WO2019139531A1

WO2019139531A1 - Methods and devices for ordering and localization of transportation by vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2019139531A1
Application number: PCT/SE2019/050008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pär-Olof JOHANNESSON; Ario Golshenas; Kristian RUMBERG
Original assignee: Terranet Ab
Priority date: 2018-01-11
Filing date: 2019-01-08
Publication date: 2019-07-18

Abstract

A mobile device (10) is enabled to order and/or localize a vehicle (20B) in a fleet of vehicles associated with a transportation service when the mobile device (10) is unable to connect to a WAN and/or obtain its current GNSS position. In proximity ordering, the mobile device (10) composes a ride request destined for a transportation server (40) and transmits, by wireless short-range communication (e.g. WiFi or Bluetooth), the ride request for receipt by a proximate vehicle (20A) in the fleet, said ride request causing the proximate vehicle (20A) to provide the ride request to the transportation server (40) over a WAN (30), the ride request causing the transportation server (40) to designate the ride request to a vehicle (20B). In text message ordering, the mobile device (10) transmits the ride request in a text message (SMS) to the transportation server (40). The designated vehicle (20B) may be localized by the mobile device (10) by use of short-range local positioning or short-range remote positioning.

Description

METHODS AND DEVICES FOR ORDERING AND LOCALIZATION OF TRANSPORTATION BY VEHICLE Cross-reference to Related Application

The present application claims the benefit of Swedish patent application No. 1850030-6, filed on January 11, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to ordering and localization of vehicles associated with a transportation service from a passenger terminal, and in particular in situations when the passenger terminal is unable to connect to the Internet and/or obtain a current GNSS position. Background Art

There are many transportation services that allow a user to order car transportation by an application program ("passenger program") installed on the user's mobile phone. Such transportation services are offered by conventional licensed taxi companies as well as unlicensed taxi providers, also known as ride-hailing or ride- sharing providers, such as Uber, Lyft, Cabify, Gett, Hailo, Ola Cabs, Easy Taxi, Didi, GrabTaxi, LeCab,

Bitaksi, goCatch, Ingogo, etc.

When the user orders or requests transportation via the passenger program, the mobile phone is operated to connect to a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as the Internet and the passenger program transmits, to a dedicated transportation server and over the WAN, a ride request including the current location of the mobile phone, typically a position obtained by a GNSS receiver (Global Navigation Satellite System) in the mobile phone, e.g. a GPS position. The server acknowledges the request to the passenger program and instructs a designated vehicle, by communication with an application program (driver program) on a communication device in the vehicle, to pick-up the user at a pick-up location. The transportation server also communicates the pick-up location and/or the current location of the designated vehicle to the passenger program, which operates the mobile phone to provide directions for the user, e.g. by displaying a map and indicating the user's current location and the vehicle's location on the map.

Problems occur when the mobile phone is unable to connect to the WAN and/or when the mobile phone is unable to determine a GNSS position or a GNSS position with sufficient accuracy. A lack of WAN connection prevents the user from ordering transportation by the passenger program. If the WAN connection is lost after placing the ride request, the user will have difficulty finding the designated vehicle. A lack of GNSS data will also prevent the user from ordering transportation, since the

transportation server will be unable direct a vehicle to a pick-up location near the current location of the user. If the GNSS data is unreliable, the user will have difficulty finding the designated vehicle.

A lack of WAN connection may arise for several reasons, including but not limited to: (i) the user may not have a data plan; (ii) the user may have already consumed the allotted monthly mobile data and is unable or unwilling to purchase additional mobile data from the operator providing access to the WAN; (iii) the user may be travelling, having no access to present WANs except through roaming, which may be prohibitively expensive; (iv) there may be a temporary outage of the WAN, e.g. following a thunderstorm, network maintenance, power outage, etc.

A lack of reliable GNSS data may occur at poor satellite conditions. It is not uncommon that GNSS data is compromised in urban environments due to overhead obstructions such as buildings, trees and other impediments. It is well known that a GNSS receiver in a mobile phone may require significant time to resolve a satellite reception problem and provide a correct location. Many mobile phones implement so- called Assisted GPS (A-GPS) which allows the mobile phone to communicate with an assistance server that provides supporting data to the mobile phone or obtains a GPS position on behalf of the mobile phone. However, A-GPS typically requires a WAN connection between the mobile phone and the assistance server.

A lack of reliable GNSS data may also occur when the user starts the mobile phone at a new location, e.g. when disembarking an airplane, especially if the mobile phone is unable to connect to a WAN.

The prior art comprises EP1508890 which discloses a centralized system comprising fixed wireless access points, e.g. located at taxi stands, which provide Internet connection for access to server(s) of one or more taxi companies. A user is thereby able to connect a mobile phone by short-range wireless communication to one of the wireless access points and place an order for a taxi with a taxi company. The taxi is then dispatched by the taxi company to the location of the wireless access point.

The prior art also comprises the article "EZCab: A Cab Booking Application ETsing Short-Range Wireless Communication", by Peng Zhou et al, published in Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Int'l Conf. on Pervasive Computing and Communications (PerCom 2005). The article proposes to overcome drawbacks of centralized systems for cab booking by providing a completely decentralized dispatching system, in which the vehicles are connected by short-range wireless communication in a mobile ad hoc network. A user who wants to book a cab has a client station that joins the network and injects a request for a free cab, the request including the current location of the client station and the destination location. The client station thereby communicates directly with the cabs in its transmission range, if present, and the cabs in the network forward the request until a free cab is discovered, which is then booked and driven to the current location of the client station.

Summary

It is an objective of the invention to at least partly overcome one or more limitations of the prior art.

Another objective is to enable a user of a mobile device to order a vehicle from a transportation service in absence of a WAN connection.

A further objective is to enable a user of a mobile device to order a vehicle from a transportation service without access to reliable GNSS data.

A still further objective is to enable a user of a mobile device to locate a vehicle, designated by a transportation service, in absence of a WAN connection.

Yet another objective is to enable a user of a mobile device to locate a vehicle, designated by a transportation service, without access to reliable GNSS data.

One or more of these objectives, as well as further objectives that may appear from the description below, are at least partly achieved by methods, devices and non- transitory computer-readable mediums according to the independent claims, embodiments thereof being defined by the dependent claims.

Still other objectives, as well as features, aspects, embodiments and advantages of the present invention, will appear from the following detailed description, from the attached claims as well as from the drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are merely illustrative and the specific form and arrangement of the features shown are not to be construed in a limiting sense.

FIG. 1A illustrates a system for proximity ordering of a transportation service, and FIG. 1B illustrates a system for local positioning of a passenger terminal in relation to a vehicle of the transportation service.

FIG. 2A is a flow chart of a method involving proximity ordering in the system of FIG. 1 A, FIG. 2B is a flow chart of a method of local positioning of a passenger terminal, and FIG. 2C is a flow chart of a method of remote positioning of a passenger terminal. FIGS 3A-3B show examples of directions provided on a passenger terminal.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system for text message ordering of a transportation service.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system for text message ordering by use of remote positioning.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for text message ordering in the system of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system for text message ordering by use of local positioning.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method for text message ordering in the system of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for data collection in a system for remote positioning.

FIG. 10A is a definition of coordinates and vector for use in local positioning of a passenger terminal, and FIGS 10B-10D are diagrams to exemplify required information for positioning when different number of sources are available.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example architecture for a passenger terminal or a driver terminal.

FIGS 12A-12F are flow charts of methods in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description of Example Embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Like reference signs refer to like elements throughout.

Also, it will be understood that, where possible, any of the advantages, features, functions, devices, and/or operational aspects of any of the embodiments of the present invention described and/or contemplated herein may be included in any of the other embodiments of the present invention described and/or contemplated herein, and/or vice versa. In addition, where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein are meant to also include the plural form and/or vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise. As used herein, "at least one" shall mean "one or more" and these phrases are intended to be interchangeable. Accordingly, the terms "a" and/or "an" shall mean "at least one" or "one or more," even though the phrase "one or more" or "at least one" is also used herein. As used herein, except where the context requires otherwise owing to express language or necessary implication, the word“comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or“comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, that is, to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. It will furthermore be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

As used herein, "mobile device" refers to any mobile computing device that is capable of wireless communication. The mobile device may but need not be handheld. Mobile devices include generic mobile devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, wearables, as well as customized mobile computing devices.

As used herein, "wide area network", abbreviated "WAN", is given its ordinary meaning and refers to a communication network that covers a large geographic area. A WAN may support any combination of network protocols and may include both wired and wireless communication. As used herein, WAN typically includes an IP network such as the Internet.

As used herein, "transceiver for wireless communication in a wide area network", abbreviated "WWAN transceiver", is given its ordinary meaning and refers to any transceiver that is operable for wireless communication in a WAN.

