EP2232291A1

EP2232291A1 - Locating an object

Info

Publication number: EP2232291A1
Application number: EP08864173A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Idy Watt
Original assignee: France Telecom SA
Current assignee: Orange SA
Priority date: 2007-12-06
Filing date: 2008-12-03
Publication date: 2010-09-29
Also published as: WO2009080932A1; US20100265060A1

Abstract

The invention deals with a method of locating an object (MOB) able to be located by way of at least one locating means (MLOC1, MLOC2, MLOC3). The invention comprises a step of selecting at least one locating means as a function of the medium in which the object (MOB) is to be found.

Description

Localization of an object Technical field

The invention relates to the location of an object, and particularly to the location of a mobile object. The mobile object in question includes any device that can be located geographically by at least one location means. The object can be indifferently a mobile phone, an electronic assistant PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a guidance device installed in a vehicle, a contactless card, a badge, etc.

The locating means is any; this means can be indifferently, a location means using satellite positioning

GPS (Global Positioning System), a means of localization using mobile networks such as the differential time better known under the acronym EOTD

(Enhanced Observed Time Difference), GSM cell identification system, triangulation, etc. The locating means may also be simply a means capable of receiving a location provided by the user of the mobile object.

State of the art

Today, many service providers offer location-based services. For example, guidance services provide the possibility of receiving guidance information on a moving object, the information being able to guide a user with the object when moving.

The locating means used are varied, and their respective performance is a function of the medium in which the moving object evolves.

Take the example of GPS satellite location means and location means based on mobile networks, without being limited to them. The GPS satellite location means uses the satellite signals to locate an object; these means are very effective when the object to be located moves in an external environment with good visibility of the sky. Conversely, these GPS satellite location means are very inefficient in environments with low visibility of the sky for example inside a building. The location means based on the mobile telephone networks are very efficient when the object to be located is located in an environment with low visibility of the sky, especially inside a building.

Currently, the location is preceded by a step of selecting the most powerful locating means that will be used to locate the object. The selection of the locating means consists first of all in calculating the position of the object via each available locating means successively. The selection then consists in comparing the positions obtained. Finally, the selection consists of selecting the location means having, for example, provided the position as quickly as possible or having provided a position whose estimated uncertainty is the lowest possible.

It appears that this selection step requires a lot of time and a very significant energy consumption for the moving object. The time devoted to the selection is sometimes weighed down when a means of localization encounters difficulties to obtain a location for example when the environment in which the moving object is located makes the calculation difficult, or at worst does not allow a localization of the object. These difficulties lead to additional waiting times that are unbearable for the user. As a result, known solutions do not encourage the user to use such location-based services. Latency times discourage the user and inevitably lead to a psychological brake on the use of such services. This brake therefore results in a certain loss of revenue for the service provider based on the location.

The invention

The subject of the invention is a solution that does not have the disadvantages of the state of the art. For this purpose, the object of the invention is a method for locating an object that can be located via at least one locating means, characterized in that it includes a step of selecting at least one locating means according to the medium in which the object is located.

Thus, according to the invention, the choice of location means does not require to obtain a location by all available location means. The choice of the locating means is reduced to the means (s) of location associated with a medium, and preferably to the means (s) of location adapted (s) the medium in which is located the object.

According to a variant of the method, the selection step is preceded by a step of matching between a medium and at least one respective location means to be used, the choice of the location means to be used during a location of the location. object being a function of the correspondence. Thus, each medium corresponds to at least one respective location means to be used to locate an object. This correspondence is made during a pre-location phase and is used when locating the object. In this way, possibly even before the object travels through a medium, the correspondence thus established provides all the locating means to be used.

Note that the medium in question has some form. It can be a position associated with a coordinate point, or a surface, or volume, etc.

According to one variant, the medium comprises at least two zones associated with at least one respective location means, and in that a switchover from a first location means associated with a first area to a second location means associated with a second area zone is function of correspondence. Thus, the management of the switching from a location means to another location means and the choice of the location means to be used after switching are automatic and transparent to the user and the object. In each zone, the application guarantees the use of the most appropriate means of localization. According to a variant, when the current position corresponds to a coordinate point of a first zone, a probability weight is assigned to at least one coordinate point situated close to the current position, and in that the tilting of a first locating means to a second locating means associated with a second zone occurs when the point having the highest probability belongs to the second zone. Thus, the use of a probability weight distribution makes it possible to predict the direction the object will take and to envisage a possible switchover from the first location means to a second location means.

