A method and apparatus for automatic gain control in a frame-aware pulsed ranging system is disclosed. A frame covers a period of time, and locationing pulses are emitted once per frame. The pulses are detected by a mobile unit with a microphone, which is able to trilaterate its physical position. To counteract false positives from reverberations of pulses emitted in prior frames, a noise threshold function declines over the course of the frame. As such, small amplitude locationing pulses received late in a frame are still detected because the small amplitude pulse exceeds the decayed noise threshold function. In this way, the noise threshold function is a filter that may detect high amplitude pulses early in a frame as well as small amplitude pulses late in a frame without detecting reverberation pulses early in a frame as false positives.

A system and a method, as well as a positioning and wearable devices for determining the distance and position of devices communicating with each other over a medium, the system, are disclosed. At least one remote device comprises first processing unit, at least one transmitter functionally connected to the first processing unit and adapted to transmit signals over a medium, and at least one receiver functionally connected to the first processing unit and adapted to receive signals over said medium. At least two wearable devices, each comprising a second processing unit and wireless communication means capable of receiving and sending data signals over said medium, are also provided. The remote device is adapted to determine the distance to at least two wearable devices, to determine the direction to said at least two wearable devices based on at least two different bearings taken from said at least one remote device to each wearable device, to calculate the position of said at least two wearable devices relative to the remote device, and to communicate the position of at least one first wearable device to a second wearable device. The wearable devices are adapted to process the position of a first wearable device in their processing unit and to present to the user of a second wearable device an indication of direction and distance to said first wearable device.

A method for determining position of a wellbore in the Earth's subsurface can include: actuating a seismic energy source at a selected location along the wellbore; detecting seismic energy with sensors located at known geodetic positions along the wellbore, the detected seismic energy being at least partially reflected by a casing of an adjacent wellbore; and determining the geodetic position of the wellbore at the selected location from the detected seismic energy.

A method for determining position of a wellbore in the Earth's subsurface can include: actuating a seismic energy source at a selected location along the wellbore; detecting seismic energy with sensors located at known geodetic positions along the wellbore, the detected seismic energy being at least partially reflected by a casing of an adjacent wellbore; and determining the geodetic position of the wellbore at the selected location from the detected seismic energy.

An apparatus is described that can monitor the sounds and voices of infants and children in a house by judicially placing nodes in key locations of the home. The network has intelligence and uses voice recognition to enable, disable, reroute, or alter the network. The network uses voice recognition to follow a child from node to node, monitors the children according to activity and uses memory to delay the voices so the adult can hear the individual conversations. An adult that has been assigned privilege can disable all nodes from any node in the network. Another apparatus can locate an individual by voice recognition or sounds they emit including walking, breathing and even a heartbeat. The sound is detected at several microphones that have a specific positional relationship to a room or an enclosement. Triangulations of the time differences of the audio signal detected by the microphones are used to determine the location or position of the audio source in the room. This information can be used to provide an improved audio delivery system to the individual.

An apparatus is described that can monitor the sounds and voices of infants and children in a house by judicially placing nodes in key locations of the home. The network has intelligence and uses voice recognition to enable, disable, reroute, or alter the network. The network uses voice recognition to follow a child from node to node, monitors the children according to activity and uses memory to delay the voices so the adult can hear the individual conversations. An adult that has been assigned privilege can disable all nodes from any node in the network. Another apparatus can locate an individual by voice recognition or sounds they emit including walking, breathing and even a heartbeat. The sound is detected at several microphones that have a specific positional relationship to a room or an enclosement. Triangulations of the time differences of the audio signal detected by the microphones are used to determine the location or position of the audio source in the room. This information can be used to provide an improved audio delivery system to the individual.

The disclosure relates to a method for requesting and granting priority between a host vehicle and other vehicles, and to a system which implements the method. The host vehicle, through the use of on-board vehicle sensors, detects and identifies an impeding vehicle which interferes with the host vehicle's path. The host vehicle transmits a priority request to the impeding vehicle. The priority request includes a remuneration offer. The impeding vehicle evaluates the priority request, including the sufficiency of the host vehicle's remuneration offer, and grants or denies the host vehicle's priority request. If granted, the impeding vehicle modifies its path to be less impeding to the host vehicle, for example by assuming a cooperative path that lets the host vehicle pass the impeding vehicle.

The disclosure relates to a method for requesting and granting priority between a host vehicle and other vehicles, and to a system which implements the method. The host vehicle, through the use of on-board vehicle sensors, detects and identifies an impeding vehicle which interferes with the host vehicle's path. The host vehicle transmits a priority request to the impeding vehicle. The priority request includes a remuneration offer. The impeding vehicle evaluates the priority request, including the sufficiency of the host vehicle's remuneration offer, and grants or denies the host vehicle's priority request. If granted, the impeding vehicle modifies its path to be less impeding to the host vehicle, for example by assuming a cooperative path that lets the host vehicle pass the impeding vehicle.

A distance detection device and a distance detection method thereof are provided. A second time at which a packet amplitude peak of a preset sound signal is received by a sound receiver is estimated according to a time difference between the preset sound signal and a low pass filter signal thereof. A distance between a speaker and the sound receiver is calculated according to the second time.

A distance detection device and a distance detection method thereof are provided. A second time at which a packet amplitude peak of a preset sound signal is received by a sound receiver is estimated according to a time difference between the preset sound signal and a low pass filter signal thereof. A distance between a speaker and the sound receiver is calculated according to the second time.