Position accuracy using sensor data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12235349-B2
Application number	US-202318326149-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2023
Priority date	Mar 11, 2021
Publication date	Feb 25, 2025
Grant date	Feb 25, 2025

Abstract

Techniques are provided for determining a location of a mobile device based on visual positioning solution (VPS). An example method for determining a position estimate of a mobile device includes obtaining sensor information, detecting one or more identifiable features in the sensor information, determining a range to at least one of the one or more identifiable features, obtaining coarse map information, determining a location of the at least one of the one or more identifiable features based on the coarse map information, and determining the position estimate for the mobile device based at least in part on the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for determining a position estimate of a mobile device, comprising:
obtaining a coarse position information;
obtaining map information based at least in part on the coarse position information;
obtaining sensor information;
detecting one or more identifiable features in the sensor information;
determining an orientation of the mobile device based at least in part on the sensor information and the one or more identifiable features; and
determining the position estimate for the mobile device based at least in part on the coarse position information and the orientation of the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on signals received from one or more satellites in a satellite navigation system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on signals received from a cellular communication system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on signals received from one or more inertial measurement devices.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining a range to at least one of the one or more identifiable features; and
determining a location of the at least one the one or more identifiable features, wherein the position estimate is based at least in part on the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features is based on an output of a remote sensor.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the remote sensor is a lidar device or a radar device.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the remote sensor is an optical sensor.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor information is an image and detecting the one or more identifiable features in the sensor information includes performing an optical character recognition process on the image.

10. An apparatus, comprising:
at least one memory;
at least one transceiver;
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, and configured to:
obtain a coarse position information;
obtain map information based at least in part on the coarse position information;
obtain sensor information;
detect one or more identifiable features in the sensor information;
determine an orientation based at least in part on the sensor information and the one or more identifiable features; and
determine a position estimate based at least in part on the coarse position information and the orientation.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain the coarse position information based at least in part on signals received by the GNSS receiver.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain the coarse position information based at least in part on signals transmitted by one or more stations in a cellular communication system.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain the coarse position information based at least in part on one or more inertial measurement devices.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine a range to at least one of the one or more identifiable features;
determine a location of the at least one the one or more identifiable features; and
determine the position estimate based at least in part on the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features based on an output of a remote sensor.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising at least one lidar device or at least one radar device, wherein the at least one processor is communicatively coupled to the at least one lidar device or the at least one radar device.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising at least one optical sensor, wherein the at least one processor is communicatively coupled to the at least one optical sensor.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain an image with the at least one optical sensor and perform an optical character recognition process on the image to detect the one or more identifiable features in the sensor information.

19. An apparatus for determining a position estimate of a mobile device, comprising:
means for obtaining a coarse position information;
means for obtaining map information based at least in part on the coarse position information;
means for obtaining sensor information;
means for detecting one or more identifiable features in the sensor information;
means for determining an orientation of the mobile device based at least in part on the sensor information and the one or more identifiable features; and
means for determining the position estimate for the mobile device based at least in part on the coarse position information and the orientation of the mobile device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means for receiving signals from one or more satellite vehicles, wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on signals received from the one or more satellites vehicles.

21. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means for receiving signals from a cellular communication system, wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on signals received from the cellular communication system.

22. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means for obtaining inertial measurements, wherein the coarse position information is based at least in part on measurements obtained by the means for obtaining inertial measurements.

23. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:
means for determining a range to at least one of the one or more identifiable features; and
means for determining a location of the at least one the one or more identifiable features, wherein the position estimate is based at least in part on the range to the at least one of the one or more identifiable features.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means for obtaining an image and means for performing an optical character recognition process on the image.

25. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a position estimate of a mobile device, comprising:
code for obtaining a coarse position information;
code for obtaining map information based at least in part on the coarse position information;
code for obtaining sensor information;
code for detecting one or more identifiable features in the sensor information;
code for determining an orientation of the mobile device based at least in part on the sensor information and the one or more identifiable features; and
code for determining the position estimate for the mobile device based at least in part on the coarse position information and the orientation of the mobile device.

26. The non-transitory processor-readable storage

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Nirula Gautam
• Morrison William

Classifications

• G01S19/10

  providing dedicated supplementary positioning signals · CPC title

• G01S13/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G01S13/865

  Combination of radar systems with lidar systems · CPC title

• G01S19/071

  DGPS corrections · CPC title

• G06V20/63

  Scene text, e.g. street names · CPC title