A location tracking system using encoded light beams emitted from a stationary beacon and a receiver mounted onto an object within a three-dimensional (3D) space within the field of view of the stationary beacon. The receiver receives and processes the encoded light beams from two or more stationary beacons. The receiver is configured to decode information from the received light beams and to calculate the position of the object within the 3D space over a span of several meters, with resolution in the range of a few mm or cm. The receiver location is calculated as a single point at the intersection of three light beam or angular planes. A typical configuration of one-dimensional array beacon consists of a plurality of light sources mounted on a cylindrical curved surface of a particular radius. A vertical apodizing slit placed at the center of the circular curve limits the horizontal angular profile of encoded light beams as can be seen or received by the receiver in the far field to roughly 1-5 encoded light beams at a time. Each light source emits a light beam encoded with a unique code that allows the receiver to identify the light source that emitted the light beam. Certain signal processing techniques allow the receiver to detect, process, and decode information from the light beam including light intensity profile of each received light beam. This information is used by the receiver to infer a point where the receiver is located at the intersection of three angular planes where it is located relative to the beacons, and thus the location of the object is fully determined in 3D space.

A system (100) for communicating a presence of a device via a light source (110) configured to emit light comprising an embedded code is disclosed. The system (100) comprises: a controller (102) comprising: a receiver (106) configured to receive a response signal from a first device (120), which response signal comprises an identifier of the first device (120), and which response signal is indicative of that the embedded code has been detected by the first device (120), and a processor (104) configured to correlate the embedded code with the identifier of the first device (120), such that the embedded code is representative of the identifier of the first device (120).

A visible light positioning receiver arrangement for obtaining spatial position information of the receiver arrangement from a plurality of luminaires (5), at least one of the luminaires including at least one associated modulated light source for transmitting a light signal providing positional information of one or more reference points associated with the luminaire, said receiver arrangement including: an imaging receiver for capturing an image of the luminaires and associated said reference point(s); and a non-imaging receiver (7) for estimating an angle of arrival (AOA) of light from each said modulated light source, and for decoding the reference point positional information therefrom; wherein said AOA information and reference point positional information from the non-imaging receiver is matched to the image captured by the imaging receiver to obtain said spatial position information.

An apparatus, and method of operating the same, include a system for indoor positioning and localization. The apparatus includes a first beacon having a beacon optical detector to receive an optical signal, and a beacon microcontroller. The apparatus includes a zone-positioning unit (ZPU) having an optical source configured to transmit the optical signal, and a ZPU microcontroller. The beacon microcontroller is configured to identify and decode the optical signal after receipt by the beacon optical detector to determine data related to a position of the ZPU. The beacon microcontroller is further configured to wirelessly communicate with the ZPU microcontroller to convey information to the ZPU including the data related to a position of the ZPU and a known position of the first beacon. The ZPU microcontroller is configured to determine a position of the ZPU based on the information received from the first beacon.

In one embodiment, a navigation system may include at least one self-describing fiducial with a communication element to communicate navigation state estimation aiding information comprising a geographic position of the self-describing fiducial with respect to one or more coordinate systems and a first navigating object to receive navigation information from an exterior system, receive navigation state estimation aiding information from the self-describing fiducial, and compare the navigation information received from the exterior system to the navigation state estimation aiding information to improve navigation parameters of the first navigating object.

The present invention discloses an attitude self-compensation method to the transmitters of wMPS based on inclinometer, including the following steps: step 1: arranging inclinometer-combined transmitters according to the mechanism structure of the transmitters; step 2: building a horizontal reference frame based on an automatic level and guide rail; step 3: calibrating rotation relationship between the inclinometer and transmitter coordinate systems by referring to the horizontal reference frame according to the measurement model of the inclinometer and rotation measurement model of the transmitter; step 4: updating the orientation parameters of the transmitters in real time according to the output values of the inclinometer and compensation algorithm for the orientation parameters. The method of the present invention aims at self-compensating the orientation parameters of transmitters in real time and increasing the stability of the system. By the attitude change of the inclinometer, this method can compensate the attitude change of transmitters in real time, improve the stability of the measurement system, and adapt to the harsh environment.

Methods, apparatus, and processor-readable storage media for providing positional information via use of distributed sensor arrays are provided herein. An example computer-implemented method includes generating and outputting one or more signals via at least one user identification device associated with a user; processing one or more signals output by at least one of multiple emitting sensors distributed in an array within a given indoor environment, wherein the signals output by the at least one emitting sensor are output in response to the signals output via the at least one user identification device, and wherein a least a portion of the multiple emitting sensors comprises infrared sensors; generating a message based on the processing of the signals output by the at least one emitting sensor, wherein the message pertains to positional information with respect to the given indoor environment; and outputting the generated message.

A method for providing guidance to autonomous vehicles comprising emitting light signals from a plurality of light sources, wherein each light source emits a light signal with an angular dependent intensity profile, detecting the plurality of emitted light signals with an on-board light detector, processing the plurality of light signals detected by the light detector to distinguish each one of the detected light signals, comparing the distinguished detected light signals, using the distinguished detected light signals to encounter the orientation of the on-board light detector relative to the light sources, generating a control signal from the distinguished detected light signal and using the control signal to provide navigation guidance to the autonomous vehicle.

A 3D digital indoor localization system uses light emitting diode (LED) lighting infrastructures for localization. In one example approach, a light source includes a convex lens and an array of LEDs, all configured as a single LED lamp. The localization system exploits the light splitting properties of the convex lens to create a one-to-one mapping between a location and the set of orthogonal digital light signals received from particular LEDs of the LED lamp.

A visual positioning system for mobile devices includes at least one infrared camera, at least one infrared illumination source, and a processor that coordinates operation of the at least one camera and illumination sources. A flood IR infrared illumination source illuminates environmental objects for localization of the mobile device during a first camera exposure window, and a structured IR illumination source illuminate environmental objects for detection and mapping of obstacles during a second camera exposure window. A visual SLAM map is constructed with images obtained from a first camera, with a single map being useable for positioning and navigation across a variety of environmental lighting conditions. A method for training a robot includes receiving operator input signals configured to start and stop recording of defined routes during the guiding of the mobile robot along paths between different pairs of desired robot destinations, such that routes for subsequent use by the robot are generated for paths imaged while recording is active.