A position determination device determines the position of a terminal. A signal of a sensor attached to one or both of a beacon and a terminal is sampled, so that a signal of the beacon may be transmitted and received only when the beacon or the terminal has moved. A plurality of beacons sequentially transmit beacon signals to determine the terminal position by determining a distance between the respective beacons and the terminal based on a time to receive the beacons. The device includes a beacon for transmitting a beacon signal; a terminal for receiving the beacon signal; and a first sensor attached to the terminal to sense movement of the terminal and to output a first sensing signal indicative of the sensed movement. The terminal has a reception mode for receiving the beacon signal and turns on/off the reception mode based on the first sensing signal.

Methods for emergency visualization are disclosed. The methods include a computer-implemented method for interactive emergency visualization that includes receiving a notification concerning an incident associated with a multi-floor structure, requesting location information from a user device geographically associated with the multi-floor structure, and receiving, in response to the request, a beacon identifier from the user device, the beacon identifier being associated with a beacon disposed within the multi-floor structure. The method also includes determining on which floor of the multi-floor structure the user device is located based on the beacon identifier and stored information indicating the location of the beacon and displaying a graphical map of the multi-floor structure and information indicating the specific floor on which the user device is located.

Methods for emergency visualization are disclosed. The methods include a computer-implemented method for interactive emergency visualization that includes receiving a notification concerning an incident associated with a multi-floor structure, requesting location information from a user device geographically associated with the multi-floor structure, and receiving, in response to the request, a beacon identifier from the user device, the beacon identifier being associated with a beacon disposed within the multi-floor structure. The method also includes determining on which floor of the multi-floor structure the user device is located based on the beacon identifier and stored information indicating the location of the beacon and displaying a graphical map of the multi-floor structure and information indicating the specific floor on which the user device is located.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for refined zoning via intersection. Specifically, anchor nodes (200) of a zone-based positioning system are divided into multiple hyper zones (40, 50) in different ways, where the different ways of dividing the hyper zones may be orthogonal to each other, with possibly partial overlapping. For each way of dividing the hyper zones (40, 50), the most likely candidate hyper zone is selected based on a user zoning method. Thereafter, the intersection (42) of the identified hyper zones is taken as the final location result of a mobile node to be located.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for refined zoning via intersection. Specifically, anchor nodes (200) of a zone-based positioning system are divided into multiple hyper zones (40, 50) in different ways, where the different ways of dividing the hyper zones may be orthogonal to each other, with possibly partial overlapping. For each way of dividing the hyper zones (40, 50), the most likely candidate hyper zone is selected based on a user zoning method. Thereafter, the intersection (42) of the identified hyper zones is taken as the final location result of a mobile node to be located.

Systems and methods for transmitting beacon messages are described. A beacon message is transmitted from a first beacon device and broadcast to an area within a transmission range of the first beacon device. A mobile device receives and stores the message. When the mobile device is out of the range of the first beacon device and within the range of a second beacon device, the message is transmitted to the second beacon device and broadcast by the second beacon device.

Systems and methods for transmitting beacon messages are described. A beacon message is transmitted from a first beacon device and broadcast to an area within a transmission range of the first beacon device. A mobile device receives and stores the message. When the mobile device is out of the range of the first beacon device and within the range of a second beacon device, the message is transmitted to the second beacon device and broadcast by the second beacon device.

Systems, methods, and computer program products for determining the location of, and for communicating with a mobile device. An intelligent fixture transmits a first signal having a first spatial resolution and a second signal having a second spatial resolution. The spatial resolutions may be determined by a radiation pattern of the antenna broadcasting the signal. The mobile device receives at least one of the first and second signals, and determines an approximate location based thereon. An approximate location based on the first signal may be more accurate than an approximate location based on the second signal due to the different spatial resolutions of the signals. Location specific information may be transmitted to the mobile device based on the approximate location. The intelligent fixture may use an antenna having one spatial resolution for transmitting and receiving communication signals, and another antenna having a different spatial resolution for broadcasting beacon signals.

Systems, methods, and computer program products for determining the location of, and for communicating with a mobile device. An intelligent fixture transmits a first signal having a first spatial resolution and a second signal having a second spatial resolution. The spatial resolutions may be determined by a radiation pattern of the antenna broadcasting the signal. The mobile device receives at least one of the first and second signals, and determines an approximate location based thereon. An approximate location based on the first signal may be more accurate than an approximate location based on the second signal due to the different spatial resolutions of the signals. Location specific information may be transmitted to the mobile device based on the approximate location. The intelligent fixture may use an antenna having one spatial resolution for transmitting and receiving communication signals, and another antenna having a different spatial resolution for broadcasting beacon signals.

Systems and methods are provided for reducing communications between servers and a mobile device and providing enhanced security and privacy to wireless beacon services. This can involve a broadcast device transmitting a beacon transmission using a short range wireless radio, such a Bluetooth or WiFi, and including a MAC address, a first unique identifier, and a beacon service identifier. The mobile device then selects one or more unique identifiers from received beacon transmissions, by filtering (that is, selecting) those beacon transmissions which include the beacon service identifier. The wireless device then takes further action, if the first unique identifier is present among the selected one or more unique identifiers, using stored information from the server. The stored information may be delivered to the wireless device in response to the wireless device sending the first unique identifier to a server, or the stored information may have been previously downloaded.