According to one variant, the allocation of the weights is used when the current position of the object is such that a passage from a first zone to a second zone is probable. The application may judge a passage likely when the shortest distance between the current position and a boundary zone is less than a predefined value, or the time to go from the current position to a boundary zone is less than a predefined time. In this way, it is possible to limit the use of probability weights at certain coordinate points, especially to those near a boundary zone. This reduces the use of the physical and software resources of the device responsible for assigning weight and to determine if a switchover is likely, this device may be for example the object or any other device such as a server as will be seen in the embodiment which follows.

The proximity between two points can be defined by means of a distance separating two points, or a duration to go from one point to another. The values can be set by the guidance application and are chosen so that the service rendered is optimal.

According to one variant, the probability weight is a function of the context. The context includes at least contextual information about the object and / or the user. Information about the user can be information relating to his schedule, mood information, information related to the user's habit, or any other information related to the user. Information about the object can be the speed of the object, the direction of the object, or any other information related to the object. This information makes it possible to predict the direction that the object will take, and thus to trigger a possible switch location means when necessary.

According to a variant of the method, the correspondence takes into account the environment of the medium. In this way, the selected locating means will be adapted to the environment and provide an optimal position. Thus, for example, if the medium is open-air, the correspondence will favor a means of satellite location.

The invention also relates to an object, in particular able to move in a medium, and to be located in this medium via at least one locating means, characterized in that it comprises means capable of selecting a location means according to the environment in which the object is located.

The invention also relates to the device, such as a server, capable of obtaining a location of an object by means of at least one location means, characterized in that it comprises selection means adapted to select a location means for locating the object according to the environment in which the object is located.

The invention also relates to the computer program comprising code instructions which, when executed on a data processing device, perform the previously defined process steps.

The invention also relates to the recording medium readable by a data processing device on which is recorded a computer program comprising instructions for executing the steps of the method defined above.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The figures: FIG. 1 represents a computer system on which is illustrated an embodiment of the localization method.

Figure 2 shows an example of a medium in which an object can move.

Fig. 3 is an example of a correspondence between a medium and at least one respective location means to be used. This example of correspondence is made with reference to the medium considered in FIG.

Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method of the invention.

Detailed description of an exemplary embodiment illustrating the invention

FIG. 1 represents a SYS computer system on which the invention can be implemented, as well as a medium, represented by a TFU path in our example, which a user UT is likely to traverse provided with a MOB object. In our example this object is mobile.

The system includes a data processing device illustrated by means of an SRV server. The server SRV stores an APP guidance application capable of guiding the user when moving. Note that a data processing device comprises at least one microprocessor and physical resources and / software capable of processing data.

In our example, the server communicates with three MOCl locating means MLOC2 MLOC3 through a first network RES1 to obtain location information relating to the mobile object MOB. A location means is for example a GPS system (Global Positioning System), a GSM system (Global System for Mobile Communications), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), etc. The APP application is also able to provide guidance information for the user of the mobile object MOB. The guidance information is transmitted from the server to the object through a second communication network RES2 of any type which may be the same network as the first network RESl.

The guidance information is generally visually accessible on a screen of the mobile object that the user can read. The guidance information generally provided is a map showing the current position of the moving object and the planned route when a TRJ path has been defined by the user.

Note that the reception of the location data and the provision of guidance information can be performed by two separate applications.

In our example, the user traverses a TRJ path divided into three zones, namely respectively a first Z1, a second zone Z2 and a third zone Z3. Zone division is carried out, judiciously or not, depending on the context, namely the environment of the zone in question, the preferences of the user that he has defined beforehand. The preferences of the user can also come from a training carried out for example by the SRV server or by the MOB object itself, or any other device of the network. A preference of the user may be, for example, the desire to be roughly located when traveling on a highway with his car and therefore the use of a location means that is not necessarily the most suitable for the environment. The user may consider, for example, that on a highway, a precise location does not in his opinion not have a crucial interest. This case may arise when the user is fully aware of the journey and uses the location service only to obtain information on particular points of interest such as gas stations, restaurants, etc., located at near the TRJ route.

According to the invention, each Zone corresponds to a respective locating means MLOC1, MLOC2, MLOC3 to be used. In our example, In order to simplify the disclosure of the invention, the correspondence is a logical relationship between a position and a location means. However, the invention is not limited to this example but also extends to a correspondence between a position and several location means.

Figure 2 is an example of a path on which the moving object MOB can move. The journey in question corresponds to segment AB. This path comprises three zones Z1, Z2, and Z3 each having a particular environment. In our example, the first zone is an open-air zone, the second zone is a commercial gallery, and the third zone is a tunnel. Fig. 3 is a flowchart comprising a sequence of steps illustrating an embodiment of the method of the invention.

