Disclosed is a sensor enabled object. Beacons may be placed at fixed locations within an environment. The movement of the sensor enabled object can be tracked throughout the environment by analyzing received signals. The relative distances from the known positions of the beacons can be used in order to orient the sensor enabled object within the environment. Alternatively, the sensor enabled objects can be used to determine the relative positions of mobile objects by measuring the respective distances from each other and correlating the relationships.

Navigation beacons may be trained to receive signals of opportunity from one or more vehicles, to recognize their own position based on such signals, and to transmit information regarding their own position to one or more other vehicles accordingly. The navigation beacons may be of small size and feature a basic construction including one or more transceivers, power sources and the like, and may communicate via a Bluetooth Low Energy, Ultra Wideband or long-range low-power wireless standard, or any other standard. The navigation beacons may be installed in any location, preferably being mounted to one or more existing fixed structures or facilities (e.g., transportation structures or facilities), and may operate in active and/or passive modes when learning their positions or servicing position information to one or more remote devices.

Navigation beacons may be trained to receive signals of opportunity from one or more vehicles, to recognize their own position based on such signals, and to transmit information regarding their own position to one or more other vehicles accordingly. The navigation beacons may be of small size and feature a basic construction including one or more transceivers, power sources and the like, and may communicate via a Bluetooth Low Energy, Ultra Wideband or long-range low-power wireless standard, or any other standard. The navigation beacons may be installed in any location, preferably being mounted to one or more existing fixed structures or facilities (e.g., transportation structures or facilities), and may operate in active and/or passive modes when learning their positions or servicing position information to one or more remote devices.

Systems and methods are described for determining positions of indoor localization beacons without requiring a physical site survey. In a coarse positioning method, a mobile node receives beacon signals that identify rooms (such as stores in a shopping mall) in which the beacons are located. The mobile node obtains floor plan information relating to the building and estimates beacon locations based on the floor plan and beacon signal strength. The estimated beacon locations may be arranged in a predetermined geometric pattern based on the number of beacons in a room. In a fine positioning method, a mobile node recognizes its proximity to a beacon and responsively measures the distance to other beacons. Estimated beacon positions may be used to estimate the location of the mobile node using trilateration or other techniques.

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.

User devices (1-4) are each provided with a data connection (20) to a remote server (30) and a beacon transceiver. Device (2) is operable to actively transmit beacon signals including its unique beacon identification code for a limited period. During active transmissions by device (2), devices (1 & 3) are within range of the transmissions and are operable to extract the beacon identification code of the transmitting device (2) and thus directly infer that they are in proximity to the transmitting device (2). The receiving devices (1, 3) communicate with server (30) their own unique beacon identification code and the received beacon identification code of the transmitting device (2). In response, the server (30) communicates details of the transmitting device (2) to the receiving devices (1, 3) and the beacon identification codes of the receiving devices (1, 3) to the transmitting device (2). The transmitting device (2) is thus able to infer the proximity of the receiving devices (1, 3) without the receiving devices (1, 3) having to transmit any beacon signals.

User devices (1-4) are each provided with a data connection (20) to a remote server (30) and a beacon transceiver. Device (2) is operable to actively transmit beacon signals including its unique beacon identification code for a limited period. During active transmissions by device (2), devices (1 & 3) are within range of the transmissions and are operable to extract the beacon identification code of the transmitting device (2) and thus directly infer that they are in proximity to the transmitting device (2). The receiving devices (1, 3) communicate with server (30) their own unique beacon identification code and the received beacon identification code of the transmitting device (2). In response, the server (30) communicates details of the transmitting device (2) to the receiving devices (1, 3) and the beacon identification codes of the receiving devices (1, 3) to the transmitting device (2). The transmitting device (2) is thus able to infer the proximity of the receiving devices (1, 3) without the receiving devices (1, 3) having to transmit any beacon signals.

A method for managing the transmission of geographical locations from a geolocation beacon during the movement thereof. The method includes: defining a first reference communication network associated with a first value and with a reference frequency used for the transmission of the locations over the first network; locating the beacon in a second network during the movement thereof; obtaining a second value associated with the second network; comparing the first and the second value, and when the values differ, the method includes modifying the reference frequency for the transmission of the locations over the second network.

A method for managing the transmission of geographical locations from a geolocation beacon during the movement thereof. The method includes: defining a first reference communication network associated with a first value and with a reference frequency used for the transmission of the locations over the first network; locating the beacon in a second network during the movement thereof; obtaining a second value associated with the second network; comparing the first and the second value, and when the values differ, the method includes modifying the reference frequency for the transmission of the locations over the second network.