As used herein, "transceiver for cellular communication", abbreviated "cellular transceiver", is given its ordinary meaning and refers to any transceiver that is operable for wireless communication in a cellular network or mobile network. The transceiver may implement one or more cellular network technologies such as LTE, WiMAX, UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA/HSUPA, CDMA2000, GSM, cellular digital packet data (CDPD), Mobitex, etc.

As used herein, "transceiver for wireless short-range communication", abbreviated

"SR transceiver", is given its ordinary meaning and refers to any transceiver for wireless communication that has a limited range, typically less than approximately 500 m. A transceiver for wireless short-range communication may implement any available wireless local area network (WLAN) technology and/or wireless personal area network (WPAN) technology, such as communication technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, denoted WiFi herein, and Bluetooth communication technology based on any standard specified by Bluetooth SIG. WiFi communication includes all current and future implementations, such as WiFi ad hoc, WiFi Direct and WiFi Aware. Bluetooth communication includes all current and future implementations, including classic Bluetooth and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), based on any Bluetooth protocol version.

As used herein, "transceiver" is given its ordinary meaning and refers to an arrangement defining a receiver and a transmitter that may or may not share circuitry.

As used herein, "wireless short-range communication" refers to any form of wireless communication by use of SR transceivers. Such wireless short-range communication may be peer-to-peer or connectionless communication between two SR transceivers. However, it is also conceivable that the SR transceivers form part of a wireless mesh network that enables wireless communication over distances that extend beyond the range of the individual SR transceiver.

As used herein, "connectionless communication" refers to transmission of a message from one SR transceiver to one or more other SR transceivers without prior control signaling for connection setup between any pair of SR transceivers.

As used herein, "tethering" is given its ordinary meaning and refers to the sharing of one communication device's connection to a WAN with another communication device such that the former acts as a modem or router for the latter.

As used herein, "wireless access point", abbreviated WAP, is given its ordinary meaning and refers to a configured node on a WLAN or WPAN that allows wireless capable devices to connect through a wireless standard.

As used herein, "vehicle" may be any mobile machine that transports people or cargo. The vehicle may be at least partly manually controlled by a person in the vehicle, i.e. a driver. However, embodiments of the invention are equally applicable to autonomous vehicles, i.e. unmanned vehicles.

Embodiments of the invention address problems discussed in the Background section.

Certain embodiments may be seen to address the problem of ordering

transportation by use of a mobile device that temporarily or permanently lacks a WAN connection. One group of such embodiments is referred to as "proximity ordering" and will be described and exemplified with reference to FIGS 1A and 2A. Another group of such embodiments is referred to as "text message ordering" and will be described and exemplified with reference to FIGS 4-8.

Certain embodiments may be seen to address the problem of localizing the mobile device when placing the order and/or finding the vehicle that has been ordered, when the mobile device lacks access to reliable GNSS data. One group of such embodiments is referred to as "short-range local positioning" or "local positioning" and will be described and exemplified with reference to FIGS 1B, 2B and 10A-10D. Another group of such embodiments is referred to as "short-range remote positioning" or "remote positioning" and will be described and exemplified with reference to FIGS 1B, 2C and 9.

In the following, a communication device that is configured to allow a user to request transportation at a transportation service is denoted "passenger terminal", PT. The passenger terminal may be a mobile device that is controlled by dedicated program instructions to implement any of the embodiments described herein. A communication device that is configured to accept orders from the transportation service and is arranged for use in a vehicle is denoted "driver terminal", DT. The driver terminal may or may not be a unitary device. In one example, DT is a mobile device that is controlled by dedicated program instructions. In another example, DT is a customized arrangement of components that may or may not be controlled by dedicated program instructions.

It should be noted that all methods described herein may be performed

automatically, i.e. without user intervention. However, it is also conceivable that one or more steps are subject to user confirmation.

FIG. 1A illustrates user scenario in which a user has a passenger terminal (PT) 10 that comprises an SR transceiver and may comprise a WWAN transceiver. PT 10 is configured to provide access to a transportation service, which in the illustrated example provides transportation of people by car. The transportation service is thus associated with a fleet of cars. In FIG. 1A, the user is located in proximity of a car 20A which is included in the fleet of cars. The car 20A is provided with a driver terminal (DT) 12. DT 12 comprises an SR transceiver and a WWAN transceiver. DT 12 is configured to communicate over WAN 30 with a transportation server 40 that implements the transportation service. The server 40 provides centralized control of the fleet of cars, e.g. by designating cars to incoming ride requests, by handling billing of passengers, etc.

The scenario in FIG. 1A includes another car 20B, which is also part of the fleet of cars and which has been designated to pick up the user. The car 20B is provided with a DT 12 that comprises an SR transceiver and a WWAN transceiver. The encircled numbers 1-6 designate data transfers that may be performed during proximity ordering.

Embodiments of proximity ordering in the scenario of FIG. 1 A will now be described with reference to FIG. 2A. These embodiments assume that PT 10 lacks a WAN connection, either permanently or temporarily, when the user operates PT 10 to place an order for a car with the transportation service. The following example also presumes that the DTs 12 of the cars 20A, 20B operate their SR transceiver to transmit a communication signal comprising a service identifier (service ID) that represents the transportation service (step 201). In one example, the service ID is the name of the transportation service. However, any recognizable combination of data values may be used as service ID. In one embodiment, the DTs 12 are configured to only transmit the service ID when the cars 20A, 20B are stationary. Preferably, the service ID is transmitted by connectionless communication, suitably by broadcasting. In one implementation, the SR transceivers are configured for WiFi communication and the DTs 12 may operate the SR transceiver to configure a WAP with an SSID containing the service ID. In another implementation, the SR transceivers are configured for Bluetooth communication, and the DTs 12 operate their SR transceiver to broadcast the service ID, e.g. by Bluetooth advertising. In yet another implementation, the SR transceivers are configured for communication in accordance with the wireless communication standard known as WiFi Aware (also denoted Neighbor Awareness Networking, NAN). In such an implementation, DT 12 may broadcast one or more so- called WiFi Aware forward messages to transfer data by connectionless communication, including the service ID.

In step 202, PT 10 is operated to detect communication signals that are received by the SR transceiver and contain the service ID, thereby detecting all cars 20A of the transportation service that are located in proximity, i.e. within range of the wireless communication enabled by the SR transceiver of PT 10. In step 203, PT 10 operates its SR transceiver to establish wireless short-range communication with one of the cars 20A in proximity, via its DT 12, and transmits a communication signal containing a ride request. The car may be selected based on one or more of signal strength (e.g. RSSI), signal variability or signal quality (e.g. SNR) of the communication signal that was detected in step 202. The ride request contains a passenger identifier (passenger ID) that identifies the user and may contain position data that indicates the current location of PT 10 and thus the user. The ride request may also contain ride-specific data such as a destination, a maximum price, etc. In step 204, DT 12 receives the ride request. Steps 201-204 correspond to data transfer 1 in FIG. 1A.

In step 205, DT 12 operates its WWAN transceiver to forward the ride request to the transportation server 40. Depending on implementation, DT 12 may add data to the ride request before transmitting it to the server 40. For example, DT 12 may add position data, e.g. a GPS position generated by a GNSS receiver in DT 12. The server 40, which is connected to WAN 30, receives the ride request in step 206. Steps 205-206 correspond to data transfer 2 in FIG. 1A.

In step 207, the server 40 determines a current location of the user based on position data in the ride request. For example, the position data may comprise a GPS position generated by a GNSS receiver in PT 10 or the above-mentioned GPS position generated by the GNSS receiver in DT 12. In further variants, to be described below, the position data comprises an estimated GPS position generated by short-range local positioning by PT 10 or a fingerprint pattern generated by PT 10. In step 208, the server 40 selects (designates) a car to execute the ride order. The selection may be at least partly based on the current location of the user. In step 209, the server 40 determines a pick-up location. The pick-up location may be at or near the current location of the user. In one example, the pick-up location is selected among a set of predefined pick-up locations, e.g. the predefined pick-up location closest to the current location of the user.

In step 210, the server 40 transmits a confirmation (also denoted "order confirmation" or "ride confirmation") of the ride request, over WAN 30, back to DT 12 which receives the confirmation (step 211) and operates its SR transceiver to transmit the confirmation to PT 10 (step 212). PT 10 receives the confirmation and terminates the wireless short-range connection to DT 12 (step 213). PT 10 may also present a confirmation message to the user on a UI (user interface). Steps 210-211 correspond to data transfer 3 in FIG. 1A, and steps 212-213 correspond to data transfer 4 in FIG. 1A.

In step 214, the server 40 transmits, over WAN 30, a ride order to DT 12 of the car that was selected in step 208. In step 215, DT 12 in the selected car receives the ride order. In FIG. 1A, steps 214-215 correspond to data transfer 5, and the selected car is represented as 20B.