During a first step EiTl, in our example, the user by means of his mobile object informs the application that the path he wants to travel is the path AB.

In a second step ET2, the APP guidance application cuts the path TPJ in zones Z1, Z2, Z3 and corresponds to these three zones a respective locating means MLOC1, MLOC2 and MLOC3 depending on the environment. As indicated above, this correspondence, when chosen judiciously, is a function of the environment related to the zones. In our example, a lookup table is established based on the environmental data. In this database,

the first zone Z1 corresponds to a first location means MLOCl,

the first zone Z2 corresponds to a second location means MLOC2,

in the first zone Z3 there is a second locating means MLOC3,

In our example, the judiciously chosen localization means could be, for example, a satellite location means for the zone Z1, a WIFI localization means for the second zone Z2 and a GSM location means for the third zone Z3.

According to a variant of the second step, each zone may correspond to a plurality of locating means. Under these conditions, the choice of the location means could be a function, in addition to the information relating to the environment, preferences provided by the user. The user can indeed define an unlimited number of preferences that will be taken into account when choosing the location means to use, especially when a zone corresponds to several location means.

Note that the direction of execution of the first and second stages is irrelevant. The second step could be executed after the first, and the resulting correspondence would for example be stored in a database before the user uses the guidance application.

At the end of the first step and the second step, the APP application has the table represented in FIG. 4. In this table,

at the positions P1 to P5 of the first zone Z1 corresponds to the locating means MLOC1

at the points P6 to P8 of the second zone Z2 corresponds the locating means MLOC2

at the points P9 of the third zone Z3 corresponds the third location means.

In a third step ET3, while the user UT equipped with the mobile object MOB evolves in the first zone Z1, the application APP locates the object via the first location means MLOC1 and provides information guidance according to the location.

In our example, to ensure optimal quality of service, the server requires a location of the mobile object as often as possible in order to tilt the current location means MLOCl to another location means as quickly as possible when necessary.

In a fourth step ET4, the object is located at the position P3. Knowing the path AB, the guidance application deduces a high probability that the user will enter the second zone Z2. The probability may also be based on a context including habits of the UT user's habits, his current state, his direction, the means of transport that the user uses, the corresponding speed, the weather, etc. For example, if the user declared himself, or is known through learning mechanisms, to appreciate the shopping malls, the probability of passing from the point P3 to the point P6, therefore from the first zone Z1, to the second Z2 area is large. The guidance application can then anticipate this passage and consider, with reference to the table described in FIG. 4, a switchover of the locating means from the first locating means MLOC1 towards the locating means which corresponds to the point P6, namely the second means of localization.

The application can assign probability weights to the points surrounding the P3 point based on the habit-related data. Indeed, in our exemplary embodiment, when the object is located at a coordinate point of the first zone, a probability weight is assigned to at least one coordinate point located near the current point, and if said at least a point is located in the second zone, the tilting of the first zone towards the second zone depends on the weight. Most often, several points surround the coordinate point representing the current position of the object. In this case, when the object is located at a coordinate point of the first zone, a probability weight is assigned to the points surrounding the current point, and the tilting of the first zone to the second zone takes place when the point, among the set of points considered surrounding the current point, having the highest probability belongs to the second zone. Specifically, in our example, the application can assign probability weights to the points surrounding the point P3 based on the data related to habits. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the weights (in percentage) associated with the points P2, P4, P5 surrounding the current point P3 could be as follows: P2: 5%, P4: 15%, P5: 15%, P6: 65%. In this example, the weight associated with the point P6 is such that the tilting of the first locating means to the second means can take place.

In a fifth step ET5, the application performs a switchover related to the use of the location means, by switching the locating means of the first MLOCl means to the second locating means ML0C2.

In a sixth step ET6, the switchover having taken place, the second locating means ML0C2 locates the MOB object at P6.

In a seventh step ET7, the second location means MLOC2 locates the object at point P7. The application consults, during a step ET7bis, the pre-established table (see Figure 4) defined above and thus detects the approach of a third zone Z3. In our example, a probability weight is then assigned to the surrounding points P6 P8 and P9 depending on certain parameters, for example habits of the user UT. For example, consider that the user is passionate about high technologies. Consider also that in the corridor CLR, which is a dead end, the mall, represented by the point P8, there are shops selling high-tech products, a weight of probability will be allocated to the surrounding points the point P7 according of these data. For example, the weight distribution (in percentage) could be as follows: P6: 5%, P8: 70%, P9: 25%, meaning that it is very unlikely that the user will turn around, that he it is unlikely to pass in the third zone Z3, and it is likely that it will use the CLR corridor. The application, according to these weights, switches if the point associated with the strongest weight belongs to another zone than the current zone. In this case, the strongest weight is associated with a point in the same zone; the application does not realize a change of location means.

