A method of operating an indoor location services system includes providing a calibration beacon signal from a calibration device at a number of calibration locations, measuring a received signal strength of the calibration beacon signal at each one of a number of receivers for each one of the number of calibration locations, measuring a received signal strength of a beacon signal provided by a locatable device at each one of the receivers, and estimating a location of the locatable device based on the received signal strength of the beacon signal at each one of the receivers, the received signal strength of the calibration beacon signal at each one of the receivers for each one of the calibration locations, and a location of each one of the receivers.

A method for analyzing an environment of a mobile terminal by emission of unique identification data associated with at least one lighting device, by a light-based communication of the at least one lighting device, and determination of location coordinates of the mobile terminal in accordance with the identification data collected using an optical sensing unit of the mobile terminal with respect to the at least one lighting device, on the basis of the stored location coordinates of the at least one lighting device, each correlated with a respective installation position of the at least one lighting device, wherein provision of a respective sensor signal by at least one environmental signal sensor, extraction of environmental data from the respective sensor signal, and storage of the environmental data in accordance with the location coordinates of the mobile terminal, causing existing environmental data to be updated.

The present invention discloses, inter alia, a computerized system for building a multisensory location map, the system comprising an interface for receiving multiple multisensory data vectors acquired by multiple mobile devices at multiple locations and accelerometer readings obtained upon movement of at least one device carried by at least one user between the multiple locations; at least a portion of said movement being walking; at least a majority of the multiple locations are located within an area in which an accuracy of global positioning system (GPS) based navigation is below an allowable threshold; and a processor, interconnected with said interface, with accelerometers, a magnetometer and a map calculator, configured for: extracting, out of accelerometer readings, accelerometer information related to multiple walking phases of the walking; for at least two of said multiple walking phases, real-time correcting a currently measured Z vector, and a pitch angle and a roll angle thereof, thereby compensating for horizontal accelerations, thereby obtaining a Z vector pointing toward Earth's center; calculating, from said Z vector pointing toward earth's center, a surface parallel to Earth's face (perpendicular to said Z vector pointing toward earth's center); estimating, from said surface parallel to Earth's face and from a magnetic north measured by at least one built-in magnetometer in said at least one device, an offset selected from a group consisting of: an azimuth offset from magnetic north and a heading offset from geometric north; processing the accelerometer information related to said at least two of said multiple walking phases to determine a direction of propagation of the at least one user and correcting said direction of propagation based on said offset; and estimating, from said corrected direction of propagation, at least one location of said at least one user; and the map calculator calculating, in response to the multiple multisensory data vectors and said at least one estimated location, a location fingerprinting map that comprises multiple grid points; each of the multiple grid points comprising a multisensory grid point fingerprint and grid point location information derivable from said at least one estimated location.

Various embodiments disclosed herein enable a mobile device to accurately locate where the mobile device is located indoors by measuring geomagnetic fields, and tracing relative changes in the magnetic fields as the mobile device is moved. The relative changes can be compared to a fingerprint signal map, and a trace of a portion of the path can be determined by matching the relative changes in the magnetic fields to relative changes in the fingerprint signal map. A collection of the path portions can then be connected by determining a shortest path that connects each of the path portions. In another embodiment, a step counter can also be used to constrain possible locations, and fuse the geomagnetic field and step counter information for joint indoor localization.

A method includes obtaining or holding available a radio map that has been determined based on radio node observation data of radio signals emitted from radio nodes of a radio node network. The method obtains asset observation data of one or more radio signals that have been emitted from an asset and observed by radio nodes of the radio node network. The method also determines a position estimate of the asset based on the asset observation data and the radio map. A corresponding system is also disclosed.

A method is provided that includes collecting radio fingerprints with each fingerprint including a radio signal measurement of a radio environment of a mobile device and a respective location estimate. The method also includes determining whether the location of the mobile device is part of a routine or deviates from a routine and, in case the location of the mobile device is part of a routine, at least partially performing the collecting of radio fingerprints with a reduced collecting scope compared to a collecting scope used in case the location of the mobile device deviates from a routine. The collecting of radio fingerprints, when the location of the mobile device is part of a routine, is configured such that, after collecting radio fingerprints for multiple occurrences of the respective routine, a coverage of the respective routine by the collected radio fingerprints is increased.

Results of measurements by a mobile device on radio signals transmitted by at least one transmitter are obtained. The results of measurements comprise characteristics of the radio signals at each of a plurality of locations of measurements at a particular site, and indications of the locations of measurement. The results of measurement and the indications of the locations are provided and used as a basis for a generation of a radio map for use in supporting a positioning of mobile devices at the site. In addition, a user input to the mobile device is detected, the user input defining a localization area at the site that is to be covered by the radio map. A representation of the defined localization area is provided in addition for use in connection with the radio map.

A radio-location method of locating a target device that is contained within a region of space, comprising obtaining a first set of detected signals by detecting, at a plurality of points in space, a beacon signal from the target device, or by detecting at the target device, beacon signals sent from one or more radio transmitters in the region of space; determining a current estimate of the target device's location; obtaining successive sets of detected signals, for each successive set of detected signals: determining one or more candidate locations for the target device; comparing the candidate locations with a radio map of the region of space, identifying one or more feasible candidate locations that are consistent with the radio map; determining a new estimate of the target device's location based on the one or more feasible candidate locations; and setting the new estimate as the current estimate of the target device's location.

The present invention is a system and method for detecting and locating the transmission of radio frequency signals from within a defined geographical area. The system uses statistical confidence limits to detect outliers caused by transmissions in the defined geographical area. The source of the transmission can then be located with triangulation.

A method, apparatus, computer program or system includes obtaining fingerprints including a piece of position information and gathered in a venue; determining a first metric based on the fingerprints indicative of a quality value of the obtained fingerprints that indicates for each piece of position information of the fingerprints whether or not the quality and/or a quantity of the obtained fingerprints with respect to the piece of position information is sufficient; determining a second metric based on the obtained fingerprints indicative of a quality value of an infrastructure of the venue, the fingerprints are gathered from one or more radio nodes of the infrastructure, and the second metric indicates for each of the pieces of position information of each of the respective fingerprints whether or not the quality of the infrastructure is sufficient; determining a third metric indicative of an evaluation of the quality of the infrastructure of the venue based on the second metric; and outputting the first metric, the second metric and/or the third metric.