes one or more associated controllers 120.2 for user The viewer can interact with the displayed content. It should be understood that generally, associated components such as transceivers and display system antennas, sensors and processing components are also included, and integrated with the wearable system.

A content stream typically includes one or more images, and more often a sequence of images that are generated and/or displayed based on the relative position and/or orientation of a display, as is often the case in VR and AR applications. In one example, the wearable display system can thus be considered as an existing commercial display device, such as HTC Vive ^™ , Oculus Rift ^™ or Playstation VR ^™ head-mounted device, Microsoft HoloLens ^™ , etc., however it should be understood that these devices are not necessary, and any suitable configuration may be used.

The system further includes a content system 110 that generates a plurality of content streams, each content stream being associated with a corresponding display system. The content system may take any suitable form, and in one example includes one or more processing systems, such as computer systems, for generating the content.

The device further includes a positioning system 130 which can detect the position of each display system 120 in the venue 101 . The positioning system can be in any suitable form, and can be a part of the VR/AR system or an independent positioning system. An example of the positioning system will be given and described below.

The system includes a transmission system 140 that includes a plurality of transmission system antennas 141 that transmit content to and/or receive data from the wearable display system. The transmission system typically includes the processing electronics required to generate the signal to be transmitted, and may include commercially available wireless transceivers, and any additional necessary components, such as encoders, to encode the signal prior to transmission. The antennas can be of any suitable form and typically include directional antennas that provide sufficient transmission bandwidth and low latency to stream content to the wearable display system 120 .

In order to optimize the transmission between the transmission system antenna 141 and the display system 120, the system further includes a control system 150, which determines the position of each display system in the field according to the positioning system 130, and according to the position of each display system The transmission system antenna 141 is selectively controlled, thereby transmitting each content stream to a corresponding display system.

The way in which the control program is executed depends on the implementation of the transmission system antenna 141 and in particular on the way it is configured. For example, transmission system antenna 141 may comprise a mobile antenna that controls The procedure involves changing the spatial orientation of the antenna 141 . Alternatively, the transmission system antennas 141 may be static and placed at different locations in the venue, and the control program includes transmitting content streams through different transmission system antennas 141 according to the location of the wearable display system 120 .

Thus, it should be understood that the system described above enables content to be transmitted to multiple wearable display systems within venue 101, specifically by controlling one or more transmission system antennas 141, thereby allowing content to be transmitted through One or more directional antennas are delivered to the display system wherever the display system is located. The purpose of executing this procedure is to maximize the transmission strength of the effective signal, maximize the available bandwidth and keep the delay at the minimum level, while reducing the interference between different display systems. For example, implementing this procedure eliminates the need for signal sweeps, given that signal sweeps on the one hand may cause longer delays, and on the other hand may cause interference when content is transmitted to or from other display systems. required to maximize signal strength. With this configuration, a large-scale multi-person wireless VR or AR system can be implemented, otherwise this requirement cannot be achieved in general.

It should be understood that the display system 120 typically includes a display system antenna (not shown), which can be used to transmit data back to the transmission system. The transmitted data may include position and/or relative position and orientation data that may be required to generate the content, as well as other data, such as information captured by an on-board camera system, the user via Control the input commands provided by the input unit, etc. In this example, an analogous process can be implemented where the control system operates to control the display system antennas so that signals can be sent back to the transmission system, where they are then received and processed. Likewise, the process includes controlling the directional display system antenna so that the transmission direction can point to the transmission system antenna 141 or other receiving antennas, thereby reducing interference between signals transmitted to or from other display systems, and remove By eliminating or reducing the need to perform signal sweeps, this procedure helps maintain signal strength and bandwidth while reducing latency.

Further other features are described below.

In an example, the control system 150 controls the spatial direction of each of the plurality of transmission system antennas 141 according to the position of a corresponding display system 120 . This step can be accomplished by any suitable means, but is typically accomplished by having each antenna 141 include an actuator capable of moving the antenna, which is activated by the control system 150 to adjust the spatial orientation of the antenna 141 so that the antenna 141 The spatial direction tracking corresponds to the position of the display system 120 . In this way, the movement method that can be adopted depends on the preferred implementation, but usually includes at least a translation action, so as to facilitate tracking when the user moves in the field; The position of the latter can form an optimal angle, such as the angle between the installation height of the antenna and the user, and the horizontal distance between the antenna 141 and the user.

In addition to the transmission system antenna 141 with adjustable spatial direction, the system 100 may also include a plurality of transmission system antennas 141 scattered throughout the site, and the control system 150 will control the transmission to a specific display system 120 according to the position of each display system 120 120 transmits the transmission system antenna 141 of the content stream. In an example, the above steps are configured by configuring the transmission system antenna 141 to provide antenna coverage covering the entire venue 101 , and selecting the transmission system antenna 141 to be used according to the location of the user. In this example, it should be understood that multiple transmission system antennas 141 are required to provide antenna coverage covering various areas, so as to deal with the situation that multiple users are in the same area at the same time.

Another possible situation is that the transmission system antenna 141 can be further changed to include a phased antenna array, and the control system uses beam steering technology and/or beam forming technology to control the antenna array. In this example, the antenna would typically use a phased array containing elements on each antenna to control the shape and direction of the transmitted signal. This control process can be performed between different elements on a single antenna, or multiple elements on an antenna can be treated as a single configurable array by phase adjustment or switching between different elements and antennas. In a so-called beamforming procedure, these elements can be appropriately controlled to generate interference waveforms. As for the so-called beam steering, it refers to the process of dynamically adjusting the beam shape by changing the signal phase in real time, but without changing the antenna elements or other hardware. Phased array beamforming creates beams that are electronically steered toward the target receiving antenna without actually moving the antenna. It should be understood that this provides another mechanism for directing signals to the wearable display device.

It should be understood that a similar program can be used to display system antennas. For example, the display system may include multiple antennas, and each display system antenna is selected according to requirements, depending on the relative positions of the display system and the base station. The display system additionally and/or can be modified to include a phased array antenna steered via beam steering and/or beam forming techniques to control the direction and/or shape of the beam.

Control system 150 typically includes separate controllers for controlling each transmission system antenna 141 . In this example, each transmission system antenna 141 respectively transmits a content stream from a given content source (such as from a respective content engine), and the controller determines the position of the corresponding display system 120 for the respective content stream, and The transmission system antenna 141 is controlled accordingly. Providing a separate controller for each transmission system antenna 141 simplifies the control process by only obtaining the position of the respective display system 120 from the positioning system 130 and providing the position to the controller.

Likewise, a separate control system can be provided for each wearable display system, the control system The display system can be integrated with the display system or located remotely, depending on the preferred implementation. However, it should be understood that this is not necessary, and a single central controller can be used to simultaneously perform antenna integration at the base station and display system side for multiple different display systems.

Generally, the control system 110 includes a plurality of content engines, and each content engine generates a content stream for a corresponding display system. The content engine may be a logically separate entity, such as a separate software application program executed by a processing system such as a server, or may represent a physically independent hardware system, such as a separate software application that generates content streams for a specific display system. computer system. It should be understood that using a dedicated content engine helps minimize delays when the corresponding display system generates content streams.

In one example, the content system 110 determines the position and/or orientation of a display system 120, specifically, the position and/or orientation of the display device 120.1 according to the positioning system 130 or an independent position system. The content system 110 then generates a content stream based on the position and/or orientation of the display device 120.1. Therefore, it should be understood that the content is generated based on the specific perspective of the user of the display system. This process can be accomplished by using the positioning system 130 to track the display system 120 and control the transmission system antenna 141 . However, this procedure can also be done through a different system.

For example, an augmented or virtual reality system may include a respective position system to determine the position and/or orientation of a display, or this position system may be used as a positioning system 130 to identify the position of the display system within venue 101 . For example, the display system can include one or more internal sensors that can utilize features such as simultaneous localization and mapping ( SLAM) algorithm determines the position and orientation of the display system relative to the environment. Alternatively, the system can also use external sensors in the outside-in tracking process, such as tracking track station. Using existing tracking systems to determine the location of the display system can reduce the need for a separate positioning system, however it should be understood that this approach may not provide sufficient information to accurately determine the location or is not inherently easy to implement and it may be necessary to use a Independent positioning system 130.

In one example, the location system 130 includes a plurality of beacons located within the venue 101, and a location processing device based on the position of a display system 120 relative to at least two of the beacons, and the known location of the beacons within the venue. Knowing the location, determine the location of the display system. Thus in this example, the beacons are located at known locations within the venue such that the position of the display system 120 relative to the beacons can be used to confirm the location of the display system 120 within the venue.

