The invention generally relates to assessing relative distance of persons and objects from a reference point, and more specifically to assessing the relative distance of persons and objects associated with a computerized or electronic device.
The growing proliferation of IOT (Internet of things) devices in recent years presents users with new ways to connect, control, monitor, and discover these devices. As IOT is basically about short ranges, in many cases a user can see in his eyes the objects he is interacting with. Therefore, the intuitiveness element of locating the object near the user has a bigger implication and significance.
In addition, providing a user with information about the relative direction and the relative distance of an object from the user enables the user to know the relative location of items around him/her. Similarly to users, some electronic devices also need to know the relative location of other objects in their vicinity, in order to perform various functions.
There are some methods known in the art that are used to measure absolute distance from other objects. In most of those methods, the outcome is translated into a distance unit—meter/feet/etc. methods for assessing relative distance of objects enable a computerized object to determine if object A is closer/same/farther away from object B—whereas point C serves as the reference point.
The term “Relative Distance”—shall refer to relations and/or degrees of proximity between at least 2 devices—not based on length distance/range standard units. Examples of an outcome of a relative assessment may be which object is closer or farther to a reference point.
There are several techniques to assess the distance to a device using RF, as disclosed below, each has its drawbacks.
The RSSI (received signal strength indication) technique is based on the notion that the farther the device, the weaker the received signal strength. If the transmitted power is known and if the wave propagation follows the free space conditions, then by measuring the received signal strength it is possible to calculate the distance using a simple equation.
Measuring distance using RSSI is not accurate enough since in reality wave propagation does not behave as in free space conditions when one is located near the ground, let alone if one is in a built up area or within a building. Therefore, the signal suffers from reflections, b. RSSI change vs. distance is not necessarily monotonous with distance and RSSI is not stable in time.
Another RF-based technique for relative distance is Fingerprinting (or signature), which is based on extensive measurements and mapping of the reception of a multitude of known RF transmitting sources in a predefined area. The transmitting sources may be Wi-Fi routers, cell towers etc. Each location in the mapped area has a list of the expected RSSI (or AOA—Angle of Arrival) from each transmitting source, which is the fingerprint of the location. For location finding, the RSSI (or AOA) from each of the transmitting sources is measured and compared to the fingerprint database and the best fit indicates the location and distance to each source.
Fingerprinting techniques suffer from following drawbacks: 1. It requires relying on a-priori prepared infrastructure. 2. There is a need for significance preliminary measurements. 3. It only functions in mapped areas in which the locations of towers are known a-priori. 4. It cannot cope with changes in the infrastructure e.g. variations in transmitted power.
In view of the above, there is a need for a method to assess relative distance between objects using wireless communication that overcomes the abovementioned drawbacks.
It is an object of the invention to disclose a method to determine the relative distance between electronic devices, by having a main electronic device communicating with at least two electronic devices in a wireless manner, the method comprising changing in a controlled manner a communication parameter used in the wireless communication between the main device and the said electronic devices conducting wireless communication between said main device to each of the said other devices after each change of parameter, logging if receiving wireless signals from each one of the said two electronic devices for each said change of the communication parameter in said changed state; and determining at the main electronic device that one of the at least two electronic devices is closer or further-away than the other electronic device of the at least two electronic devices in relation to the main device.
In some cases, the method further comprises changing in a controlled manner the communication parameter in the main electronic device and in one of the at least two electronic devices correspondingly.
In some cases, changing in a controlled manner a communication parameter comprises increasing or decreasing a value of the communication parameter.
In some cases, determining that one of the at least two electronic devices is closer than the other electronic device is achieved when communication between the main electronic device and another device reaches a predefined threshold.
In some cases, the predefined threshold is loss of communication between the main electronic device and another device. In some cases, the method further comprises marking a communication parameter value in which the communication between the main electronic device and another electronic device of the at least two electronic devices reaches the predefined threshold.
In some cases, the method further comprises displaying on a display device of the main electronic device the said other devices in their relative distance from the main device.
In some cases, the method is performed by one of the at least two electronic devices simultaneously to the method performed by the main electronic device.
In some cases, the method further comprises sharing and comparing relative distances between the main electronic device and one of the at least two electronic devices. In some cases, the method further comprises determining whether or not the results of the methods performed the main electronic device and one of the at least two electronic devices match.
