Information processing apparatus, positioning method, and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016154084-A1
Application number	US-201514931164-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 3, 2015
Priority date	Dec 1, 2014
Publication date	Jun 2, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An information processing apparatus connected to a wireless base station configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of terminals, the wireless base station providing a predetermined point on a map to each of the plurality of the terminals as a reference position serving as a positioning reference. The information processing apparatus includes a information acquisition processor, a position calculator, a memory, a proximity detector, and a position updater. The proximity detector determines existence of a proximity terminal within a range of a preset proximity distance based on the radio field intensity on the inter-terminal communication for each of the plurality of the terminals obtained from each of the plurality of the terminals. The position updater updates the measured positions of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory by using the estimated position of the proximity terminal determined as existing within the range of the proximity distance by the proximity detector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An information processing apparatus connected to a wireless base station configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of terminals, the wireless base station providing a predetermined point on a map to each of the plurality of the terminals as a reference position serving as a positioning reference, each of the plurality of terminals being configured to obtain walking information indicating a walking movement of a walking user, each of the plurality of the terminals initially passing the reference position with the walking user, the information processing apparatus comprising:
an information acquisition processor to obtain the walking information, an identification information, a passage time at the reference position, and a radio field intensity on inter-terminal communication with a counterpart terminal from each of the plurality of the terminals; a position calculator to calculate an estimated position of each of the plurality of the terminals based on the walking information of each of the plurality of the terminals sequentially obtained by the information acquisition processor when and after each of the plurality of the terminals passes the reference position; a memory to store a measured position of each of the plurality of the terminals in association with a respective identification information of each of the plurality of the terminals; a proximity detector to determine existence of a proximity terminal within a range of a preset proximity distance based on the radio field intensity on the inter-terminal communication for each of the plurality of the terminals obtained from each of the plurality of the terminals; and a position updater to update the measured positions of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory by using the estimated position of the proximity terminal determined as existing within the range of the proximity distance by the proximity detector.

2 . The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising
a moving distance calculator to calculate a moving distance of each of the plurality of terminals from the reference position based on the walking information of each of the plurality of the terminals, wherein the position updater compares the moving distance of each of the plurality of the terminals calculated by the moving distance calculator, and updates the measured position of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory with an estimated position of a closest terminal, the closest terminal having shortest moving distance among the plurality of the terminals within the range of the proximity distance.

3 . The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising
an elapsed time calculator to calculate a elapsed time having passed after each of the plurality of the terminals passes the reference position, wherein the position updater compares the elapsed time of each of the plurality of the terminals calculated by the elapsed time calculator, and updates the measured position of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory with an estimated position of an closest terminal, the closest terminal having shortest elapsed time among the plurality of the terminals within the range of the proximity distance.

4 . The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a moving distance calculator to calculate a moving distance of each of the plurality of the terminals from the reference position based on the walking information of each of the plurality of the terminals; and an elapsed time calculator to calculate a elapsed time having passed after each of the plurality of the terminals passes the reference position, wherein the position updater designates:
an estimated base position of an update base terminal having shortest moving distance among the plurality of the terminals calculated by the moving distance calculator; or
an estimated base position of an update base terminal having shortest moving distance and shortest elapsed time after passage of the reference position when two or more of terminals among the plurality of the terminals have substantially equal moving distance, and
updates the measured position of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory with the estimated base position.

5 . The information processing apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein, when two or more of terminals exist within the range of the proximity distance, the position updater designates an estimated target position of an update target terminal having moving distance and/or elapsed time within a preset threshold value, and updates the measured position of the update target terminal with the estimated target position.

6 . The information processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a moving distance calculator to calculate a moving distance of each of the plurality of the terminals from the reference position; an error estimator to estimate a positioning error in the moving distance calculated by the moving distance calculator; and a diagnoser to collate the estimated position of each of the plurality of the terminals calculated by the position calculator and a calculated position of each of plurality of the terminals found from the moving distance, and determines that the estimated position of each of the plurality of the terminal calculated by the position calculator is valid when a difference between the estimated position and the calculated position is within a range of the positioning error estimated by the error estimator, wherein the position updater updates the measured position of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance stored in the memory with the estimated position of the relevant terminal determined as being valid by the diagnoser, and the position updater does not update the measured position of the relevant terminal when the estimated position of the relevant terminal is determined as not being valid.

7 . A positioning method in an information processing apparatus connected to a wireless base station configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of terminals, the wireless base station providing a predetermined point on a map to each of the plurality of the terminals as a reference position serving as a positioning reference, each of the plurality of terminals being configured to obtain walking information indicating a walking movement of a walking user, each of the plurality of the terminals initially passing the reference position with the walking user, the positioning method comprising:
obtaining the walking information, an identification information, a passage time at the reference position, and a radio field intensity on inter-terminal communication with a counterpart terminal from each of the plurality of the terminals; calculating an estimated position of each of the plurality of the terminals based on the walking information of each of the plurality of the terminals sequentially obtained by the information acquisition processor when and after each of the plurality of the terminals passes the reference position; storing a measured position of each of the plurality of the terminals in association with a respective identification information of each of the plurality of the terminals, in a memory; determining existence of a proximity terminal within a range of a preset proximity distance based on the radio field intensity on the inter-terminal communication for each of the plurality of the terminals obtained from each of the plurality of the terminals; and updating the measured positions of the relevant terminal within the range of the proximity distance

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Ogawa Jumpei
• Inamura Hiroyuki
• Namba Yoshiki

Classifications

• G01S5/0289

  of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks · CPC title

• G01S5/0294 Primary

  Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering · CPC title