Upon receipt of the ride order, e.g. when the selected car 20B is at or near the pick-up location, DT 12 of the selected car 20B operates its SR transceiver to transmit a communication signal containing a transaction ID that designates the current ride order transaction (step 216). The transmission is preferably connectionless and may be performed as described for step 201. The transaction ID may take many different forms. In one example, the transaction ID comprises the passenger ID that was included in the ride request, presuming that the passenger ID was included in the ride order by the server 40 (step 214). In another example, the transaction ID is an arbitrary identifier that was generated and included in the ride request by PT 10 (step 203) and included in the ride order by the server 40 (step 214). In yet another example, the transaction ID comprises a driver ID assigned to the car 20B, presuming that the driver ID was included in the order confirmation by the server 40 (step 210). In yet another example, the transaction ID is an arbitrary identifier generated by the server 40 and included in the order confirmation (step 210) and the ride order (step 214).

Although not shown in FIG. 2A, DT 12 may provide the driver of the car 20B with an option to accept or decline the ride order that is received in step 215, causing DT 12 to transmit a return message to the server 40 regarding acceptance of the ride order. If the driver declines the ride order, the server 40 may re-transmit the ride order to another car (step 214). In this variant, step 214 is preferably performed before step

210.

In step 217, after having terminated the connection in step 213, PT 10 operates to detect an incoming communication signal (e.g. a broadcast signal), which is received by the SR transceiver and contains the transaction ID. After detecting the transaction ID,

PT 10 may operate its SR transceiver to establish wireless short-range communication with DT 12 of the selected car 20B and transmit a communication signal with a ride confirmation (step 218). The ride confirmation may be received by DT 12 of car 20B, which may present a ride confirmation message to the driver of car 20B on a UI. Steps 217-218 correspond to data transfer 6 in FIG. 1A.

In step 220, PT 10 operates to provide directions for the user to find the car 20B at the pick-up location. In some embodiments, PT 10 may have received the pick-up location with the order confirmation (step 213). In one such embodiment, PT 10 may present a message that describes the pick-up location to the user. An example is shown in FIG. 3A, in which such a descriptive message 11 is presented on a display 12 of PT 10. In another embodiment, presuming that the pick-up location is a GPS position and that PT 10 has a GNSS receiver that generates reliable GPS positions, PT 10 may present its current GPS position in relation to the pick-up location and indicate at least one of a distance and a direction to the pick-up location. An example is shown in FIG. 3B, in which PT 10 presents the distance 13 and graphically depicts the current location

14 and the pick-up location 15, together with an arrow 16 that indicates the direction from location 14 to location 15. The arrow 16 allows the user, by rotating PT 10, to orient to location 15. PT 10 may compute the orientation of the arrow 16 by use of output signals from a magnetometer and a gyroscope in PT 10 in combination with the GPS positions of locations 14, 15, as is well-known in the art. PT 10 may update location 14 as the user moves towards location 15. In the example of FIG. 3B, PT 10 displays the locations 14, 15 on a map of the surroundings to further assist the user. The map may be transmitted from the server 40 to PT 10 with the order confirmation (step 213). Alternatively, PT 10 may retrieve the map among a plurality of maps stored in a memory of PT 10, based on the locations 14, 15. In another embodiment, presuming that PT 10 is unable to obtain reliable GPS positions from its GNSS receiver during step 220, PT 10 may display (as location 14) the current location that was used during the ordering sequence, steps 201-215. Such a current location may be a GPS position determined by PT 10 in step 203, or a GPS position determined by server 40 in step 207 and transmitted to PT 10 with the order confirmation (step 210). In yet other

embodiments, PT 10 uses short-range local positioning for determining the location of the selected car 20B in relation to a current location of PT 10. Such embodiments will be described in detail further below.

As an alternative or supplement to step 220, if DT12 and PT 10 comprise cellular transceivers, DT 12 may place a telephone call to PT 12 to facilitate the user finding the car 20B. The telephone number of user may be recorded with the transportation service and transmitted from the server 40 to DT 12 of car 20, e.g. with the ride order (step 210).

The method in FIG. 2A is merely provided as an example and many variations are possible. In a variation of step 203, instead of establishing a wireless connection with DT 12 of car 20A, PT 10 may transmit broadcast signal(s) with the ride request for detection by DT 12 of car 20A. Similarly, step 212 may be modified so that DT 12 of car 20A transmits a broadcast signal with the order confirmation for detection by PT 10. Similarly, step 218 may be modified so that PT 10 transmits broadcast signal(s) with the ride confirmation for detection by DT 12 of car 20B.

In a further variation, steps 201-204 are modified so that DT 12, instead of broadcasting the service ID, operates to detect broadcast signals, which are received by its SR transceiver and contain the ride request, and so that PT 10, when commanded by the user to request transportation, operates its SR transceiver to transmit broadcast signal(s) containing the ride request. Correspondingly, steps 216-217 may be reversed so that PT 10 operates its SR transceiver to transmit broadcast signal(s) with the transaction ID, and DT 12 operates to detect a broadcast signal, which is received by its SR transceiver and contains the transaction ID. Upon detection of such a broadcast signal, DT 12 may transmit a confirmation signal to PT 10 to indicate presence of the selected car 20B.

In yet another variation, steps 203-206 are modified so that DT 12, instead of forwarding the ride request to the server 40 over WAN 30, tethers PT 10 to WAN 30 and thereby establishes a communication channel between the PT 10 and the server 40 via the SR transceiver and the WWAN transceiver in DT 12. This means that PT 10 is given access to the data transfer capacity of DT 12 in WAN 30, allowing PT 10 to communicate with the server 40 through short-range communication with DT 12 of car 20A. Further embodiments and implementations of such tethering are disclosed in co pending U.S. patent application No. 15/618,520, which is incorporated herein by reference. In accordance with this variation, PT 10 may transmit the ride request to the server 40 over the tethered connection (step 203). Likewise, the server 40 may communicate the order confirmation to PT10 over the tethered connection (step 210). Further, the server 40 may communicate the above-mentioned map to PT 10 over the tethered connection. DT 12 may perform the tethering upon receipt of the ride request or a dedicated tethering request from PT 10, e.g. when PT 10 has established an initial wireless short-range connection with DT 12.

In a further variation, step 219 may be modified so that DT 12 of the selected car 20B tethers PT 10 to WAN 30, thereby allowing PT 10 to retrieve the above-mentioned map from the transportation server 40 or any other suitable WAN-connected server.

The above-mentioned short-range local positioning, which may be used in step 220 of FIG. 2A, will now be exemplified with reference to a user scenario shown in FIG. 1B. In this scenario, a user with its PT 10 is located in proximity of a plurality of transponders 50A-50C for wireless short-range communication. The respective transponder 50A-50C is configured to intermittently or continuously transmit a wireless short-range communication signal, e.g. a broadcast signal. The user may also be located in proximity of the car 20B that has been designated to pick up the user by the transportation service. DT 12 in car 20B is configured to transmit a wireless short-range communication signal, e.g. a broadcast signal. It should be noted that the transponders 50A-50C may be fixedly mounted devices that may but need not be associated with the transportation service. It is also conceivable that one or more of transponders 50A-50C is located in car 20A that is included in the fleet of cars of the transportation service.

For example, DT 12 in a car 20A may act as such a transponder. The following example presumes that the communication signals that are transmitted by the transponders 50A- 50C contain a global identifier (global ID) that allows PT 10 to identify the

communication signals as useful for positioning. In one example, the global ID is equal to or contains the above-mentioned service ID. The following example also presumes that the communication signals from the transponders 50A-50C contain a GPS position of the respective transponder 50A-50C. If a transponder is movable, e.g. when installed in a car 20A, the communication signal may be generated to include the current GPS position the transponder. Optionally, the transponder may be configured to only generate the communication signal when the car 20A is non-moving (stationary).

In one implementation, the respective transponder 50A-50C may be configured as a WAP with an SSID containing the global ID and the GPS position. In another implementation, the respective transponder 50A-50C may broadcast the global ID and the GPS position by Bluetooth advertising. In yet another implementation, the respective transponder 50A-50C may be configured for WiFi Aware communication, so that the respective transponder 50A-50C may broadcast one or more WiFi Aware forward messages containing the global ID and the GPS position.

FIG. 2B illustrates an embodiment of a method 250 for short-range local positioning. The method 250 may be performed by PT 10 in FIG. 1B. In step 251, PT 10 scans for short-range signals by operating its SR transceiver to detect incoming signals that are useful for positioning. Depending on implementation, step 251 may be performed as part of step 217 in FIG. 2A or as a separate step. Step 251 results in a selected set of short-range signals. Not all of the incoming short-range signals need to be included in the selected set. For example, step 251 may compute one or more qualification values for the respective short-range signal, and make a selection among the incoming short-range signals based on the qualification values. In one example, the qualification value represents signal strength, and only short-range signals with a signal strength above a predefined strength threshold are included in the selected set. This may improve the accuracy of the positioning. In another example, the qualification value represents signal variability over a measurement time period, and only short-range signals with a signal variability below a variability threshold are included in the selected set. This may eliminate moving or at least fast moving transponders from the selected set.