It should be appreciated that this process can be accomplished in a number of ways. For example, the beacon can be used to sense the location of the display system 120 through suitable sensing techniques. More commonly, however, each display system 120 includes a positioning module that detects signals from at least two of the beacons, calculates the relative position of the display system to at least two of the beacons position, and then transmit the position data to the positioning processing device through the wireless communication system, where the position data represents the relative position. Thus, in this example, each display system determines its respective position relative to the beacons, and transmits this information to the location processing device so that the location processing device can determine the location of the display system 120 within the arena 101 .

In view of this, it should be understood that the process may include using the location processing device to perform calculations, or may simply include receiving a location indication representing the location from the location data, and the location is only calculated by the display system 120 . Thus, the position can be determined internally in the display system and can be transmitted to the control system, or position information indicative of a position, such as beacon signal strength, can be provided to the control system so that it can determine the position.

In this example, the nature of the signals transmitted by the beacons will depend on the preferred implementation, but typically the signals are electromagnetic signals (such as radio frequency signals) that are detected by a detector (such as a location module antenna) detected. A positioning module processor then uses the detected electromagnetic signal to calculate the position of the display system relative to the beacon, eg, based on properties of the signal (eg, signal strength, time of flight, etc.).

In addition, although the beacons can be independent entities, it should be understood that in another example, the beacons can form part of the transmission system, such as can be integrated with the transmission system antenna 141, and the reference herein to independent The description of beacons is not necessarily limiting.

In one example, the positioning module includes a sensor (such as a ranging sensor), so that the display system can determine the position according to the signal from the sensor, such as using a SLAM algorithm. This process can include the use of a laser rangefinder (LIDAR), or can be accomplished through one or more image capture devices using stereoscopic images or multiple gestures captured by different mobile devices. The captured image is then used to determine the position of the mobile device relative to the environment. Thus, for example, one or more cameras placed in front of the display system can compare objects common to two or more frames to calculate and generate a camera position in three-dimensional space corresponding to the position of the camera placed in front of the display system. This shows the camera on the front of the system. Specifically, the SLAM process usually includes determining the separation of the display system and the environment, and presenting it in the form of a point cloud. During the initial configuration procedure a 3D model of the site is generated which includes the locations of the antennas. The position of the display system in the point cloud can be compared with the 3D model to determine the position of the display system relative to the antennas. This process can be used to control the antenna position as required. Likewise, the determination process can be performed on the built-in display system, or the distance measurement information can be transmitted from the display system to the remote site Decide on the location.

It should be understood that a built-in inertial measurement unit (IMU) provides head tracking in three degrees of freedom, such devices typically provide limited translational tracking, so inside-out can be performed using SLAM or other programs that provide translational tracking Tracking to provide the absolute position of a head in 3D space, specifically to provide position information of six degrees of freedom, including translation and rotation information. This technology allows users to move around in the environment, generally known as large space positioning virtual reality, augmented reality or mixed reality (World Scale VR/AR/MR).

It should be understood that when gesture information is available, this information can be further used to enhance the antenna control process. Specifically, in this example, the control system can determine the relative posture of the wearable display system and the transmission system antenna, and selectively control a transmission antenna, such as a transmission system antenna 141 or a display system antenna, according to the relative posture.

Regardless of the outcome of the determination of the location of the display system, it should be understood that implementing antenna positioning and/or beam steering or beamforming techniques based on the determined physical location of the display system can eliminate the need for sweeping in order to pass through the received signal Intensity feedback determines position. In this way, the calculation speed of the control system can be accelerated, and the antenna can be positioned/controlled faster, so as to reduce delay and signal loss. This implementation is even more valuable when an array of many antennas is placed around the room in various configurations, as it can provide information about the user's next location, which antenna should be selected for transmission, and based on This builds a predictive model.

The predictive process can be performed based on information about what is displayed on the display system, such as predicting movement based on expected responses to the displayed content, and/or based on models of human movement, such as incorporating movement Bit entity constraints are considered for performing predictions. In addition, location information can be used to track the movement of the display system over time, and this information can be further used to train prediction algorithms to determine the likely location of the display system at the next moment. This process helps ensure that beam steering/antenna positioning techniques are implemented so that the tracking system remains within the field of view of the antenna beam, thereby reducing latency and maintaining bandwidth. Specifically, the process enables the system to determine the movement of a wearable display system and control a transmit antenna based on the determined movement or optionally using predictive algorithms. In this example, the system typically tracks the movement of a wearable display system based on the plurality of location indicators, and controls the antenna according to the movement situation.

Alternatively, an IMU with a high update rate can be placed on the antenna or effectively utilized with a head-mounted display to provide more vector correction information that can assist inside-out tracking techniques , and shorten the time delay between tracking camera frame rates.

When the display system is blocked and cannot be detected by the antenna, the position data can also be used to deal with this situation. For example, when a user U bends down, the body will be between the transmission system antenna 141 and the display system 120, such as Shown in the tenth figure.

Existing systems steer the antenna to search for the display system 120 by sweeping in the direction of transmission until the display system receives a signal, usually reflected off a wall or ceiling. There is usually a delay in recognizing the occlusion situation, and more delay in performing the sweeping step and re-establishing communication.

In order to avoid the above situation, in an example, the control system receives a shading map, which defines the shading positions and transmission paths in the field, so as to avoid the shading situation. In this example, if the control system detects that the display system may be in a shaded position, it can The location and the masking map selectively control the antennas, thereby ensuring that communication continues uninterrupted. This process can be performed in a number of ways, and can include controlling the directivity of the antenna so that, for example, the signal for the transmission is reflected off a surface such as a ceiling or wall, or it can include transmitting to another antenna and the antenna The line of sight to the display system is good and unobstructed.

To complete the above process, an occlusion map needs to be generated, which is usually generated by detecting the occlusion of the display system; controlling one or more antennas to adjust the transmission direction, thereby re-establishing communication with the display system; determining the location of the display system; according to the display The system's position and direction of transmission update the shadow map.

This process can be performed in real-time, the system can learn when occlusion position data is used, and when the sweeping step is performed, the system also learns the reflection path or other alternative transmission paths in the room. Although this process will cause delays, it should be understood that this phenomenon will only occur once and will not continue to occur in the future.

Alternatively and/or another possibility, the occlusion map can be learned by the system beforehand in a routine calibration or initialization procedure. In this example, a user can move the display system to "a defined point" within the "field" upon being prompted. For example, the display system can display a position point for the user to watch, and the user can move to the position to determine whether the occlusion phenomenon occurs. This process may also include requiring the user to perform a specific action, such as bending over or the like. In this way, it should be understood that the specific actions can be identified through the position of the display system. For example, when the user bends down, the position of the display system will be closer to the ground than in general. Once shadowing occurs, sweeping procedures or other reconfiguration of the antennas can be performed until communication is re-established. At this time, the transmission path used will be stored as part of the masking map for later retrieval.

A similar process can also be performed for reflected signals, using a reflection map to identify The timing of the reflected signal. This process can be used to avoid reflections, such as preventing reflected signals from interfering with or missing signal quality, but it can also be used as a mechanism to avoid shadowing, such as allowing the use of reflected signals to maintain transmission when the signal will be masked.

It should be understood that such display systems can be placed at specific locations within the venue to implement a similar calibration procedure and/or the calibration procedure is to scan the venue to identify objects that have the potential to reflect signals, such as floors, ceilings or other items.

It will be appreciated that effective use of reflected signals may allow antennas to be placed in locations that may not be appropriate. For example, the antenna can be integrated into a base station for use in a home environment, and the aforementioned occlusion and/or reflection mapping procedures can be paired with less suitable locations (e.g., a low spot, on top of a coffee table, on top of a TV, etc.) The base station can effectively use the reflected signal.

According to the descriptions in previous documents, the purpose of using reflected signals is to transmit content to a display system, but it should be understood that this process can also be used in other situations where signals are transmitted to a mobile device.

Therefore, performing shadow mapping procedures can speed up the antenna control process, including control processes such as directionality, beamforming or beam steering, and can predict impending shadowing conditions so that appropriate adjustments can be made based on stored environmental data.

The antenna control process can also be used to minimize interference with other display devices. For example, when transmitting a signal, the control system can determine the position of at least one other wearable display system, and control the antenna according to the position of the at least one other wearable display system, for example, to avoid being caused by the transmitted signal. influence, interference is transmitted to or from the other wearable display device set the transmitted signal. In this procedure, the control system can determine the communication channel used by the at least one other wearable display system, and selectively control the communication channel used by the antenna according to the communication channel used by the at least one other wearable display system . If two display systems using the same channel appear in the same area of the venue at the same time, this step can be performed to change the communication channel to avoid mutual interference of signals sent to/from each display system.

The location data may be sent to the location processing device by any suitable means. In one example, this step is performed using a mesh network established by wireless communication system positioning modules of multiple wearable display systems 120 , specifically, by each wearable display system 120 Individual positioning module creation. This mesh network can transmit data from the display system 120 to the positioning processing device through low-power communication technology, so as to reduce power consumption and avoid interference. The interference is caused by multiple positioning modules trying to communicate directly channel, and use the positioning processing device to update its own position information. However, since this process may cause additional latency, in other examples it may be preferable to use direct peer-to-peer communication.