In some cases, the communication parameter is bitrate. In some cases, the communication parameter is an attenuation level. In some cases, the communication parameter is Power Adjustment Back-off, and wherein the Power Adjustment Back-off value is broadcasted by the said two other devices while changed.
In some cases, the communication parameter is a radio frequency of the wireless communication. In some cases, the communication parameter is an audio frequency of the wireless communication. In some cases, the communication parameter is a light frequency of the wireless communication.
In some cases, the method further comprises capturing an image and analyzing the captured image; wherein determining at the main electronic device that one of the at least two electronic devices is closer or further-away than the other electronic device of the at least two electronic devices in relation to the main device is performed according to the analysis of the captured image.
It is another object of the invention to disclose a method performed in a system having at least 3 electronic devices communicating with each other in a wireless manner, the method comprising determining at each electronic device a relative direction to at least two electronic devices; sharing the relative direction determined electronic devices with other; determining at said electronic devices that one of the other two electronic devices is closer than the other electronic device. In some cases, plurality of devices in the system can determine the relative direction to other devices and share said data among the devices. In some cases, the relative direction comprises an azimuth from one electronic device to another.
It is another object of the invention to disclose a method performed on a main electronic device communicating with at least two electronic devices in a wireless manner, the method comprising: tracking a communication parameter used to communicate with the at least two electronic devices; receiving wireless signals from the at least two electronic devices in various values of the communication parameter; determining at the main electronic device that one of the at least two electronic devices is closer than another electronic device of the at least two electronic devices.
It is another object of the invention to disclose a method, comprising emitting an environmental-detectable material from an emitting device; wirelessly broadcasting the parameters of the emitted environmental-detectable material by the emitting device; measuring the environmental-detectable material parameters by a device having at least one sensor; receiving at the said device the wirelessly broadcasted parameters from the emitting device; comparing at the measuring device the measured parameters to the broadcasted parameters; determining a relative distance of the sensor from the device according to said comparison.
In some cases, the sensor detects air movement velocity. In some cases, the detectable material is air, gas, temperature, light and a combination thereof.
Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.
In the drawings:
The present invention discloses a system and a method for assessing a relative distance of objects from a reference point, as both the reference point and the objects are associated with electronic devices capable of communicating wirelessly. The reference point is associated with a main electronic device and each of the other objects is associated with an electronic device communicating with the main electronic device. The method discloses changing in a controlled manner a communication parameter used in the wireless communication between a main electronic device and the two electronic device, while conducting wireless communication between the devices. Then, the method discloses logging whether or not wireless signals are received at the main electronic device from each of the other electronic devices and determining at the main electronic device the relative location of the other electronic devices from the main electronic device. Such determination may be made according to characteristics of the received signals.
In step 110, wireless communication is conducted between the main electronic device and the other electronic devices. Such other electronic devices may include an antenna for transmitting and receiving signals, and a control unit used to regulate the communication parameter in each electronic device. The communication parameter is changed in a controlled manner in both the main electronic device and the electronic devices communicating with it. The electronic devices may be sensors of an IOT module, cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, gaming consoles and the like. The wireless communication may be peer-to-peer, via a server and the like. The wireless communication may be performed by a communication protocol desired by a person skilled in the art, such as Wi-Fi, Blue-tooth, 802.11 and the like.
Step 120 discloses increasing in a controlled manner a communication parameter used for the wireless communication between the main electronic device and the other devices. Such parameter may be bitrate, attenuation level, power adjustment back-off, communication frequency, bandwidth, signal amplitude and the like. In some cases, the communication parameter is changed in both the main electronic device and the other electronic devices. The manner in which the communication parameter may depend in a predefined set of rules, the rules may be effected by environmental conditions, according to a communication parameter, previous signals received from the electronic devices and the like. it should be noted that while in some cases the manner of changing the value of the communication parameter is influenced by the environment, the process of changing in order to assess the relative distance is commenced when the system or one of the devices requests to obtain relative distances of other devices, even if the current value of the communication parameter is optimal for communication purposes.
After increasing the communication parameter in a controlled manner, there are two options—either communication between the main electronic device and one of the electronic devices is established or maintained, as shown in step 130, or communication cannot be established or lost, as shown in step 135. In case communication cannot be established, the main electronic device marks the last value of the communication protocol in which the communication was established, along with an ID of the relevant electronic device with which communication could not be established after increasing the value of the communication parameter.