In step 252, a GPS position is extracted from at least one of the short-range signals in the selected set, and preferably from each of the short-range signals. In step 253, a distance and/or or an angle to the respective transponder is determined based on the respective short-range signal in the selected set. In one embodiment, the distance is determined based on a measured signal strength of the respective short-range signal. For example, PT 10 may be configured to measure the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for the respective short range-signal. As known in the art, the range (distance) to a signal source may be estimated from RSSI based on an equation that relates power decay to distance, as a function of a predefined path loss exponent. Such distance estimation is fast and connectionless. Other techniques may be used for estimating the distance from PT 10 to the respective transponder. In one example, distance may be estimated based on time stamps exchanged between PT 10 and each of the transponders, e.g. by use of so-called Fine Timing Measurement (FTM), as is well-known in the art.

In another example, distance may be estimated based on time-of-flight (ToF) measurements. The angle may be estimated by measuring differences in arrival time for the incoming signal at different antenna elements on the PT 10. Based on these differences the angle-of-arrival (AoA) may be calculated, as known in the art. Such angle estimation is also fast and connectionless.

In step 254, the current location of PT 10 is computed based on one or more GPS positions from step 252, and one or more distances and/or one or more angles from step 253, possibly in combination with orientation data from internal sensors in PT 10. The current location is preferably computed in Earth coordinates. The computations in step 254 may involve trilateration and/or triangulation. In one embodiment, a relative position between PT 10 and the transponder(s) may be computed by such trilateration and/or triangulation, whereupon the relative position is converted into an estimated GPS position based on the GPS position(s) of the transponder(s).

Further examples of the computations in step 254 will be given with reference to FIG. 10A, which illustrates PT 10 in an Earth coordinate system, after determination of angles to N sources (transponders) in step 253. The task is now to determine the geographic location of PT 10 given by p = P x Py Pz]^T where [-]^ denotes the transpose operation. The angles of arrival from source n in the azimuth and elevation planes, y_h and q_h, respectively, are related to the direction vector k_n by k_n = [cos f_h sin q_h sin p_n sin 0_n cos 6_n]^T, which may be related to p and the position of source n, whose coordinates

by

where d_n is the distance between p and source n given by

If PT 10 does not know its rotation relative the Earth coordinate system, it does not know k_n explicitly, but only the angle CC_mn between each two direction vectors k_m and k_n, which is given by their scalar product as

Note that 0L_mn is independent of the coordinate system.

In one embodiment, short-range signals from three sources 200, 300 and 400 are available, as illustrated in FIG. 10B. In such an embodiment, PT 10 may estimate its position in the Earth coordinate system without knowing its rotation relative the Earth coordinate system, i.e., without explicit knowledge of the direction vectors kgoo· kg go ^and

by ^use of an equation that is an explicit or approximate solution to the equation system: '_ (b₂oo - P)^T(b300 - p)_

COS ί*200, 300

V(^b200 - P)^T(b₂oo - P)(b₃₀o - P)^T(b₃oo - P)

_ (b₂oo ~ p)^(b₄₀o - p)_

COS <^200,400

V(¾2oo - P)^T(b₂oo - P)(b₄oo - P)^T(b₄oo - P)

_ (b₃oo ~ p)^(b₄₀o - p)_

COS OC₃₀Q 400

-V(b₃oo - P)^T(b₃oo - P)(b₄oo - P)^T(b₄oo - P)

In one embodiment, short-range signals from two sources 200 and 300 are available, as illustrated in Fig. 10C. PT 10 determines the angles to the sources (step 253) and obtains compass information and the direction of the gravitational force and is thereby able to determine the direction vectors k^OO and kggg based on the angles. In such an embodiment, PT 10 may estimate its position in the Earth coordinate system by use of an equation that is an explicit or approximate solution to the equation system:

Note that PT 10 does not have to know the distances

In one embodiment, a short-range signal from a single source 200 is available, as illustrated in FIG. 10D. PT 10 determines the angle and the distance to the source (step 253) and obtains compass information and the direction of the gravitational force. In such an embodiment, PT 10 is able to determine the direction vector k2oo· based on the angle, and may estimate its position in the Earth coordinate system by use of an equation that is an explicit or approximate solution to the equation system:

It is to be understood that the above examples indicate the required minimum number of sources. In a practical situation, it may be desirable to use an increased number of sources, e.g. to improve accuracy or robustness via redundancy in the positional estimation. The skilled person further realizes that the foregoing

computations may be modified to exclude measured angles and instead be based on measured distances from PT 10 to multiple sources.

Reverting to FIG. 2A, the current location that is determined in step 254 (FIG.

2B) may be used as described above for step 220 to direct the user to the pick-up location. For example, the current location may be displayed on PT 10 in relation to the pick-up location as exemplified in FIG. 3B. It is to be understood that the current location of PT 10 may be repeatedly computed by the local positioning method 250 in FIG. 2B and displayed to the user on PT 10 while the user moves towards the pick-up location.

As indicated by step 255 in FIG. 2B, the local positioning method 250 may also involve identifying the pick-up location, based on a short-range signal received from the selected car 20B, i.e. the car that has been designated by the transportation service to pick up the user (FIG. 1B). This embodiment presumes that the car 20B is located at the pick-up location when transmitting the short-range signal. This may be achieved by configuring DT 12 in the selected car 20B to transmit the short-range signal only when parked at the pick-up location. The short-range signal may be received by PT 10 in step 251 and may be detected as originating from the selected car 20B, e.g. as described in relation to steps 216-219. In one embodiment, if the short-range signal includes the GPS position of the car 20B, step 255 may set the pick-up location to the GPS position that was extracted from this short-range signal in step 252. In an alternative embodiment, step 255 identifies the pick-up location based on a distance and/or an angle that is computed by step 253 for this short-range signal and based on the current location of PT 10 computed by step 254. In a first implementation, an estimated GPS position of the car 20B at the pick-up location may be computed by analogy with the embodiment in FIG. 10D, e.g. by computing b₂oo ^{as a} function of p, d₂ oo and k₂₀₀. In ^a second implementation, the pickup location is simply identified by the distance and/or the angle from PT 10. In the second implementation, instead of graphically representing the pick up location as a dot on the display 12 (cf. 15 in FIG. 3B), PT 10 may present the current distance to the pick-up location (cf. 13 in FIG. 3B), and optionally indicate the current direction to the pick-up location (cf. 16 in FIG. 3B). In fact, in a simplified variant of the local positioning method 250, steps 252 and 254 may be omitted, step 251 may be performed to only identify the short-range signal from the car 20B, step 253 may be performed to compute an angle and/or distance to the car 20B, and step 255 may be performed to present the current distance from PT 10 to the pick-up location (cf. 13 in FIG. 3B), and optionally indicate the current direction from PT 10 to the pick-up location (cf. 16 in FIG. 3B).

Generally, as understood from the foregoing, the local positioning method 250 may be executed by PT 10 to determine its current location in Earth coordinates for use when providing directions to a pick-up location, which is also given in Earth

coordinates. PT 10 may acquire such a pick-up location from a message sent by the server 40, e.g. the order confirmation (step 213), in a short-range signal transmitted by the selected car 20B during the local positioning method 250. Generally, as also understood from the foregoing, the local positioning method 250 may be executed by PT 10 to only determine the pickup location, either in Earth coordinates or as an angle and/or distance from PT 10, where the current location of PT 10 in Earth coordinates may be either unknown or known to PT 10.

The skilled person also realizes that the local positioning method 250 may be executed by PT 10 to determine its current location in Earth coordinates before or during steps 201-204 in FIG. 2A, i.e. when PT 10 is operated to request a ride. By transmitting the current location to the transportation server 40, e.g. in a ride request, the server 40 is enabled to direct a car to a suitable pick-up location near the user.

As an alternative or supplement to using the local positioning method 250 when requesting the ride, PT 10 may execute a remote positioning method 260, which allows a remote server to determine the current location of PT 10 based on a pattern of signal strengths detected by PT 10. An embodiment of the remote positioning method 260 is depicted in FIG. 2C and will be exemplified with reference to a user scenario shown in FIG. 4. In this user scenario, a user with its PT 10 is located in proximity of a plurality of transponders 50A-50C for short-range communication. The respective transponder 50A-50C is configured to intermittently or continuously transmit a wireless short-range communication signal, e.g. a broadcast signal, containing a unique identifier

(transponder ID) for the transponder. In one embodiment, the transponders 50A-50C are configured as WAPs and the transponder ID is the SSID, or preferably, the BSSID or MAC address of the respective WAP. In other embodiments, the transponders 50A-50C are configured to broadcast the transponder ID by Bluetooth advertising or in WiFi Aware forward messages. Fike in the foregoing user scenarios, PT 10 comprises an SR transceiver capable of receiving the short-range signals from the transponders 50A-50C. PT 10 may further comprise a cellular transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving text messages over a telecommunications network. The text messages may e.g. be communicated by use of a Short Message Service (SMS) which is commonly available in telecommunications networks. The transponders 50A-50C are preferably fixedly mounted devices that may but need not be associated with the transportation service. PT 10 may also comprise a WWAN transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving messages over a WAN.