It should be understood that when a central positioning processing device receives location information from multiple systems 120, the positioning processing device will determine the identity and location of the display system 120, and provide a representation of each A location indication of the location of the display system 120 is provided to the control system 150. Specifically, this process can be accomplished by directly sending a location indication to the specific controller associated with the respective display system 120 determined by the identity, or simply by providing a location information to the control system 150 To accomplish this, the location information represents the location and identity of the display system and is optionally assigned to respective controllers. In either case, it should be understood that the display system 120 should be compatible with a particular controller and transmission system antenna 141 to ensure that the content stream is delivered to the correct display system 120. It should be further understood that this setup method can be configured during an initial setup phase, or can be dynamically configured each time a display system 120 is used.

In one example, the system further includes a plurality of encoders, each encoder compressing a respective content stream, thereby generating a content stream that is compressed and transmitted to the display system 120 . Compressing this data reduces the size of the data that needs to be transmitted so that the data can be easily transmitted over the available wireless bandwidth using current 802.11ac or 802.11ad technology. In this example, each display system 120 typically includes a decoder to decompress the compressed content stream.

An example of a suitable compression scheme that can be used is described in US Patent Provisional Application No. 62/351,738 and Australian Patent Provisional Application No. 2016905048, both pending International Publication No. WO2017/214671, The contents of which are all incorporated herein by cross-reference.

Each display system 120 also typically includes a receiver for receiving the content stream, and a display processing device for displaying the content stream on a display.

In a specific example, the system 100 corresponds to each display system 120, including a content engine for generating the content stream; an encoder for encoding the content stream to generate a compressed content stream; a transmission system antenna 141; The system antenna 141 and controller transmit the compressed content stream. The controller determines the position of the display system 120 according to the information provided by a positioning system, and controls the direction of the transmission system antenna 141 according to the position of the display system 120 . Therefore, it should be understood that, in this embodiment, each display system 120 is equipped with content engines, encoders, antennas, transmitters, controllers, etc., which are dedicated to providing the content to the display device 120.1 hardware, so as to ensure that when the content is transmitted The delay situation is minimized, which is in VR and Very important for AR applications.

Another advantage of the above configuration is that it can be combined with existing VR or AR head-mounted devices and implemented in a refurbished form.

In summary, therefore, the display system 120 includes a display device 120.1 and a processing device that enables the content stream to be displayed on the display 120.1. The display system is matched with an associated content system 110, and the whole can correspond to a traditional VR or AR system. In addition, the system includes a receiver module that receives the content stream through wireless transmission from a transmission system that includes a plurality of antennas that transmit the content to a plurality of wearable display systems, and a positioning module, It detects signals from at least two of a plurality of beacons, calculates the position of the display system relative to the at least two beacons, and transmits position data representing the position to a positioning processing device through a wireless communication system, thereby enabling The location processing device determines the location of the display system.

In this example, it should be understood that the receiver module can be attached to a display system output part, so as to receive the content provided to the display system and displayed on the head-mounted device through wireless transmission. In addition, the positioning module operates independently of the display system and interacts with a remote positioning processing device so that the position of the display system in the venue can be determined. It should thus be understood that this process makes it easier for the system to integrate with an existing VR or AR head-mounted system without requiring adjustments to the VR/AR head-mounted system or control electronics.

Therefore, the positioning system 130, the transmission system 140, and the control system 150 can be implemented as an add-on system and can work with existing VR or AR headsets. In addition, although this article mentions related content such as independent positioning, transmission and control systems, it should be understood that this content is for reference only In practice, a single underlying hardware system can be used to implement the above system.

It should be understood that the above technology can be applied in a wider range of communication, for example, it can be used to optimize the communication between a mobile device and a base station and/or between two communication devices. In one example, this technique can be implemented so that the base station, mobile device or communication device communicates using beam steering and/or beamforming techniques without sweeping steps to maintain signal strength as the mobile device moves, such that As a result, transmission can be optimized and latency reduced at the same time.

In one example, the process includes using a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a wearable display device, etc., and the mobile device includes a positioning module that determines the position of the mobile device relative to the environment. The mobile device further includes a mobile device transceiver, which has an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving signals; and a mobile device processor capable of transmitting location information, and the location information is transmitted through the mobile device transceiver to represent a mobile device. location indication. The base station includes a base station transmission system capable of transmitting and receiving signals to communicate with the mobile device, and the base station transmission system includes at least one base station antenna. It also includes a control system, which receives the position indication from the mobile device through the base station transmission system, and uses the position indication to determine the position of the mobile device. The location of the mobile device can be used to selectively control the base station or the mobile device antenna to optimize communication between the base station and the mobile device.

Therefore, it should be understood that in the above configuration, an antenna control system in the base station uses location information of a mobile device, which is determined by a positioning module in the mobile device, in order to track the location of the mobile device, and controlling the base station transmission system or one or more antennas of the mobile device.

This system can be used for directional and/or shaped transmissions; specifically, it is possible to implement beam Steering and/or beamforming techniques without performing signal sweeping steps or measuring received signal strength, all of which may result in increased transmission delay and thus increased interference with other devices.

For digital reality applications, such as mixed reality, virtual reality and/or augmented reality, there is a particular need to eliminate the need for the sweeping step, since latency may affect the user experience. In a specific example, this process helps to reduce transmission delays, enabling digital reality content to be generated in a distributed computing environment (such as a cloud environment) and simultaneously enabling the content to be transmitted through a mobile communication network, such as a 5G network to a wearable device, such as a dedicated wearable display system and/or a smartphone, without significant transmission delay.

Likewise, this procedure can be applied to other communication systems, which include first and second communication devices, each of which includes an antenna. In this example, a positioning system may be included that determines the location of at least one of the first and second communication devices, and a control system is configured to receive a location indication representing the location from the positioning system, determine the first The relative position of the first and the second communication device, and selectively control the transmission antenna of at least one of the first and the second communication device according to the relative position, thereby making the communication between the first and the second communication device the most optimization.

In this example, the positioning system and/or control system can be set on both or one of the communication devices. For example, each communication device can be provided with a positioning and control system independently, so that each communication device determines its own position and controls its own antenna. For example, the positioning system can determine the position of the communication device relative to the environment and exchange position information with other devices so that the relative position can be determined. Alternatively, the positioning and/or control system may be installed on one of the devices (such as a base station), or the positioning and/or control system may be distributed among the devices. Regardless of where these programs are executed, the methods used are quite similar, similar in that an independent positioning system is used to determine the relative position, making it unnecessary to rely on signal sweeping steps to ensure optimal communication, thereby maintaining communication quality and reducing latency.

Further other features are described below.

In one example, the control system controls the direction of the antenna by, for example, physically moving the antenna to track the mobile device and/or communication device; or, the control system performs beam steering and/or beamforming techniques , to control signal transmission. It should be understood, however, that such a procedure is not necessary, and that any suitable control may be implemented for the transport system, depending on the preferred implementation. For example, one of the first and second communication devices (including base station and/or mobile device) may include a plurality of antennas, and the control system selects one antenna from the plurality of antennas according to the relative position.

Although the system can determine the real-time location of the mobile device, this process is not necessary, and in one example, the control system tracks the movement of the communication device or mobile device based on the plurality of location indicators, and controls the antenna according to the movement. This step can be used for prediction, such as predicting the location of the communication or mobile device in the future based on historical movement patterns, so that the control can be carried out synchronously when the communication or mobile device moves. Thus, for example, the control system can determine the relative movement of the first and second communication devices and control the transmission antenna according to the relative movement, or optionally according to a predictive algorithm. Prediction can be based on information about the content displayed on the display system, such as predicting movement based on expected responses to the displayed content, and/or based on a model of human movement, such as taking into account physical limitations of movement.

It can also be understood that when the absolute location of the communication device or the mobile device is unknown, the mobile tracking technology can also be applied. Specifically, standard sweeping techniques can be used in this situation to optimize signal transmission for a given mobile device's location timing and based on the mobile device's movement from the respective location. shape to control the antenna. In this example, the control system typically determines a signal strength, determines an initial location of the mobile device based on the signal strength, and determines a change in location of the mobile device based on one or more location indicators. Thus, the control system can use conventional sweeping procedures to maximize signal strength for an initial starting position of the mobile device, and use information about movement of the mobile device from the initial starting position to make adjustments to the antenna, such as implementing Beam steering and/or beamforming techniques. This step helps reduce the frequency required to perform the sweeping step, and can also be used to determine the implementation of beam steering/beamforming techniques, such as minimizing the area covered by the sweeping step to determine maximum signal strength.