The visual representation shows that none of the devices is in a close vicinity 315 to the main electronic device 310. Then, two electronic devices 320, 328 are associated with the first level 325. The first level 325 is defined between the first line 312 and second line 322. The actual distance of the electronic devices in the first level 325 may vary according to the communication parameter changed, from one geographic area to another, according to electronic sensitivity of the devices and the like. The visual representation shows that devices 320 and 328 are closer to the main electronic device 310 than devices 330 and 332 of the second level 335. Similarly, devices 330 and 332 are closer to the main electronic device 310 than devices 340, 348 and 349 of third level 345. The second level 335 is defined between the second line 322 and third line 332. The third level 345 is defined between the third line 332 and fourth line 342.
In step 530, the results of the relative distance determinations performed by the devices are compared. Comparing the results may be performed at the devices, or at a central device communicating with the devices. In some cases, one of the devices that performed the relative distance assessment is equipped with computational resources that enable it to perform the comparison. Then, the results of the comparison are converted into a quality factor (QF), which indicates the reliability of the assessment made by the devices. In step 540, the inconsistencies are exchanged between the devices, or sent from the central device to other devices.
The visual representation enables the user of D1 to view the relative distances of other devices. For example, view which devices are closer to device D9 than others. That is, which devices are located at the first level 695 of device D9, which devices are at the third level 691 and the like. The user of D1 may change the visual representation by pressing on another device, and place the other device as the main electronic devices, if desired. For example, pressing on the screen at the area of device D2 and view D2 at the center, instead of D1.
In some exemplary cases, the communication parameter changed in a controlled manner is the power adjustment (PA) Back-off. When the PA back-off is increased, such change means that a device is broadcasting in less power, and vise-versa. By monitoring at the receiving device the PA back-off of the broadcasting device, the relative distance can be assessed. For that matter data concerning the PA back-off of the broadcasting device must be broadcasted to the receiving device.
For example, a receiving device may receive/discover/communicate with the broadcasting device when the PA is at relative low levels (i.e. few dB), and may fail to do so when in high levels (i.e. many dB)—indicating that the broadcasting device is relatively far. The less ability to receive/discover/communicate with the broadcasting device in low PA levels, may indicate that the broadcasting device is further away.
In some other cases, the communication parameter is data rate. Modem communications like LTE use techniques such as AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding) to dynamically give the user the highest possible data rate. When the device is closer to the main electronic device the system uses a higher data rate and when the device is further away it has to reduce the rate. The data rate used at a certain instance is an indicator to its relative distance.
The present invention comprises a method of tracking the dynamic rate that the communication module of the main electronic device uses. The lower the data rate, the closer the device. When two received devices use different data rates, this is an indication that the one using lower rate is relatively further away than the one using a higher data rate.
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In some cases, image or video files captured by a camera may be used to assess the relative distance from the main electronic device. Said camera may be used to determine the relative size proportion of a Measured Device, for example, an air-condition unit equipped with a camera may use the camera to determine that a person X is farther from it than person Y. The measuring device may determine the relative distance of the measured device, based on the received audio signal/data quality and/or strength.
In some other cases, the air condition unit 1310 functions as a measured device and one of the devices 1325, 1335 function as a measuring device. In another exemplary embodiment, the measuring device may include a sensor that can detect air movement speed and/or power. The measured device can be the air-condition unit 1310, and the data about its configured volume flow rate of air may be wirelessly sent to the measuring device 1325 (which can be a band, remote control unit, TOT object, mobile device, etc.). The difference (or delta) between the measured volume flow rate detected at the measuring device vs. the one configured at the measured device, can be used to indicate the relative distance between the measuring device and measured device.
The invention also discloses the integration of the methods described above—in whole or in part. For example, the process of changing the attenuation can be applied for selective rates. In another example, RF Relative Distance methods may be applied together with a method of assessing Relative Distance using data detected by sensors. Integration of methods can improve reliability of each method, and provide more accurate and stable result.
The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and of description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting with respect to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IL2016/050575 | 6/2/2016 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62169575 | Jun 2015 | US | |
62175376 | Jun 2015 | US |