In the example of FIG. 2C, the remote positioning method 260 comprises a step 261 in which PT 10 scans for short-range signals by operating its SR transceiver to detect incoming communication signals. Step 261 results in a set of short-range signals. In step 262, the transponder ID is extracted from the respective short-range signal. In step 263, the signal strength of the respective short-range signal is measured. For example, PT 10 may be configured to measure the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for the respective short range-signal. In step 264, a selection is made among the short-range signals. The selection may aim at eliminating signals from non- stationary transponders and thereby improve the accuracy of the remote positioning. In one example, the selection involves computing signal variability over time for the respective short-range signal, and eliminating all signals that exhibit a signal variability above a predefined variability threshold. In another example, the selection is made based on the transponder ID that is determined in step 262. It should be understood that the selection step 264 may be fully or partially executed before steps 262-263. In step 265, a current fingerprint pattern is defined for the signals selected by step 264. The current fingerprint pattern comprises pairs of transponder ID and signal strength, e.g. [BSSID, RSSI], obtained by steps 262-263. In step 266, the current fingerprint pattern is transmitted to a positioning server, which thereby processes the fingerprint pattern for determination of a current location of PT 10.

In the user scenario in FIG. 4, the transportation server 40 may be configured to operate as the positioning server. Thus, when the user commands PT 10 to request a ride with the transportation service, PT 10 executes the remote positioning method 250 to generate a current fingerprint pattern that represents the local environment of short- range signals. Then, PT 10 transmits the fingerprint pattern with a ride request to the transportation server 40, as indicated by data transfer 1 in FIG. 4. After receiving the fingerprint pattern, the transportation server 40 performs a mapping of the fingerprint pattern to a pattern database (DB 1 in FIG. 5), which stores previously collected fingerprint patterns in association with a respective reference position in the Earth coordinate system. The mapping may identify a best match among the fingerprints in the database, and a reference position that is associated with the best match may be set as the current location of PT 10. In a variant, the database associates the respective fingerprint with a reference zone among a plurality of reference zones, where the reference zones have a defined and preferably non-overlapping extent in the Earth coordinate system. In this variant, the current location of PT 10 may be set to one of the reference zones based on the mapping. The server 40 may then transmit a message containing the thus-determined current location to PT 10, as indicated by data transfer 2. The server 40 also designates, at least partly based on the current location, a car to execute the ride request and determines a pick-up location. The server 40 then transmits a ride order to the designated car 20B, as indicated by data transfer 3, which thereby drives to the pick-up location. At the pick-up location, PT 10 may identify and locate the designated car 20B as described in relation to steps 216-220 in FIG. 2A and step 255 in FIG. 2B. Generally, as understood from the foregoing, the remote positioning method 260 may be executed by PT 10 to enable the transportation server 40 to determine the current location of PT 10 in Earth coordinates and to direct a car to a suitable pick-up location near the user.

Generally, as also understood from the foregoing, the remote positioning method

260 may be executed by PT 10 to obtain its current location in Earth coordinates for use when providing directions to the pick-up location.

One difficulty when implementing the remote positioning method 260 is to have access to a pattern database that contains high resolution and up-to-date fingerprint patterns within the geographical region of interest. Preferably, the pattern database should be maintained timely according to environmental changes to guarantee its availability and accuracy. In the context of the transportation service, which has a fleet of cars that move around within the geographical region, this so-called "training" of the pattern database may conveniently be achieved by using the cars to collect fingerprint patterns. FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a training method which is performed by the transportation server 40 and by DTs 12 that are located in at least a subset of the cars in the fleet of cars. According to the illustrated training method, the DTs 12 are operated to intermittently determine data pairs of fingerprint pattern and GPS position while the respective car moves around within the geographical region, and transmit the data pairs to the transportation server 40 for update of the pattern database. To increase accuracy, the respective DT 12 may monitor the speed of the car and obtain fingerprint patterns only when the car is stationary, or when its speed is below a predefined speed threshold. In the training method of FIG. 9, DT 12 executes steps 901-905, which are identical to steps 261-265 in FIG. 2C and result in a current fingerprint pattern. In step 906, DT 12 obtains a current GPS position from its GNSS receiver. In step 907, DT 12 transmits an update request containing one or more data pairs of fingerprint pattern and GPS position to the server 40, e.g. over a WAN (cf. 30 in FIGS 1A and 4). In step 908, the server 40 receives the update request over the WAN and extracts the one or more data pairs. In step 910, the server 40 updates the pattern database based on the one or more data pairs received in step 908, and possibly previously received data pairs. In one example, step 910 may involve adding the GPS position of a data pair as a reference position in the pattern database and associating the reference position with the fingerprint pattern of the data pair. In another example, step 910 may involve averaging of fingerprint patterns at overlapping reference points in the pattern database. In yet another example, step 910 may involve interpolation of the fingerprint pattern of a data pair to one or more predefined reference points, e.g. in a predefined grid, based on the GPS position of the data pair. In another example, step 910 may involve filtering of the fingerprint patterns between neighboring reference points in the pattern database, to reduce the effects of signal interferences in the pattern collection process. In effect, step 910 may implement any known technique for updating and maintaining a fingerprint pattern database.

The skilled person realizes that step 910 may be executed in similar manner for a pattern database that associates fingerprint patterns with reference zones. In this context, the training method may involve a step 909, as indicated in FIG. 9, in which the server 40 redefines the extent of the reference zones based on the one or more data pairs received in step 908, e.g. so that the reference zones include approximately the same number of transponders. This may serve to reduce variations in positioning accuracy between reference zones.

Reverting to FIG. 4, PT 10 may communicate with the server 40 on different communication channels when requesting a ride, depending on network access. If PT 10 has a WWAN transceiver that is able to connect to a WAN, PT 10 may transmit a ride request containing the fingerprint pattern to the server 40 over the WAN. However, if WAN access is unavailable, PT 10 may operate its SR transceiver to transmit the ride request, e.g. in accordance with the proximity ordering as described in relation to FIG. 2A. Alternatively, as indicated in FIG. 4, the ride request may be transmitted over a cellular network 30', in the format of one or more text messages. This is a convenient way of enabling PT 10 to request a ride in scenarios when PT 10 lacks a WAN connection due to limitations set by the WAN network operator, since in these scenarios it is generally still possible to transmit text messages over the cellular network, which may or may not be controlled by the same network operator. This type of ordering is generally referred to as "text message ordering" herein.

In the following, an example of text message ordering combined with remote positioning will be described with reference to FIGS 5-6. FIG. 5 illustrates a system comprising a PT 10, transponders 50A-50C, a transportation server 40, a pattern database DB1, a car database DB2, and a vehicle 20B with a DT 12. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method performed in the system that enables PT 10 to request a ride without a WAN connection and without access to reliable GPS positions. Steps 601-606 in FIG. 6 implement the remote positioning and are identical to steps 261-266 in FIG. 2C and the description will not be repeated here. During the remote positioning, as indicated in FIG. 5, PT 10 may obtain short-range signals from the transponders 50A-50C, determine a signal strength (RSSI_l, RSSI_ 2, RSSI_3) for each short-range signal, extract a transponder ID (BSSID_l, BSSID_2, BSSID_3) from each short-range signal, and define a fingerprint pattern (FP). In step 606, PT 10 composes a text message containing a ride request (REQ) and FP, and transmits the text message, TXT, to the transportation server 40. The text message may contain further data, such as a passenger ID that identifies the user of PT 10 to the server 40. However, the passenger ID may alternatively be given by the originating phone number of the text message. In step 607, the server 40 receives the text message with REQ and FP, and then executes the ride request by performing steps 608-611 which correspond to steps 207-210 in FIG. 2A. In step 608, as indicated in FIG. 5, the server 40 may query the pattern database DB 1 with FP, or data derived therefrom, to obtain the current location (PT FOC) of PT 10. The current location may be given as a position in Earth coordinates or a zone. In step 609, the server 40 may query the car database DB2 with the current position to identify one or more cars that are available to pick up the user that placed the ride request. DB2 is suitably regularly updated, by the transportation server 40 or another server, to hold the current location and the availability of the respective car in the fleet of cars. In FIG. 5, the server 40 obtains a designated car, given by a car identifier (CID), from DB2. In step 610, the server 40 determines a pick-up location, e.g. as described for step 209 in FIG. 2A. In step 611, and as indicated in FIG. 5, the server 40 transmits a ride order to the designated car 20B, e.g. as described for step 214 in FIG. 2A. In step 612, which corresponds to step 215 in FIG. 2A, DT 12 in the designated car 20B receives the ride order and presents the pick-up location to the driver, who drives the car 20B to the pick up location. In step 613, the server 40 composes a text message with an order confirmation and transmits the text message to PT 10 over the cellular network 30'. As indicated in FIG. 5, the text message may also contain the current location (PT FOC) of PT 10, as determined by the server 40. The text message may further contain the pick up location. In step 614, PT 10 receives the text message from the server 40. The subsequent steps 615-617 may be identical to steps 216-220 and all variants thereof as described in relation to FIG. 2A.