In this example, it should be understood that the correction steps may be performed periodically to ensure optimal signal strength from the tracking procedure. It will also be appreciated that information related to the received signal strength, specifically strength values below a threshold, can be used to initiate further sweeps, so that motion tracking can be effectively corrected if it does not work as expected.

In one example, the positioning module includes a sensor, and determines the position of the communication or mobile device according to a signal transmitted from the sensor. Depending on the preferred implementation, the sensor may take any suitable form. For example, the sensor may include a ranging sensor to determine the distance between the communication or mobile device and the environment, eg, using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms. It should be appreciated that this step can be accomplished in a number of ways, depending on the preferred implementation. For example, the sensor can be a laser range finder (LIDAR), which measures the distance between the communication or mobile device and one or more objects in the environment. In addition, the sensor may also include one or more image capture devices, as described above, which use stereoscopic images or multiple images captured by different poses of the mobile device to determine the position of the mobile device relative to the environment .

The communication or mobile device includes a digital reality head-mounted device, for example forming part of the above-mentioned multiplayer VR game field. However, this method is not necessary and generally speaking, any mobile communication device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc. can apply this method, that is, it does not necessarily constitute a part of a digital reality display system.

As for the above procedures, the aforementioned procedures related to the multiplayer field application can also be utilized. For example, the program allows the creation of occlusion or reflection maps. In this example, the control system can determine the relative positions of the first and second communication devices within the venue; receive a map of the environment, such as an occlusion map or a reflection map; and control the transmitting antenna based at least in part on the relative positions and the map of the environment, such as By controlling the antenna to select a transmission path that can avoid shadowing. Likewise, the control system can detect the shadowing situation of the communication device; control the antenna to adjust the transmission direction, thereby re-establishing communication with the communication device; determine the position of the communication device; and update the shadowing according to the position of the communication device and the transmission direction map.

The system can also be controlled to avoid interference with other communication devices, eg by determining the location of at least one other communication device, and controlling the transmission antenna based on the location of the at least one other communication device. This process may include selecting a communication channel to further reduce interference.

When the first communication device is a static device (such as a base station), the control system can use the position of the second communication device and the known position of the first communication device to determine the relative position. The known position can be Determined during the initialization procedure.

Therefore, it should be understood that the mobile device can communicate with the base station through various communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular network communication protocol, short-distance wireless communication protocol, 5G network and so on. Likewise, the antenna may be a phased antenna array and/or a mobile fixed antenna, depending on the preferred implementation. to the antenna.

Regarding the system capable of providing multiplayer VR or AR game experience in a venue, a specific example of the system will be described below with reference to the second figure A and the second figure B. However, it should be understood that similar configurations can be used to establish communication with other communication devices (such as mobile devices) in more general situations.

For this example, three display systems 120 are described herein, but it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only, and in practice the system can be augmented with any number of display systems 120 that can be used in one The site 101 is given for actual operation.

In this example, content system 110 includes a plurality of content engines 210 . The nature of each content engine 210 varies depending on the preferred implementation, but typically includes a combination of hardware and/or software systems whose function is to generate AR or VR content as desired from signals received from display system 120, and includes any Associated hardware, such as associated base stations.

The system further includes a transmission system 140 including a dedicated transmission module 241 for each transmission system antenna 141 . Before using the transmission system antenna 141 for transmission, the transmission module 241 can be used to perform an appropriate encoding process on the content stream. Transmission module 241 may include a combination of hardware and/or software components and, in one example, a dedicated encoder, an example of which will be described below. The transmission system antenna 141 is usually a directional antenna. If an antenna of an 802.11ac or 802.11ad wireless transmission system is applicable, the direction of the wireless transmission system can be adjusted. Such antennas may include mobile antennas that use steerable directions, and/or antennas that include beam steering/beamforming techniques. It should therefore be understood that references herein in relation to antennas should be understood to cover spatial directions and/or effective directions, which are controlled via beamforming techniques or other suitable procedures.

The transmission system antennas 141 are controlled by a control system 150, which includes a dedicated controller 251 for each transmission system antenna 141, usually with a hardware and/or software interface, for controlling the direction of the antenna.

Each transmission system antenna 141 is used to stream the compressed content to a respective wearable display system 120, which typically includes a transceiver module 221 coupled to one or more display system antennas 222 , so that the compressed content stream can be received and decoded before being provided to the display device 120.1 for normal display.

The positioning system 130 for determining the position of each wearable display system usually includes a positioning processing system 231, which communicates wirelessly with a plurality of positioning modules 232, and includes a separate positioning module for each display system 120 Group 232. The positioning module 232 receives signals from a plurality of beacons 233 (beacons), and the beacons 233 are placed everywhere in the field 101, as shown in the example in the second figure B. The location module 232 determines the location of the respective wearable display relative to the beacons and transmits this information through a mesh network to the location processing system 231, which determines the respective location of the display system, and as shown The respective positions are communicated to the respective controllers 251.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above system includes a multi-channel configuration, each content channel including a separate content engine, controller and antenna, so that the content can be transmitted to a corresponding display system. This configuration enables content to be served to multiple display systems simultaneously, helping to increase scalability.

Another configuration will be described below with reference to the second figure C. As far as this example is concerned, only a single content channel is used in demonstration, but it should be understood that this is only for the purpose of illustrating the example, and multiple channels can still be used in practice. In addition, similar functional features will be referred to by the element numbers used in the second figure A, no longer Describe these features in detail.

It should be understood from the example in the figure that the system includes a content system 110 with a content engine 210 for each channel. The transmission system 140 includes a dedicated transmission module 241 for the channel, which is connected to multiple transmission system antennas 141 via a multiplexer 242 or other similar signal routing device. In this example, the transmission system antennas 141 are directional antennas with a defined field of view, and the channel's transmission system antennas 141 are used to provide antenna coverage that covers the entire site. In this example, the multiplexer 242 is used to control the transmission system antenna 141 , and the content is also provided to the transmission system antenna 141 , so that the content can be transmitted to the respective display systems 120 . To complete the above procedure, the multiplexer 242 is controlled by the control system 150, and the control system 150 includes a dedicated controller 251 for controlling each multiplexer 242, that is, controlling each channel.

In use, the positioning system 130 is used to first determine the position of each wearable display system 120 , and the controller 251 then controls the multiplexer 242 to ensure that the content is transmitted by the most appropriate transmission system antenna 141 .

In this example, the data transmission by the display system 120 , such as the transmission of location data, is performed via the same channel as the content is received, specifically, the data is transmitted to the transmission system antenna 141 via the transceiver 221 and the antenna 222 . If the data includes location data, the transmission system 140 transmits the location data to the location processing system 231 . Additionally, display system 120 includes a controller 252 operative to control display system antenna 222 such that display system antenna 222 can be switched between a plurality of different display system antennas 222 by using appropriate control techniques, such as , or use phased antenna arrays to apply beamforming/steering techniques) to control.

Although the above examples describe the use of multiple antennas on a single channel, and the antennas are controllable, it should be understood that the above methods are not mutually exclusive and can be used in combination. For example, if the area of the site is large, multiple movable antennas can be used for each channel, and each antenna covers a different area, so that the user can switch between different antennas when moving between different areas, and each time An antenna is steerable so that the pointing of the antenna can be adjusted based on the location of the wearable system in the respective area.

An example of a flow for configuring the above-mentioned system will be described below with reference to the third figure.

In this example, in step 300, when the venue has completed the initial setup, these beacons 233 are installed at various positions in the venue; in step 310, an indication of each beacon location and a beacon identification code (identifier ) to be recorded. The above information is generally recorded as beacon data in a separate database that can be accessed by the location processing system 231 .

In step 320, a location of a dedicated antenna for each controller is recorded. In this regard, it is necessary to obtain the location of the antenna 141 of the transmission system in the field to ensure that the controller can accurately track the display system 120, especially when the user moves, to ensure that the controller can generate a control signal to move the antenna to the correct position.

In step 330, each display system 120 is associated with a respective content channel. In this regard, display systems 120 are typically registered with a separate content engine to ensure that content streams are provided to the correct display system 120 .

In step 340, the positioning module 232 of the display system 120 is associated with the controller 251 of the same content channel, so that this association can be used to ensure that the location of the display system 120 (ie, the content delivery target) can be correctly identified. In one example, to accomplish this step, the positioning module 232 (which is attached to the display system An identification code of the system 120) is associated with the corresponding controller 251, and an indication of the association is recorded as registration data in a separate database accessible by the location processing system 231.

However, it should be understood that the display system 120 may also include a ranging sensor and/or an imaging device to generate location data based on the sensed environment information. The aforementioned environmental information can be used in conjunction with the SLAM algorithm executed by the location processing system 231 , so that the location of the display device can be obtained.

An example flow of transferring content will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 .

