Aspects of the present disclosure provide a first apparatus comprising a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a UI. The transmitter is configured to command a second apparatus to emit at least one tone. The receiver is configured to receive the at least one tone. The processor is configured to determine at least one of: a signal strength and a direction associated with the at least one tone. The UI is configured to output an indication of a current location of the second apparatus based, at least in part, on the determined signal strength or the determined direction. According to an example, at least one of the request or the at least one tone may be a high-frequency or ultrasonic signal.

A receiving apparatus (7) that can estimate a motion-induced frequency shift in a received signal comprises a processing system (205) and a receiver (204) configured to receive a signal comprising one or more instances of a transmitted signal. The processing system (205) is configured to generate data representative of a plurality of impulse response functions by deconvolving the received signal with each of a plurality of templates representative of the transmitted signal shifted in frequency by a different respective frequency shift. The processing system (205) is further configured to evaluate a signal-to-noise measure for each of the plurality of impulse response functions, and to identify an impulse response function of the plurality of impulse response functions for which the signal-to-noise measure satisfies a peak criterion.

A receiving apparatus (7) that can estimate a motion-induced frequency shift in a received signal comprises a processing system (205) and a receiver (204) configured to receive a signal comprising one or more instances of a transmitted signal. The processing system (205) is configured to generate data representative of a plurality of impulse response functions by deconvolving the received signal with each of a plurality of templates representative of the transmitted signal shifted in frequency by a different respective frequency shift. The processing system (205) is further configured to evaluate a signal-to-noise measure for each of the plurality of impulse response functions, and to identify an impulse response function of the plurality of impulse response functions for which the signal-to-noise measure satisfies a peak criterion.

Method and system for localizing a mobile device in a vehicle is provided. The method may include: triggering an audio system mounted on a vehicle, which audio system includes a plurality of speakers, to play an acoustic signal; and calculating a position of a mobile device in the vehicle based on a recording of the audio system's playback of the acoustic signal, which is recorded by the mobile device, and position information of the plurality of speakers. Localization may be more accurate.

Method and system for localizing a mobile device in a vehicle is provided. The method may include: triggering an audio system mounted on a vehicle, which audio system includes a plurality of speakers, to play an acoustic signal; and calculating a position of a mobile device in the vehicle based on a recording of the audio system's playback of the acoustic signal, which is recorded by the mobile device, and position information of the plurality of speakers. Localization may be more accurate.

An acoustic location determination system is disclosed. The system includes one or more transmitting devices and one or more mobile devices. The transmitting device includes a first transducer configured to transmit first acoustic signals having a first frequency, and a second transducer configured to transmit second acoustic signals having a second frequency. The transmitting device further includes a beacon device configured to transmit beacon data via a short-range wireless communication technique. The transmitting device further includes one or more control devices configured to select the first or second acoustic signals based at least in part on one or more operating capabilities of one or more mobile units associated with the real-time locating system. The one or more control devices are further configured to cause transmission of the selected acoustic signals and the beacon data.

An acoustic location determination system is disclosed. The system includes one or more transmitting devices and one or more mobile devices. The transmitting device includes a first transducer configured to transmit first acoustic signals having a first frequency, and a second transducer configured to transmit second acoustic signals having a second frequency. The transmitting device further includes a beacon device configured to transmit beacon data via a short-range wireless communication technique. The transmitting device further includes one or more control devices configured to select the first or second acoustic signals based at least in part on one or more operating capabilities of one or more mobile units associated with the real-time locating system. The one or more control devices are further configured to cause transmission of the selected acoustic signals and the beacon data.

A method for obtaining a position of a peripheral device for an audiovisual entertainment system, the method comprising: controlling an audio source to output an audio signal at a first time; determining a second time at which the audio signal arrives at an audio detector, wherein the peripheral device comprises at least one of the audio source and audio detector; and estimating a position of the peripheral device based on an acoustic time-of-flight between the first time and the second time.

A method for obtaining a position of a peripheral device for an audiovisual entertainment system, the method comprising: controlling an audio source to output an audio signal at a first time; determining a second time at which the audio signal arrives at an audio detector, wherein the peripheral device comprises at least one of the audio source and audio detector; and estimating a position of the peripheral device based on an acoustic time-of-flight between the first time and the second time.

Systems and methods for identifying device location are provided. The method can include providing, by a mobile computing device, at least a first ultrasonic signal to a first and a second self-organizing beacon device. The method can include receiving, by the mobile computing device, a first radio frequency signal including the location of the first beacon device and a second radio frequency signal including the location of the second beacon device. The method can further include determining a first time-of-flight associated with the first beacon device and a second time-of-flight associated with the second beacon device. The method can include determining a location of the mobile computing device based at least in part on the first time-of-flight, the second time-of-flight, the location of the first beacon device, and the location of the second beacon device.