It should be understood that text message ordering may not only be combined with remote positioning. For example, if PT 10 has access to a current GPS position that is deemed reliable, steps 601-605 in FIG. 6 may be omitted and PT 10 may include the GPS position in the ride request that is transmitted in step 606.

It is also conceivable to combine the text message ordering with local positioning. An example of such a combination is depicted in FIGS 7-8. FIG. 7 illustrates a system comprising a PT 10, transponders 50A-50C, a transportation server 40, a car database DB2, and a vehicle 20B with a DT 12. FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method performed in the system that enables PT 10 to request a ride without a WAN connection and without access to reliable GPS positions. The method in FIG. 8 differs from the method in FIG. 6 by steps 801-804. Step 801 replaces steps 601-605 in FIG. 6 and corresponds to the local positioning according to steps 251-254 in FIG. 2B and the description will not be repeated here. During the local positioning, as indicated in FIG. 7, PT 10 may obtain short-range signals from the transponders 50A-50C, determine a signal strength

(RSSI_l, RSSI_ 2, RSSI_3) and/or an angle-of-arrival (AOA_l, AOA_2, AOA_3) for each short-range signal, extract a GPS position (GPS_l, GPS_2, GPS_3) from each short-range signal, and compute the current location (PT LOC) of PT 10. In step 802, PT 10 composes a text message containing a ride request (REQ) and PT LOC, and transmits the text message, TXT, to the server 40. The text message may contain further data, such as a passenger ID that identifies the user of PT 10 to the server 40. However, the passenger ID may alternatively be given by the originating phone number of the text message. In step 803, the server 40 receives the text message with REQ and PT LOC. In step 804, the server 40 determines the current location of PT 10 by extracting PT LOC from the text message. The following steps 805-813 may be identical to steps 609-617 in LIG. 6.

LIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of a device 1100 that may represent a PT 10 or a DT 12. The device 1100 comprises a memory 1101, one or more processors 1102, a memory interface 1103, and a peripherals interface 1104. The memory 1101, the processor(s) 1102, the memory interface 1103 and the peripherals interface 1104 may be separate components or integrated in one or more integrated circuits. The various components in the device 1100 may be coupled by one or more communication buses or signal lines. Sensors, devices and subsystems may be coupled to the peripherals interface 1104 to facilitate multiple functionalities.

Communication functions may be facilitated through one or more communication subsystems or network interfaces, including a WWAN network interface comprising a WWAN transceiver 1105 and an antenna 1106, a WLAN network interface comprising a WLAN transceiver 1107 and an antenna 1106, a WPAN network interface comprising a WPAN transceiver 1108 and an antenna 1106, and a cellular network interface comprising a cellular transceiver 1109 and an antenna 1106. As an alternative to having a separate antenna 1106 for each network interface, it is conceivable that two or more network interfaces share an antenna 1106. The antenna 1106 may be configured as a single antenna element or as an antenna array comprising two or more antenna elements. The provision of an antenna array enables determination of the above- mentioned angle-of-arrival (AoA). The SR transceiver mentioned in the foregoing description may correspond to the WLAN transceiver 1107 or the WPAN transceiver 1108. It is conceivable that the WWAN network interface is a subset of the cellular network interface. However, conceptually, the device 1100 may be regarded as comprising a WWAN network interface and a cellular network interface. When implementing PT 10 or DT 12 as described in the foregoing, the device 1100 may include a subset of the network interfaces that are depicted in LIG. 11. Positioning functions may be facilitated through a GNSS network interface comprising a GNSS receiver 1110 and an antenna 1106. The GNSS receiver 1110 may be an electronic device that receives and digitally processes the satellite signals from a GNSS satellite constellation in order to provide a GPS position, and possibly velocity and time. Alternatively, the GNSS receiver 1110 is merely configured to receive and digitize the satellite signals, whereupon the resulting digital stream of data is processed into GPS positions by the processor(s) 1102.

The device 1100 may further comprise one or more auxiliary sensors 1111 such as one or more accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, motion sensors, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, etc, which are coupled to the peripherals interface 1104 to facilitate related functionalities. For example, the auxiliary sensors 1111 may provide the above-mentioned compass information and direction of the gravitational force.

An I/O subsystem 1112 may be coupled to the peripherals interface 1104 and include one or more input/output controllers coupled to input/output hardware component(s) 1113, including but not limited to one or more of a touch screen, a display, a keyboard, a touch pad, one or more buttons, rocker switches, a thumb-wheel, an infrared port, a USB port, and a pointer device such as a stylus. At least part of the I/O subsystem 1112 may be operated to generate a graphical user interface (GUI) that presents information to the user and/or accepts input from the user (cf. 12 in FIGS 3A- 3B).

An audio subsystem 1114 may be coupled to audio hardware component(s) 1115, such as a loudspeaker and a microphone, to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and telephony functions.

The processor(s) 1102 may comprise one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a

microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

The memory 1101 may include high-speed random access memory and/or non volatile memory, such as one or more solid-state storage devices, one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR). The memory 1101 may store an operating system, such as Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks. The operating system may include instructions for handling basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. The memory 1101 may also store communication instructions to facilitate communicating with one or more external devices. The memory 1101 may include graphical user interface instructions to facilitate graphic user interface processing; sensor processing instructions to facilitate sensor-related processing and functions; phone instructions to facilitate phone-related processes and functions; text messaging instructions to facilitate text messaging related processes and functions; web browsing instructions to facilitate web browsing-related processes and functions; media processing instructions to facilitate media processing-related processes and functions; and GPS/Navigation instructions to facilitate GPS and navigation-related processes and instructions.

The memory 1101 may also store application programs ("applications") which include instructions executable by the processor(s) 1102. In some embodiments, certain applications may be installed on the mobile device by its manufacturer, while other applications may be installed by a user. In the example of FIG. 11, the memory 1101 stores an application AP which, when executed by the processor(s) 1102, cause the device 1100 to operate as either a passenger terminal (PT) 10 or a driver terminal (DT) 12, in accordance with any of the methodologies described herein. The application AP may be supplied to the device 1100 on a computer-readable medium, which may be a tangible (non-transitory) product (e.g. magnetic medium, optical medium, read-only memory, flash memory, digital tape, etc) or a propagating signal.

In the following, various aspects and embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to flow charts in FIGS 12A-12F.

A first aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12A, relates to proximity ordering and is a method of ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said method being performed by a mobile device comprising a transceiver for wireless short-range communication. The illustrated method comprises:

composing (step 1201) a ride request destined for a transportation server, which is connected for communication over a wide area network with the vehicles in the fleet and is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and transmitting (step 1202), by the transceiver, the ride request for receipt by a proximate vehicle in said fleet, said ride request causing the proximate vehicle to provide the ride request to the transportation server over the wide area network.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, by the transceiver and from the proximate vehicle, a ride confirmation generated by the transportation server.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: detecting presence of a selected vehicle which has been designated to the ride request by the transportation server, by operating the transceiver for wireless short-range communication and using an identifier included in at least one of the ride request and the ride confirmation.

In some embodiments, said detecting presence comprises one of:

receiving, by the transceiver, an incoming communication signal transmitted by the selected vehicle, and detecting the identifier in the incoming communication signal; and

transmitting, by the transceiver, an outgoing communication signal comprising the identifier, and receiving an incoming confirmation signal from the selected vehicle in response to the outgoing communication signal.

In some embodiments, the incoming communication signal, the outgoing communication signal and the incoming confirmation signal are broadcast signals.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining a pick-up location for the selected vehicle; and presenting, on a user interface of the mobile device, directions to the pick-up location.

In some embodiments, said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: retrieving the pick-up location from the ride confirmation.

In some embodiments, said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: receiving, by the transceiver and from the selected vehicle, a current vehicle position of the selected vehicle.

In some embodiments, said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: receiving, by the transceiver, an incoming communication signal transmitted by the selected vehicle; and determining at least one of a distance and an angle from the mobile device to the selected vehicle based on the incoming communication signal.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, by the transceiver, a set of incoming communication signals from a corresponding set of wireless transponders; extracting a set of transponder positions included in the set of incoming communication signals; determining, based on the set of incoming communication signals, at least one of a distance and an angle from the mobile device to a respective wireless transponder in the corresponding set of wireless transponders; determining a current location of the mobile device as a function of the set of transponder positions and said at least one of a distance and an angle to the respective wireless transponder; and presenting the directions to the pick-up location from the current location.

In some embodiments, the set of wireless transponders comprise a wireless transponder which is arranged in or on the selected vehicle.