In this example, at step 400 , the location module 232 of a display system 120 detects a location of the display system, and generates location data at step 410 . In this example, the position of the display system is determined relative to the position of the beacon 233. In this case, the position information usually indicates an identification code associated with each beacon and the position relative to the beacon, for example The direction and/or distance of the beacon and an identification code of the positioning module. However, it should be understood that if other positioning methods are implemented, such as using an on-board sensor to detect the surrounding environment, the location data may also include image and/or ranging data.

At step 420 , the location data is transmitted to the location processing system 231 . In the example depicted in FIG. 2 , this step is performed through a mesh network established among a plurality of positioning modules 232 , so that the position data can be directly transmitted to the positioning processing system 231 . Or, in the example depicted in Figure 2C, this step is to first transmit the above-mentioned position data to the transmission system antenna 141 and transmission system 140 through the transceiver 221 and antenna 222 of the display device, and then transmit the position data by routing to the positioning processing system 231 to achieve. No matter which way is adopted, the location processing system 231 can determine the location of the display system in the venue at step 430 . In particular, the location processing system 231 utilizes the beacon identification codes, Determine the positions of the beacons from the beacon data, and then calculate the positioning of the display system based on the positions relative to the beacons; or, if applicable, use a SLAM algorithm to determine.

In the configuration illustrated in Figure C, the display device antenna 222 is controllable, so at step 432, the position information of the display device relative to the transmission system antenna 141 will be transmitted to the display device, so that the controller 252 can 434 controls the display device antenna 222 . Specifically, this step includes controlling the direction and/or beam shape of the antenna so that the data transmission can be directed to the transmission system antenna 141, thereby optimizing the transmission of location data and other data while avoiding interference with other display devices.

In step 440, the location processing system 231 determines the controller 251 that should provide the location information based on the registration data and the location module identification code. At step 450 , the position information is provided to the respective controllers so that the controllers can calculate the required antenna position/beam shape changes and control the antenna positions/beam shape accordingly at step 460 .

While the above process is going on, at step 470 , the content engine generates the next content part of a content stream, encodes it at step 480 , and transmits it through the corresponding antenna at step 490 . This process will be repeated continuously, so that when the display system 120 moves in the venue, the content stream will continue to be transmitted through the antenna pointing to the display system.

An example of a content generation and transmission system will be further described below with reference to FIG. 5 .

In this example, the content provided to each display system is generated by a separate content engine 210. The content engine 210 generally includes a processing system including at least a microprocessor 511, a memory 512, an optional An input/output device 513 (such as a keyboard and/or a display) and an external interface 514 are connected to each other via a bus bar 515 as shown in the figure. In this example, the The external interface 514 is used to connect the content engine 210 with peripheral devices, such as communication network, storage device, peripheral device and so on. Only a single external interface 514 is shown in the figure, but this is only an example for illustrative purposes. In actual operation, multiple connection interfaces using different methods (such as Ethernet, serial port, USB, wireless connection, etc.) may be included. In this example, the external interface includes at least one data connection interface (such as USB), a video connection interface (such as DisplayPort, HDMI, Thunderbolt, etc.), and a wireless connection interface connected to the head mounted device 120.1 and/or associated Controller 120.2.

When in use, the microprocessor 511 will execute instructions so that the required programs can be executed. The instructions are stored in the memory 512 in the form of application software. Specifically, executing the instructions will make the content available based on the headset. The signal generated by the device 120.1 and/or the associated controller 120.2, and can be generated based on the signal generated by other peripheral devices (such as the base station of the Vive ^™ VR system) if necessary. Application software may include one or more software modules, and may be executed in an appropriate execution environment, such as an operating system environment.

Based on the above description, it should be understood that the processing system 210 may be comprised of any suitable processing system, such as a suitably programmed personal computer or the like. In a particular example, processing system 210 is a standard processing system, such as an Intel Architecture-based processing system, that executes software applications stored (but not necessarily) in persistent (eg, hard disk) storage. However, it should be understood that the processing system may also be any electronic processing device, such as a microprocessor, microchip processor, logic gate configuration, firmware associated with implementing logic as desired, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system or configuration.

Additionally, while the processing system 210 is shown as a whole, it should be understood that in actual operation In general, the processing system 210 may be composed of multiple physical devices, and these physical devices may be dispersed in multiple different geographic locations as required, for example, as part of a cloud environment.

The processing system 210 outputs a content stream, which is transmitted to the delivery system 140 . The transmission system 140 includes an input interface 541 , an encoder 542 , an optional memory 543 and a transmitter 544 . In use, the content stream is received by the input interface 541 and forwarded to the encoder 542, which then operates to compress the content stream, optionally according to the encoding scheme stored in the memory 543 and/or other command to proceed. The operation of the encoder 542 will be further described in detail later with reference to FIG. 9 .

The compressed data is transmitted to the transmitter 544, which formats the compressed content stream for transmission and generates signals, which are transmitted according to a wireless protocol (such as 802.11ac or 802.11ad) via The transmission system antenna 141 transmits. The compressed data is received by the display system antenna 222 and transmitted to the transceiver module 221 . The transceiver module 221 includes a receiver 521 , a decoder 522 , an optional memory 523 and an output part 524 . In use, the receiver 521 converts the received signal into a compressed content stream, and the compressed content stream is forwarded to the decoder 522 for decoding to form an uncompressed content stream. The above-mentioned decoding process is usually executed according to a compression scheme stored in the memory 523 , and the operation example of the decoder 522 will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. 9 . The decompressed video stream is then provided to an output 524, typically an HDMI, DisplayPort or other similar interface, which is directly connected to a corresponding input on the headset 120.1 so that the content stream can be provided to and displayed by the headset 120.1.

An example of a control system will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 6 .

In this example, each controller 251 is connected to a motor mounted on a respective antenna base 644 and 645 are connected, and these motors are used to control the translation and tilt of the antenna. Each controller 251 includes a controller input part 651 , a controller processor 652 , a controller memory 653 and a controller output part 654 .

In use, the controller input 651 receives an indication of a position of an independent display system 120 from the positioning system 130 and provides the position indication to the controller processor 652 . The controller processor 652 uses the positioning information corresponding to the display system 120 and the known location information of the transmission system antenna 141 in the site to determine the required direction of the transmission system antenna 141, and accordingly generate control motors 644, 645 The above-mentioned operations are executed based on the instructions stored in the memory 653 . These control signals are then provided through the output part 654 , thereby controlling the operation of the motors 644 , 645 .

Therefore, when in use, the controller processor 652 will execute instructions (the instructions are stored in the memory 653 in the form of application software) to generate motor control signals, and provide these signals through an output unit (such as an interface). Accordingly, it should be understood that the controller 251 may consist of any suitable controller, such as a suitably programmed processing system, or of electronic processing means, such as a microprocessor, microchip processor, logic gate arrangement, video Firmware associated with implementing logic, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system, or configuration is required.

An example of a positioning system in the system of the second figure A will be further described in detail below with reference to the seventh figure A.

In this example, the positioning system includes a plurality of positioning modules 232, wherein each positioning module 232 includes a positioning module transceiver 731 coupled with a positioning module antenna 734, a positioning module processor 732, a Locate module memory 733 .

The system also includes a plurality of beacons 233 , the broadcasted signal will include an indication of a beacon identification code, indicating the identification information of each beacon, and the signals of these beacons will be detected by the positioning module 232 .

Specifically, the signal sent from the beacon 233 will be received by the positioning module transceiver 731 and forwarded to the positioning module processor 732 for analysis. Location module processor 732 analyzes the signals based on instructions stored in location module memory 733 to determine beacon identification codes and an indication of the position of display system 120 relative to the beacon, e.g., based on signal strength and/or transmission Time (time of flight) decision. The positioning module processor 732 then generates location data, which includes position indication relative to each beacon, beacon identification information of each beacon, and a positioning module identification code indicating the identification information of the positioning module. The positioning module processor 732 And transmit the above data to the positioning processing system 231 . In a specific example, the above process is achieved through the mesh network established by the positioning module 232 .

Therefore, it should be understood that the positioning module 232 can be composed of any suitable processing system with wireless transmission function, including electronic processing devices, such as microprocessors, microchip processors, logic gate configurations, as needed and implemented. Logically associated firmware, such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system or configuration.

Likewise, such beacons may be of any suitable form and may include any suitable wireless locator beacon capable of generating a signal to obtain location information, such as Bluetooth low energy beacons, examples of which are known in the art. know technology.

The location data is provided to a location processing system 231, which typically includes at least a microprocessor 735, a memory 736, and an optional input/output device 737 (such as a keyboard and/or display) And an external interface 738 , as shown in the figure, the above components are connected to each other through a bus bar 739 . In this example, the location processing system 231 can be connected to the mesh network and the control system 150 by using the external interface 738 , for example, through one or more communication networks. Only a single external interface 738 is shown in the figure, but this is only an example for illustrative purposes. In actual operation, multiple connection interfaces using different methods (such as Ethernet, serial port, USB, wireless connection, etc.) may be included.