A user who moves quickly with the object, the current time that may correspond to a time when the user usually goes to work, etc., would also have the effect of changing the distribution of weights and distributing them by example of the following way: P6: 5%, P8: 20%, P9: 75%. The information that the user is in a hurry may come from information from his calendar, for example the user to a meeting in a very short time.

In an eighth step ET8, the user is located at point P8.

During a ninth step ET9, the corridor being without exit, the user returns to point P7. At point P7, the probability weight is assumed to be distributed as follows: P6: 5%, P8: 0%, P9: 95%. The distribution of the weights is such that the switching of the second locating means MLOC2 to the third locating means MLOC3 can be performed. The application therefore performs the switchover of the second location means MLOC2 to the third location means MLOC3.

During a tenth step EET10, the application locates the object at the position

P9 through the third location means MLOC3 and terminates the guidance. In our example, the application requires the display on the screen of the mobile object MOB of a message informing the user that he arrived at his destination.

The weight of the probabilities can be implemented through particle filtering constrained on a Veronoï diagram.

According to a variant, so as to avoid the use of probability weights at each location of the object, a zone transition zone can be defined. Outside this transition zone, the application considers that it is not necessary to use the probability weights because the application considers that the current position of the object is sufficiently far away from the bordering zones that a passage from one area to another is very unlikely.

A transition zone can be defined by means of a distance, or at a time T below which the application decides that a switch of location means is likely to occur. The distance D is the distance separating the current position of the moving object and a point of a zone borders. The duration T is the time necessary to go from the current position to a point of a bordering zone.

The estimated duration to go from the current position to a point of a border zone can be calculated according to the current moving speed of the moving object and for example forecasts of the meteorological conditions related to the zone concerned.

We have also seen previously that the switchover was a function of a weight distribution of probability. Alternatively, the MOB object can also inform the server of a failover requirement. This need can be derived from the user who is able to give indications on his direction and thus on the points of coordinates he intends to cross. The server then receives this information from the object, and performs a switch when the current position of the object is near an area other than the current area. This variant is interesting when the user has not provided destination B, the guidance application having as information only the starting position and possibly context information. It is therefore clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiment based on a path AB but extends to the examples in which the destination B is not known. Indeed, as we have seen, information provided by the user, the distribution of probability weights alone would be able to guess the direction that would take a user.

Note also that when a correspondence provides a list of location means including several location means for a zone, the selection of the location means to use can come from different sources. For example, a source may be the user himself who selects the location means to use. The source may also be software, and able to provide an indication of performance, a means of performance compared to other means of the list at a given time.

Claims

claims

1. Method for locating an object (MOB) capable of being located via at least one locating means (MLOC1, MLOC2, MLOC3), characterized in that it comprises a selection step of less locating means depending on the medium in which the object (MOB) is located.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the selection step is preceded by a step of matching between at least one medium (Z1, Z2, Z3) and at least one respective locating means (MLOC1, MLOC2, MLOC3) to use, and in that the choice of the location means to be used during a location of the object is a function of the correspondence.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the current position corresponds to a coordinate point of a first zone, a probability weight is assigned to at least one coordinate point situated close to the current position, and in that the switching from a first location means to a second location means associated with a second area occurs when the point with the strongest probability belongs to the second area.

4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the allocation of weight is used when the current position of the object is such that a passage from a first zone to a second zone is likely.

5. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the probability weight is a function of the context.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the selection takes into account the environment of the medium.

7. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the context comprises at least one contextual information on the object and / or the user.

8. Object (MOB) capable of being located in a medium via at least one locating means (MLOCl, ML0C2, ML0C3), characterized in that it comprises means capable of selecting a locating means in function of the environment in which the object (MOB) is located.

9. Device (SRV) capable of obtaining a location of an object (MOB) via at least one locating means (MLOC1, MLOC2, MLOC3), characterized in that it comprises suitable selection means selecting a location means for locating the object according to the environment in which the object is located.

A computer program comprising code instructions which, when executed on a data processing device, performs the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

1. A recording medium readable by a data processing device on which is recorded a computer program comprising instructions for performing the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.