In some embodiments, the set of transponder positions and the pick-up location are given in an Earth coordinate system.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining position data representing a current position of the mobile device; and including the position data in the ride request. In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, by the

transceiver, a set of incoming communication signals transmitted by a corresponding set of wireless transponders; extracting a set of transponder identifiers from the set of incoming communication signals; determining a set of signal strengths for the set of incoming communication signals; and defining said position data to comprise the set to transponder identifiers and the set of signal strengths.

A corresponding second aspect, exemplified in FIGS 1A and 11, relates to a mobile device 10 for use in ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles. The mobile device 10 comprises: a transceiver 1107, 1108 for wireless short-range communication, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the transceiver 1107, 1108 and the memory 1101, operable to: compose a ride request destined for a transportation server 40, which is connected for communication over a wide area network 30 with the vehicles in the fleet and is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and transmit, by the transceiver 1107, 1108, the ride request for receipt by a proximate vehicle 20A in said fleet, said ride request causing the proximate vehicle 20A to provide the ride request to the

transportation server 40 over the wide area network 30. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect may be adapted and implemented as an embodiment of the second aspect.

A third aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12B, relates to proximity ordering and is a method of providing access to a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said method being performed by a vehicle in the fleet of vehicles, said vehicle comprising a first transceiver for wireless short-range communication and a second transceiver for wireless communication in a wide area network. The illustrated method comprises:

receiving (step 1211), by the first transceiver, a ride request transmitted by a mobile device;

providing (step 1212), by the second transceiver, the ride request to a

transportation server, which is connected to the wide area network and configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet;

receiving (step 1213), by the second transceiver, a ride confirmation from the transportation server; and

providing (step 1214), by the first transceiver, the ride confirmation to the mobile device.

In some embodiments, said providing the ride request comprises: forwarding the ride request, by the second transceiver, to the transportation server. In some embodiments, said providing the ride request comprises: controlling the first and second transceivers to tether the mobile device to the wide area network.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining position data representing a current position of the mobile device or the vehicle; and including the position data in the ride request before providing the ride request to the transportation server.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, by the second transceiver, a ride order from the transportation server, said ride order comprising an identifier; and detecting, by the first transceiver and based on the identifier, a requesting mobile device associated with the ride order.

In some embodiments, said ride confirmation comprises an identifier of a selected vehicle designated to the ride request by the transportation server.

A corresponding fourth aspect, exemplified in FIGS 1A and 11, relates to a device for installation in or on a vehicle included in a fleet of vehicles associated with a transportation service. The device comprises: a first transceiver 1107, 1108 for wireless short-range communication, a second transceiver 1106 for wireless communication in a wide area network 30, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the first and second transceivers 1107, 1108; 1106 and the memory 1101, operable to: receive, by the first transceiver 1107, 1108, a ride request transmitted by a mobile device 10;

provide, by the second transceiver 1106, the ride request to a transportation server 40, which is connected to the wide area network 30 and configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; receive, by the second transceiver 1106, a ride confirmation from the transportation server 40; and provide, by the first transceiver 1107, 1108, the ride confirmation to the mobile device 10. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the third aspect may be adapted and implemented as an embodiment of the fourth aspect.

A fifth aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12C, relates to text message ordering and is a method of ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said method being performed by a mobile device comprising a first transceiver for wireless communication in a wide area network and a second transceiver for cellular communication. The illustrated method comprises:

detecting (step 1221) an inability of the first transceiver to transmit data to the wide area network;

transmitting (step 1222), by the second transceiver, an outgoing text message comprising a ride request to a transportation server, which is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and receiving (step 1223), by the second transceiver, an incoming text message comprising a ride confirmation.

In some embodiments, the mobile device comprises a third transceiver for wireless short-range communication, and said method further comprises: detecting presence of a selected vehicle which has been designated to the ride request by the transportation server, by operating the third transceiver and using an identifier included in at least one of the ride request and the ride confirmation.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining a pick-up location for the selected vehicle, and presenting, on a user interface of the mobile device, directions to the pick-up location.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining position data representing a current position of the mobile device and including the position data in the ride request.

A corresponding sixth aspect, exemplified in FIGS 5, 7 and 11, relates to a mobile device 10 for use in ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles. The mobile device comprises: a first transceiver 1106 for wireless communication in a wide area network 30, a second transceiver 1109 for cellular communication, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the first and second transceivers 1106, 1109 and the memory 1101, operable to: detect an inability of the first transceiver 1106 to transmit data to the wide area network 30; transmit, by the second transceiver 1109, an outgoing text message comprising a ride request to a transportation server 40, which is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and receive, by the second transceiver 1109, an incoming text message comprising a ride confirmation. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the fifth aspect may be adapted and implemented as an embodiment of the sixth aspect.

A seventh aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12D, relates to local positioning and is a method of locating a vehicle designated by a transportation service in response to a ride request, said method being performed by a mobile device comprising a transceiver for wireless short-range communication. The illustrated method comprises:

receiving (step 1231), by the transceiver, a set of communication signals from a corresponding set of wireless transponders; and

determining (step 1233), as a function of the set of communication signals, a current location of the mobile device in relation to a pick-up location of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: extracting a set of transponder positions from the set of communication signals; determining, based on the set of communication signals, at least one of a distance and an angle to a respective wireless transponder in the set of wireless transponders; and determining the current location of the mobile device as a function of the set of transponder positions and said at least one of a distance and an angle to the respective wireless transponder.

In some embodiments, one wireless transponder in the set of wireless

transponders is arranged in or on the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining the pick-up location by determining a current vehicle position as a function of the set of transponder positions and said at least one of a distance and an angle to the respective wireless transponder.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining the pick-up location by extracting a transponder position included in a communication signal from said one wireless transponder.

In some embodiments, the set of transponder positions is given in an Earth coordinate system.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining a signal variability for a respective communication signal in the set of communication signals, the signal variability representing a variability in signal strength over a predefined time period; and excluding, from said determining a current location, the respective communication signal for which the signal variability is above a variability threshold.

In some embodiments, one wireless transponder in the set of wireless

transponders is arranged in or on the vehicle, and said determining a current location comprises: determining at least one of a distance and an angle to the vehicle based on a communication signal from said one wireless transponder; and determining the current location of the mobile device in relation to the vehicle, which is located at the pick-up location, as a function of said at least one of a distance and an angle to the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: detecting, by the

transceiver, presence of the vehicle; and presenting, on a user interface of the mobile device, directions from the current location to the pick-up location.

A corresponding eighth aspect, exemplified in FIGS 1B, 4 and 11, relates to a mobile device 10 for use in locating a vehicle 20B designated by a transportation service in response to a ride request. The mobile device 10 comprises: a transceiver 1107, 1108 for wireless short-range communication, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the transceiver 1107, 1108 and the memory 1101, operable to: receive, by the transceiver 1107, 1108, a set of communication signals from a corresponding set of wireless transponders 50A, 50B, 50C; and determine, as a function of the set of communication signals, a current location of the mobile device 10 in relation to a pick up location of the vehicle 20B. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the seventh aspect may be adapted and implemented as an embodiment of the eighth aspect. A ninth aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12E, relates to remote positioning and is a method of locating a vehicle designated by a transportation service in response to a ride request, said method being performed by a mobile device comprising a first transceiver for wireless short-range communication and a second transceiver for wireless communication in a wide area network. The illustrated method comprises:

receiving (step 1241), by the first transceiver, communication signals from multiple wireless transponders;

determining (step 1242) a set of parameter values for at least a subset of the communication signals;

transmitting (step 1243), by the first or second transceiver and to a positioning server, a positioning request that comprises the set of parameter values, the positioning request causing the positioning server to determine a current location of the mobile device based on the set of parameter values;

receiving (step 1244), by the first or second transceiver and in response to the positioning request, the current location of the mobile device; and

obtaining (step 1245), by the first or second transceiver, a pick-up location of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, said determining the set of parameter values comprises: determining a signal strength of a respective communication signal among said at least a subset of the communication signals; and extracting, from the respective

communication signal, a transponder identifier of the wireless transponder that generated the respective communication signal.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: determining a signal variability for each of the communication signals, the signal variability representing a variability in signal strength over a predefined time period; and defining the at least a subset of the communication signals based on the signal variability.

In some embodiments, the at least a subset of the communication signals is defined to exclude communication signals for which the signal variability is above a variability threshold.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: presenting, on a user interface of the mobile device, directions from the current location to the pick-up location.

A corresponding tenth aspect, exemplified in FIGS 4 and 11, relates to a mobile device 10 for use in locating a vehicle 20B designated by a transportation service in response to a ride request. The mobile device 10 comprises: a first transceiver 1107,

1108 for wireless short-range communication, a second transceiver 1105 for wireless communication in a wide area network 30, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the first and second transceivers 1107, 1108; 1105 and the memory 1101, operable to: receive, by the first transceiver 1107, 1108, communication signals from multiple wireless transponders 50A, 50B, 50C; determine a set of parameter values for at least a subset of the communication signals; transmit, by the first or second transceiver 1107, 1108; 1105 and to a positioning server 40, a positioning request that comprises the set of parameter values, the positioning request causing the positioning server 40 to determine a current location of the mobile device 10 based on the set of parameter values; receive, by the first or second transceiver 1107, 1008; 1105 and in response to the positioning request, the current location of the mobile device 10; and obtain, by the first or second transceiver 1107, 1108; 1105, a pick-up location of the vehicle 20B. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the ninth aspect may be adapted and implemented as an embodiment of the tenth aspect.