When in use, the microprocessor 735 will execute instructions so that required programs can be executed, and the instructions are stored in the memory 736 in the form of application software. Application software may include one or more software modules, and may be executed in an appropriate execution environment, such as an operating system environment.

Based on the above description, it should be understood that the positioning processing system 231 may be constituted by any suitable processing system, such as a suitably programmed personal computer or server. In a particular example, location processing system 231 is a standard processing system, such as an Intel Architecture-based processing system, that executes software applications stored (but not necessarily) in persistent (eg, hard disk) storage. However, it should be understood that the processing system may also be any electronic processing device, such as a microprocessor, microchip processor, logic gate configuration, firmware associated with implementing logic as desired, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system or configuration.

In use, the location processing system 231 receives location information from each location module 232 and utilizes the location information to determine the location of the corresponding display system. In order to complete the above procedure, the positioning processing system 231 first uses the beacon identification code to determine the location of each beacon in the field; the beacon location is usually established during the initial configuration process, and the corresponding data will be stored in a database for Follow up lookup. The position processing system 231 then uses the position relative to each beacon, and the position of all beacons, to determine the presence of the display system location in the ground. Next, the positioning processing system 231 uses the association between the positioning module identification code and the respective controller 251 to determine the controller 251 for controlling the antenna of the respective display system 120 . In this way, the location processing system 231 can provide related location information to the controller 251, so that the controller can control the antenna location.

An example of a positioning system in the system of the second figure A will be further described in detail below with reference to the seventh figure B.

In this example, the positioning system is substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 7A above, and the same component numbers are used here to refer to similar functional features, and these features will not be further described in detail.

The difference in this example is that the positioning module 232 is coupled to the display system 221 and the antenna 222 , so that the position data can be transmitted to the positioning processing system 231 via the transmission system antenna 141 and the transmission system 140 .

An example of a method of encoding and decoding a content stream by compressing and subsequently decompressing video data will be described below with reference to FIG. 8 .

In this example, at step 800, pixel data is obtained from image data, the pixel data representing an array of pixels in one or more images. The pixel data may be obtained using any suitable means, depending on the format of the image data. In one example, obtaining pixel data is achieved only by selecting a specific sequence of bytes from the image data. The pixel array typically corresponds to a predetermined number of pixels, such as an 8x8 pixel block of one of the plurality of images, although other pixel arrays may be used.

In step 810, a transformation is performed on the pixel data to determine a set of frequency coefficients indicating frequency components of the pixel array. The transform is usually a frequency transform such as Fourier transform or the like, in one example a two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (2D DCT). The conversion may be performed in any suitable manner, eg using known conversion techniques, however in one example it is performed in a highly parallel fashion, thus reducing processing time.

At step 820, at least some of the frequency coefficients are selectively encoded using a one-bit encoding scheme, thereby generating a set comprising encoded frequency coefficients. The bit encoding scheme defines the number of bits used to encode each frequency coefficient, and all frequency coefficients are selectively encoded, so that at least some of the encoded frequency coefficients have different bit numbers, and at least one frequency coefficient is different from is adopted such that the set of encoded frequency coefficients is smaller than the set of frequency coefficients.

The above procedure may be achieved in any suitable manner and may include discarding some frequency coefficients and encoding the remaining frequency coefficients with a different number of bits, thereby minimizing the number of bits required for encoding the frequency coefficients. Alternatively, the procedure described above may include encoding some of the frequency coefficients with zero bits, thereby effectively discarding some of the frequency coefficients during the encoding step.

The specific frequency components that are discarded will vary depending on the preferred implementation. Generally higher frequency components are discarded because they occupy a smaller scale and correspond to sharp transitions in the image, which means they contribute less to the overall image quality. This allows higher frequency component coefficients to be discarded without significantly detrimental effect on perceived image quality. In addition to discarding the frequency components corresponding to higher frequencies, the above procedure can also use fewer bits to encode the frequency coefficients of the higher frequency components, thereby reducing the overall number of bits required for encoding the frequency coefficients.

After the encoding process is executed, in step 830, compressed image data can be generated by using the encoded frequency coefficients. For example, this step can be performed by creating a byte stream, a The tuple stream contains multiple sequences of encoded frequency coefficients and optionally additional information such as flags or other markers identifying the start point of the image, etc.

Accordingly, the above-mentioned procedure is capable of generating compressed image data by selectively encoding frequency coefficients using a coding scheme that discards at least some of the coding coefficients and uses a different number of bits ( For example depending on the scale of the frequency coefficients) encode the remaining coefficients. Therefore, smaller coefficients can be encoded with fewer bits without loss of information. The bit-coding scheme used defines the number of bits used to encode each frequency coefficient, so the same scheme can be used to decompress compressed imagery to perform accurate decompression and allow the bits used The meta-coding scheme can be configured to optimize compression for the current situation.

In this process, at step 840, a set of encoded frequency coefficients is determined from the compressed image data according to the bit encoding scheme. Specifically, the information about the number of bits used to encode each frequency coefficient allows the received compressed image data to be segmented into the encoded frequency coefficients by selecting the next number of bits constituting the next frequency coefficient.

At step 850, selective bit decoding is performed on the encoded frequency coefficients according to the bit encoding scheme, thereby generating a set of frequency coefficients. In the case of the present procedure, this step is performed to convert each encoded frequency coefficient into a frequency coefficient, and to generate additional frequency coefficients for the frequency coefficients discarded during the encoding process. Specifically, this step is usually performed to generate frequency coefficients of null value, thereby recreating a complete set of frequency coefficients.

An inverse transformation may then be performed on the aforementioned set of frequency coefficients to determine pixel data representing an array of pixels in one or more images. Specifically, this step is the inverse frequency Transformation is performed, for example, inverse Fourier transform, two-dimensional inverse discrete cosine transform (2D IDCT), etc.

Accordingly, the above process selectively encodes the frequency coefficients using a one-bit encoding scheme, so that the image data can be encoded, and then decodes the encoded frequency coefficients using the same bit encoding scheme. In addition, the bit coding scheme used can be an adaptive coding scheme, which can make applicability adjustments according to many standards, such as according to the nature of the image data to be coded, the specific channel to be coded, and so on. This will enforce the bit-encoding scheme and maximize the amount of compression that can be achieved.

In addition to the advantages described above, the encoding scheme can be implemented in a highly parallel manner, for example by having each frequency coefficient be encoded in parallel. This will enable the entire process to be executed faster, thus reducing delays, which is very important for many applications. For example, in virtual reality applications, images are generated in response to the movement of a display device, so they must be quickly sent to the display device for display.

An example of an encoding and decoding system will be described below with reference to FIG. 9 .

The encoder 342 typically includes an encoder input buffer 941 coupled to an encoder processing device 942 , an encoder output buffer 943 and a transceiver 944 . The encoder 342 may further include a data buffer 945 coupled to the transceiver 944 .

In use, video data (in one particular example a content stream) is received and temporarily stored in the input buffer 941 before being sent to the encoder processing device 942 for compression. For this step, the encoder input buffer usually first buffers the image data corresponding to the next seven columns of pixels in the image, and then buffers the next eight pixels in the next column of pixels. In this way, the encoder processing device 942 will be able to obtain the pixel data of the next 8x8 pixel block from the buffered image data, and start encoding.

Once the above process is completed, the next eight pixels are buffered, and this step is repeated until all pixel data of the first eight rows of pixels are acquired and encoded. This process is repeated for the remaining rows of pixels in the same image until all pixel data for the entire image is acquired, at which point the next image is similarly processed. Therefore, after the above-mentioned method is implemented, the input buffer of the encoder does not need to store image data of more than seven lines and eight pixels, and the memory requirement can be reduced. In addition, after obtaining the pixel data, even if the image data of the next eight pixels has not been buffered, the pixel data can be processed immediately by using the encoding procedure. This will drastically reduce processing time and help minimize overall latency.

The obtained compressed image data is then stored in the encoder output buffer 943, such as by sequentially reading the encoded bits, thereby performing parallel to serial byte encoding, and then Transmitted to decoder 322 via transceiver 944. Transceiver 944 may also be used to transmit other data, such as sensor data received from a head mounted display (HMD) via encoder data buffer 945 .

Buffers 941 , 943 , 945 may be any suitable form of scratchpad, depending on the preferred implementation, and in one example may include high performance FIFO (first in first out) field storage chips or the like. The input buffer 941 is usually connected to an HDMI port, while the data buffer 945 is connected to a USB port, so both can be connected to the computer system equally.

The transceiver 944 may take any suitable form, but in one example, it enables short-range radio communication between the encoder and decoder, such as via point-to-point WiFi ^™ direct connection, 60GHz wireless transmission technology, etc.

Processing device 942 may be any device capable of executing the compression procedures described herein. Processor 942 may comprise a general-purpose processing device that operates according to software instructions stored in memory. In one example, however, to ensure suitably fast compression times, the processing device includes custom hardware configured to execute the compression process. The processing device may include firmware optionally associated with implementing logic, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system or configuration. In a preferred example, the encoder processing unit 942 is configured to perform parallel processing for each independent channel and respective DCT, and to perform parallel encoding for each frequency coefficient. Therefore, although only a single encoder processing device 942 is used in the example, in practice, multiple encoder processing devices 942 may be used to perform parallel encoding on each channel separately. If there is a channel (such as the Y channel) that is not encoded, the encoder processing device may delay the transmission of the respective data to the encoder output buffer 943 to ensure that it is still synchronized with the encoded CbCr channel.

The decoder 322 typically includes a transceiver 924 coupled to a decoder input buffer 921 coupled to a decoder processing device 922 and a decoder output buffer 923 . The decoder 322 may further include a data buffer 925 coupled to the transceiver 924 .

In use, the compressed image data is received from the encoder 342 via the transceiver 924 and temporarily stored in the input buffer 921 , and then the data is transferred to the decoder processing device 922 for decompression. The decompressed image data is then stored in the decoder output buffer 923 and then transmitted to the display device 120 . Transceiver 924 may also be used to transmit other data, such as sensor data received from display device 120.1 via decoder data buffer 925.

Buffers 921, 923, 925 may be any suitable form of scratchpad, depending on the preferred implementation. Depending on the implementation, a high performance FIFO (first in first out) field storage chip or the like may be included in one example. The output buffer 923 is usually connected to an HDMI port, while the data buffer 925 is connected to a USB port, so both can be connected to the display device as well.

The transceiver 924 can take any suitable form, but in one example, it enables short-range radio communication between the encoder and the decoder, such as via point-to-point WiFi ^TM direct connection, 60GHz wireless transmission technology, and the like.

The processing device 922 may comprise a general-purpose processing device that operates according to software instructions stored in memory. However, in one example, in order to ensure less decompression time, the processing device includes custom hardware configured to execute the decompression process. The processing device may include firmware optionally associated with implementing logic, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other electronic device, system or configuration. In a preferred example, the decoder processing means 922 is configured to perform parallel processing on each independent channel and respective DCT, and to perform parallel encoding on each frequency coefficient. Likewise, although only a single decoder processing device 922 is used in the example, multiple encoder processing devices 942 may be used in practice to perform parallel encoding on each channel separately. If there is a channel (eg, Y channel) that is not encoded, the decoder processing device may delay the transmission of the respective data to the decoder output buffer 923 to ensure that synchronization with the encoded CbCr channel is still maintained.

An example of a system enabling communication between a base station and a mobile device will be described below with reference to FIG. 11 .

In this example, the system includes a processing system 1110 coupled to a communication network 1100, such as the Internet, a private network (e.g., 802.11 network, WAN wait). In this example, the processing system 1110 is configured to communicate with the mobile device 1120 via the base station 1160, and the base station 1160 communicates with the mobile device using a mobile communication network (such as 3G, 4G, 5G network, etc.) , and provide a persistent connection to the communication network 1100 .

The processing system 1110 may take any suitable form. In one example, the processing system is a server configured to generate content for display on the mobile device 1120, such as VR content, multimedia content, web pages, and the like. In one example, the processing system 1110 includes a content engine comprising a combination of hardware and/or software systems operable to generate AR or VR content, the operation of which may optionally be based on the display system 120 and Signals received by any associated hardware (such as associated base stations). Although the processing system 1110 is shown as a whole, it should be understood that the processing system 1110 can be distributed in various geographical locations, for example, the processing system 1110 is used as part of a cloud environment. However, the configuration described above is not necessary, and other suitable configurations may also be adopted.

In this example, the mobile device 1120 includes a transceiver 1121 and an antenna 1122, as well as a processor 1123, a memory 1124, and an input/output device 1125 (such as a touch screen, a speaker, and a microphone). connect. The mobile device 1120 also includes a positioning module 1132, which can be any type of positioning module, such as a GPS module or other positioning systems (such as a system that uses distance sensing technology to map the local environment). Alternatively, the positioning module can determine changes in position, such as an inertial measurement unit, or it can be an accelerometer, which can measure the movement made by the mobile device. The mobile device 1120 also includes a control module 1152 for controlling the antenna 1122, in particular controlling beamforming/beam steering of a phased antenna array. Although a separate control module is used in the example, the functionality of this module could alternatively be incorporated as a function performed by the processor 1123, depending on the preferred implementation.

When in use, the processor 1123 will execute instructions so that required programs can be executed, and the instructions are stored in the memory 1124 in the form of application software. Application software may include one or more software modules, and may be executed in an appropriate execution environment, such as an operating system environment. Therefore, the mobile device 1120 is generally a device such as an AR, VR or mixed reality display system, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, and the like. However, the above form is not necessary, and the mobile device can also be a portable computing device, such as a notebook computer.

In this example, the base station 1160 includes a transmission system 1140 including a transmission module 1142 and an associated antenna 1141 . Although a single module and antenna is used in the example, it should be understood that in practice, multiple antennas and multiple modules may be used. The transmission module 1142 can be used to perform appropriate encoding on the content stream before transmission through the transmission system antenna 1141 . Transmission module 1142 may include a combination of hardware and/or software components, and in one example includes a dedicated encoder similar to that described above. The transmission system antenna 1141 is usually a directional phase array antenna, and its directivity can be adjusted through electronic beam steering/beamforming technology. The transmission system antenna 1141 is controlled by a control system 1150, which includes a controller 1151, which is usually a hardware and/or software based controller for controlling the direction of the antenna.

The base station 1160 also includes a positioning system 1130 including a positioning processing system 1131 for determining the location of the mobile device 1120 . The location system 1130 receives location data from the location module 1132 of the mobile device 1120 , which typically defines the mobile device according to its relative location in the local environment or the global environment. The positioning system then determines the position of the mobile device 1120 relative to the base station 1160 , especially the position relative to the antenna 1141 of the base station, so that the controller 1150 can control the antenna 1141 accordingly.

It should be understood that the base station 1160 generally also includes information related to mobile communication network base stations. Other infrastructure and components will not be described here.

An example process of communicating with a mobile device will be described below. For the purposes of this example, the following description assumes that the communication has been established according to standard cellular protocols and is within range of the base station 1160 .

In this example, at step 1200 , the location module 1132 of the mobile device 1120 determines a location of the mobile device in the environment, and provides location data indicating its location to the base station 1160 . In step 1210, the base station 1160 typically performs a signal sweep, sweeping the direction of signal transmission to establish a location where the mobile device 1120 is located based on the strongest signal. This step can be performed synchronously with the determination of the location data by the mobile device, or it can be performed after the location data is generated, allowing an approximate location from the location data being used to limit the extent of the signal sweep.

Regardless of the order, at step 1220 , the positioning system 1130 of the base station 1160 then uses the location data provided by the mobile device 1120 and the result of the signal sweep to set an initial relative position, and sends the initial relative position back to the mobile device 1120 .

In step 1230 , once the mobile device 1120 moves, the positioning module will update the location information and provide the location information to the base station 1160 . The positioning module 1132 of the mobile device 1120 and the positioning system 1130 of the base station 1160 can update the relative positions, allowing the respective controllers 1152 and 1151 to control the mobile device antenna 1122 and the base station antenna 1141 respectively, as shown in steps 1240 and 1250 .

In this way, in step 1260, the mobile device and the base station will be able to communicate, and steps 1230 to 1260 will be repeatedly executed, so the communication can continue without performing the signal scanning step.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above process provides a mechanism to optimize the communication between the mobile device 1120 and the base station 1160 without continuously performing signal sweeping. This reduces latency while maintaining an optimal signal between the mobile device and the base station, thereby maximizing transmission bandwidth.

Using both the signal sweep and the location data from the mobile device 1120 to perform initial positioning can establish relative location information with a high degree of accuracy between the mobile device and the base station. Next, the location of the mobile device can be updated based on the movement of the device relative to the environment, such as using signals from inertial sensors, SLAM algorithms, and the like. That is to say, the positioning module 1132 does not need to establish accurate initial location information, which will be very helpful when the absolute location cannot be determined in a proper way (for example, the GPS service cannot be obtained). However, it should be understood that if the mobile device can provide sufficiently accurate absolute position information relative to the environment of the base station, the initial signal sweeping step may not be necessary.

In addition, it should be understood that in some cases, it may be necessary to periodically repeat the signal sweeping step, such as when signal drift occurs while tracking the movement and/or position of the mobile device 1120 .

An example of a system enabling two communication devices to communicate will be described below with reference to FIG. 13 .