An eleventh aspect, exemplified in FIG. 12F, relates to remote positioning and is a method performed by a vehicle in a fleet of vehicles associated with a transportation service, said vehicle comprising a first transceiver for wireless short-range

communication, a second transceiver for wireless communication in a wide area network, and a GNSS receiver. The illustrated method comprises, intermittently during execution of the transportation service:

obtaining (step 1251), by the first transceiver, communication signals from wireless transponders;

determining (step 1252) a current set of parameter values for at least a subset of the communication signals;

obtaining (step 1253) a current position value from the GNSS receiver;

transmitting (step 1254), by the second transceiver and to a positioning server, an update request that comprises the current set of parameter values and the current position value, to cause the positioning server to update a position database that associates sets of parameter values with position data.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining a current speed of the vehicle, and said obtaining communication signals and said obtaining a current position value are performed when the current speed is below a speed threshold.

In some embodiments, the current set of parameter values comprises signal strengths of said at least a subset of the communication signals at the first transceiver and identifiers of the wireless transponders generating said at least a subset of the communication signals.

A corresponding twelfth aspect, exemplified in FIGS 5 and 11, relates to a device for installation in or on a vehicle included in a fleet of vehicles associated with a transportation service. The device comprises: a first transceiver 1107, 1108 for wireless short-range communication, a second transceiver 1105 for wireless communication in a wide area network 30, a GNSS receiver 1110, a memory 1101, and a processor 1102 coupled to the first and second transceivers 1107, 1108; 1105, the GNSS receiver 1110 and the memory 1101, operable to, intermittently during execution of the transportation service: obtain, by the first transceiver 1107, 1108, communication signals from wireless transponders 50A, 50B, 50C; determine a current set of parameter values for at least a subset of the communication signals; obtain a current position value from the GNSS receiver 1110; and transmit, by the second transceiver 1105 and to a positioning server 40, an update request that comprises the current set of parameter values and the current position value, to cause the positioning server 40 to update a position database DB1 that associates parameter values with position data. Any one of the foregoing embodiments of the eleventh aspect may be adapted and implemented as an

embodiment of the twelfth aspect.

The foregoing aspects and embodiments may be implemented by a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a processor in a computing device, causes the processor to perform any one of the foregoing methods.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what being claims or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

Claims

1. A method of ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said method being performed by a mobile device (10) comprising a transceiver (1107, 1108) for wireless short-range communication, said method comprising:

composing (1201) a ride request destined for a transportation server (40), which is connected for communication over a wide area network (30) with the vehicles in the fleet and is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and

transmitting (1202), by the transceiver (1107, 1108), the ride request for receipt by a proximate vehicle (20A) in said fleet, said ride request causing the proximate vehicle (20A) to provide the ride request to the transportation server (40) over the wide area network (30).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the transceiver (1107, 1108) and from the proximate vehicle (20 A), a ride confirmation generated by the transportation server (40).

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: detecting presence of a selected vehicle (20B) which has been designated to the ride request by the transportation server (40), by operating the transceiver (1107, 1108) for wireless short-range communication and using an identifier included in at least one of the ride request and the ride confirmation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said detecting presence comprises one of: receiving, by the transceiver (1107, 1108), an incoming communication signal transmitted by the selected vehicle (20B), and detecting the identifier in the incoming communication signal; and

transmitting, by the transceiver (1107, 1108), an outgoing communication signal comprising the identifier, and receiving an incoming confirmation signal from the selected vehicle (20B) in response to the outgoing communication signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the incoming communication signal, the outgoing communication signal and the incoming confirmation signal are broadcast signals.

6. The method of any one of claims 3-5, further comprising: obtaining a pick-up location for the selected vehicle (20B); and presenting, on a user interface of the mobile device (10), directions to the pick-up location. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: retrieving the pick-up location from the ride confirmation.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: receiving, by the transceiver (1107, 1108) and from the selected vehicle (20B), a current vehicle position of the selected vehicle (20B).

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said obtaining a pick-up location comprises: receiving, by the transceiver (1107, 1108), an incoming communication signal transmitted by the selected vehicle (20B); and determining at least one of a distance and an angle from the mobile device (10) to the selected vehicle (20B) based on the incoming communication signal.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving, by the transceiver (1107, 1108), a set of incoming communication signals from a corresponding set of wireless transponders (50A, 50B, 50C); extracting a set of transponder positions included in the set of incoming communication signals; determining, based on the set of incoming communication signals, at least one of a distance and an angle from the mobile device (10) to a respective wireless transponder (50A, 50B, 50C) in the corresponding set of wireless transponders (50A, 50B, 50C); determining a current location of the mobile device (10) as a function of the set of transponder positions and said at least one of a distance and an angle to the respective wireless transponder (50A, 50B, 50C); and presenting the directions to the pick-up location from the current location. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of wireless transponders (50A, 50B,

50C) comprises a wireless transponder which is arranged in or on the selected vehicle (20B).

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the set of transponder positions and the pick-up location are given in an Earth coordinate system.

13. The method of any one of claims 1-12, further comprising: obtaining position data representing a current position of the mobile device (10); and including the position data in the ride request. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the transceiver

(1107, 1108), a set of incoming communication signals transmitted by a corresponding set of wireless transponders (50A, 50B, 50C); extracting a set of transponder identifiers from the set of incoming communication signals; determining a set of signal strengths for the set of incoming communication signals; and defining said position data to comprise the set to transponder identifiers and the set of signal strengths.

15. A computer-readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by a processor (1102), cause the control unit (1102) to perform the method of any one of claims 1-14.

16. A mobile device for use in ordering a ride with a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said mobile device comprising:

a transceiver (1107, 1108) for wireless short-range communication,

a memory (1101), and

a processor (1102) coupled to the transceiver (1107, 1108) and the memory

(1101), operable to:

compose a ride request destined for a transportation server (40), which is connected for communication over a wide area network (30) with the vehicles in the fleet and is configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet; and

transmit, by the transceiver (1107, 1108), the ride request for receipt by a proximate vehicle (20A) in said fleet, said ride request causing the proximate vehicle (20A) to provide the ride request to the transportation server (40) over the wide area network (30).

17. A method of providing access to a transportation service associated with a fleet of vehicles, said method being performed by a vehicle (20 A) in the fleet of vehicles, said vehicle (20 A) comprising a first transceiver (1107, 1108) for wireless short-range communication and a second transceiver (1105) for wireless communication in a wide area network (30), said method comprising:

receiving (1211), by the first transceiver (1107, 1108), a ride request transmitted by a mobile device (10); providing (1212), by the second transceiver (1105), the ride request to a transportation server (40), which is connected to the wide area network (30) and configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet;

receiving (1213), by the second transceiver (1105), a ride confirmation from the transportation server (40); and

providing (1214), by the first transceiver (1107, 1108), the ride confirmation to the mobile device (10).

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said providing the ride request comprises: forwarding the ride request, by the second transceiver (1105), to the transportation server (40).

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said providing the ride request comprises: controlling the first and second transceivers (1107, 1108; 1105) to tether the mobile device (10) to the wide area network (30).

20. The method of any one of claims 17-19, further comprising: obtaining position data representing a current position of the mobile device (10) or the vehicle (20A); and including the position data in the ride request before providing the ride request to the transportation server (40).

21. The method of any one of claims 17-20, further comprising: receiving, by the second transceiver (1105), a ride order from the transportation server (40), said ride order comprising an identifier; and detecting, by the first transceiver (1107, 1108) and based on the identifier, a requesting mobile device (10) associated with the ride order.

22. The method of any one of claims 17-21, wherein said ride confirmation comprises an identifier of a selected vehicle (20B) designated to the ride request by the transportation server (40).

23. A computer-readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by a processor (1102), cause the processor (1102) to perform the method of any one of claims 17-22. 24. A device for installation in or on a vehicle included in a fleet of vehicles associated with a transportation service, said device comprising:

a first transceiver (1107, 1108) for wireless short-range communication, a second transceiver (1105) for wireless communication in a wide area network

(30),

a memory (1101), and

a processor (1102) coupled to the first and second transceivers (1107, 1108; 1105) and the memory (1101), operable to:

receive, by the first transceiver (1107, 1108), a ride request transmitted by a mobile device (10);

provide, by the second transceiver (1105), the ride request to a transportation server (40), which is connected to the wide area network (30) and configured to designate incoming ride requests to the vehicles in the fleet;

receive, by the second transceiver (1105), a ride confirmation from the transportation server (40); and

provide, by the first transceiver (1107, 1108), the ride confirmation to the mobile device (10).