In this example, the system includes two communication devices 1320.1, 1320.2, each communication device 1320 includes a transceiver 1321 and antenna 1322, and a processor 1323, memory 1324, input/output device 1325 (such as a touch screen , speaker, microphone), the above components are connected to each other via a bus bar 1326 . Each communication device also includes a positioning module 1332, which can be any form of positioning module, such as a GPS module or other positioning systems (such as a system that uses distance sensing technology to map the local environment). Alternatively, the positioning module may determine changes in position, such as an inertial measurement unit, or may be an accelerometer, which measures movement made by the communication device. Each communication device also includes a control module 1352 for controlling the antenna 1322, in particular controlling the beamforming/beam steering of a phased antenna array. Although a separate control module is used in the example, the functionality of this module could alternatively be incorporated as a function performed by the processor 1323, depending on the preferred implementation.

When in use, the processor 1323 will execute instructions so that required programs can be executed, and the instructions are stored in the memory 1324 in the form of application software. Application software may include one or more software modules, and may be executed in an appropriate execution environment, such as an operating system environment. Therefore, the communication device 1320 is generally a device such as an AR, VR or mixed reality display system, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, and the like. However, the above forms are not necessary, and the communication devices can be in any form. Additionally, while the communication devices are shown as having generally similar configurations, this is not a requirement and the communication devices may take different forms, including for example a computer system and an AR, VR or mixed reality display system.

In this example, the respective positioning modules 1332 of the two communication devices exchange position information, so that initial relative position information can be established accordingly. Other steps performed by the system of this example are roughly similar to the above-mentioned steps, and thus will not be further described in detail.

To sum up, the configurations used by the above-mentioned various systems use the relative position of a device in the environment to track the location of the device, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the device to perform directional transmission. The controlling may include controlling an antenna separate from the device to control transmissions to the device, and controlling an on-board antenna to control transmissions from the antenna to another antenna. In one example, the control method is used to control the direction of the transmission, optionally using beamforming and and/or beam steering techniques.

Being able to control the antenna and optimize the transmission will help maximize the available bandwidth. In addition, while achieving the aforementioned goals, it eliminates the need to perform signal sweeps (commonly used in prior art to obtain position information), thereby greatly reducing latency and reducing unnecessary signal transmission (and signal transmission may cause interference between devices). It should be understood, however, that while the preferred method described herein avoids the signal sweep step, this is not a requirement and alternatives may be chosen to minimize the need to perform signal sweeps, such as reducing the signal sweep The frequency at which the beam is performed or the area that the beam sweeps is reduced to minimize the time to perform the scan and reduce the amount of signal transmission performed while scanning.

The above description illustrates two main embodiments in a broader manner, one for providing digital content in a multiplayer gaming environment and one for enabling two communication devices to communicate. However, it should be understood that the embodiment about the multiplayer game field is only one specific example of a broader communication process, so the features or processes used in one embodiment can also be implemented in another embodiment. Therefore, descriptions about the features or processes used in an embodiment should not be regarded as limiting, and various features or processes can also be used interchangeably under appropriate circumstances.

Although the word "location" is often used in this article, it should be understood that the word is intended to cover the meaning of location and location. Words such as location and location have similar meanings and can be used interchangeably.

In addition, it should be understood that if the description of the antenna in this article refers to a singular form, it should not be considered as limiting, and the relevant technology may include a plurality of antennas when applied to a system.

In summary, the system described in this paper provides a way to adapt existing VR or AR hardware Mechanics for multiplayer arenas. The process of the method can also be applied more widely, allowing the location information of communication devices to optimize communication execution. More specifically, location information can be used to achieve the purpose of controlling a directional antenna (such as a phased array antenna), so that beam steering and/or beamforming can be performed based on the relative positions or locations and directions of two communication devices, so This will reduce and/or eliminate the need to perform beam sweeps; beam sweeps can significantly increase communication latency and cause transmissions to be more spread out, increasing the chance of interference with other devices.

In the description of the present invention and the scope of the following patent application, unless the context requires otherwise, terms such as "comprising" and "comprising" should be understood to mean the inclusion of the individual items mentioned, or the inclusion of the items or steps. group, but does not exclude other individuals or groups of objects.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention can be realized through many changes and modifications. All such changes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest sense.

100: system

101: Venue

110: Content system

120: Display system

120.1: Display devices/head-mounted devices

120.2: Associated Controllers

130: Positioning system

140: Transmission system

141: Transmission system antenna

150: Control system

Claims (17)

A communication system comprising: a) a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device includes a first antenna, and the second communication device includes a second antenna; b) a The positioning system includes a sensor that uses signals from the sensor to sense the position of the first communication device relative to an environment; and c) a repetitive control system: i) from the positioning the system receives the position indication representing the position of the first communication device relative to the environment; ii) in response to receiving the position indication, determines from the position indication a relative movement of the first communication device and the second communication device, at least using in part the change in position of the first communication device; and iii) responsive to determining relative movement, controlling the second antenna by implementing beamforming of the second antenna in accordance with the relative movement determined from the position indication such that the second antenna from the second The transmission of the antenna is aimed at the first antenna. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the positioning system is a position system in the first communication device, and the position system determines a posture of the first communication device relative to the environment, and wherein the control system is at least The relative movement of the first communication device and the second communication device is determined by partially using the posture change of the first communication device. The communication system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device includes a plurality of antennas, and wherein the control system selects from the plurality of antennas according to the relative position an antenna. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the control system: a) at least partially uses a relative movement and a prediction algorithm to determine a predicted relative position of the first communication device and the second communication device; and b) steering the second antenna by implementing beamforming based on the predicted relative position so that transmissions from the second antenna are aimed at the first antenna. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a distance sensor that determines the distance between the communication device and the environment, and wherein the positioning system uses a synchronization Localization and mapping algorithms are used to determine the location of the communication device. Such as the communication system of claim 1, wherein the control system: a) determines a relative position of the first communication device and the second communication device in the environment; b) receives an environmental map; and c) at least The antenna is controlled in part based on the relative position and the map of the environment. Such as the communication system of claim 1, wherein the control system: a) receives a occlusion map that defines i) a plurality of occlusion locations; and ii) a transmission path to avoid occlusion situations; and b) according to The relative position and the shadow map selectively control the at least one antenna. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the second communication device is a static device, and wherein the control system uses the position of the first communication device and a known position of the second communication device to determine the relative movement . In the communication system according to claim 8 of the claimed invention, the known location is determined during an initialization procedure. Such as the communication system of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the positioning system includes at least one of the following: a) a GPS module; b) a synchronous positioning and mapping system; and c) one or more beacon. For example, the communication system of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the positioning system is set in the first communication device. For example, the communication system of item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the control system is set in the second communication device. A communication system comprising: a) a mobile device including: i) a positioning module for determining a position of a mobile device relative to an environment; ii) a mobile device transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals through a mobile device antenna; and iii) a mobile device processor, which transmits, through the mobile device transceiver, a location indication representing the location of the mobile device; and b) a mobile communication network base station, comprising: i) a base station transmission system, which transmits and receive a signal to establish communication with the mobile device, and The base station transmission system includes at least one antenna; and ii) a control system that (1) receives the location indication from the mobile device through the base station transmission system; (2) uses the location indication in response to receiving the location indication determine the location of the mobile device; (3) use the location of the mobile device to determine the relative location of the mobile device and the base station; and (4) determine the relative location between the mobile device and the base station by using the location indication Relatively, beamforming of at least one base station antenna is performed to selectively steer the at least one antenna so that transmissions from the base station antenna are aimed at the antenna of the mobile device. For example, the communication system of claim 13 of the patent application, wherein the mobile device includes at least one of the following: a) a digital reality head-mounted device; and b) a mobile communication device. Such as the communication system of item 13 of the patent application, wherein the mobile device and the base station communicate through at least one of the following: a) a cellular network communication protocol; b) a short-range wireless communication protocol; and c) a 5G network road. A communication method for a first communication device and a second communication device, each communication device comprising an antenna, the method comprising: a) using a positioning system comprising a sensor, the sensor sensing relative to an environment the location of the first communication device; and b) using a control system to i) receive from the positioning system the position indication indicative of the position of the first communication device relative to the environment; ii) in response to receiving the position indication, determine from the position indication the first communication device and A relative movement of the second communication device, at least in part using the change in position of the first communication device; and iii) responsively determining the relative movement, controlled by implementing beamforming of the second antenna according to the relative movement determined from the position indication The second antenna such that transmissions from the second antenna are aimed at the first antenna. An antenna control system for communicating a first communication device with a second communication device, each communication device comprising an antenna, the antenna control system being configured to: a) receive from a positioning system the first a position indication of the position of the communication device; b) in response to receiving the position indication, determine from the position indication a relative movement of the first communication device and the second communication device, at least in part using the change in position of the first communication device; and c) In response to determining the relative movement, controlling the second antenna by implementing beamforming of the second antenna according to the relative movement determined from the position indication such that transmissions from the second antenna are aimed at the first antenna.

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