Systems and methods for determining signal coverage
View Patent ↗Methods and systems are provided for processing signal strength information from a radio frequency transmitter and for determining signal coverage for a wireless device. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving signal strength information indicating a power for the radio frequency transmitter at one or more first locations; receiving location information representing a geographic location for one or more second locations; dividing the received signal strength information into one or more subsets of signal strength information; determining, for each of the one or more subsets, a local mean such that the local mean represents an average for one of the one or more subsets; and estimating a location for the local mean based on the received location information.
1. A method for determining for a wireless device a signal coverage along a route comprising the steps of:
receiving signal strength information for a signal;
receiving location information representing a geographic location for one or more first locations;
determining one or more local means based on the received signal strength information and a speed of a receiver of the received signal strength information;
estimating one or more second locations for the one or more local means based on the one or more first locations;
transforming the one or more second locations into the route; and
calculating the signal coverage for the route based on a signal coverage for at least one of the one or more second locations.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of calculating further comprises the step of:
calculating the signal coverage for the route based on the following equation:
R
cp
=
∑
k
C
p
(
k
)
·
Δ
(
k
)
∑
k
Δ
(
k
)
wherein C p (k) is the signal coverage at the one or more second locations, and Δ(k) is the relative distance between two of the one or more second locations.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
determining a standard deviation based on the received signal strength information.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the standard deviation further comprises:
determining the standard deviation based on one or more difference values, such that a difference value represents the difference between a local mean and a corresponding window average.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein said step of determining the signal coverage along the route further comprises the step of:
determining the signal coverage at one of the one or more second locations based on the following equation:
Cp
(
r
)
=
1
2
-
erf
w
t
-
LM
(
r
)
σ
LM
wherein r represents one of the one or more second locations, σ LM represents the standard deviation, LM(r) represents a local mean corresponding to one of the one or more second locations, w t represents a service threshold for the wireless device, and erf is a normal distribution error function.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of receiving location information further comprises the step of:
receiving the one or more first locations including one or more of the following: a plurality of latitudes, a plurality of longitudes, and at least one of a plurality of time stamps from a receiver of global positioning system information.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said step of transforming further comprises the step of:
determining the route based on the plurality of latitudes and the plurality of longitudes; and
dividing the route into at least two segments based on the plurality of latitudes and the plurality of longitudes when the at least two segments exceed a route break distance.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said step of determining the route further comprises the step of:
transforming the plurality of latitudes and the plurality of longitudes into the route, such that the route includes one or more directions and one or more distances arranged to form the route.
9. A system for determining for a wireless device a signal coverage along a route comprising:
means for receiving signal strength information for a signal;
means for receiving location information representing a geographic location for one or more first locations;
means for determining one or more local means based on the received signal strength information and a speed of a receiver of the received signal strength information;
means for estimating one or more second locations for the one or more local means based on the one or more first locations;
means for transforming the one or more second locations into a route; and
means for calculating the signal coverage for the route based on a signal coverage for at least one of the one or more second locations.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein said means for calculating further comprises:
means for calculating the signal coverage for the route based on the following equation:
R
cp
=
∑
k
C
p
(
k
)
·
Δ
(
k
)
∑
k
Δ
(
k
)
wherein C p (k) is the signal coverage at the one or more second locations, and Δ(k) is the relative distance between two of the one or more second locations.
11. A system for determining for a wireless device a signal coverage along a route for a wireless device comprising:
at least one memory comprising:
code that receives signal strength information for a signal,
code that receives location information representing a geographic location for one or more first locations,
code that determines one or more local means based on the received signal strength information and a speed of a receiver of the received signal strength information,
code that estimates one or more second locations for the one or more local means based on the one or more first locations,
code that transforms the one or more second locations into a route, and
code that calculates the signal coverage for the route based on a signal coverage for at least one of the one or more second locations; and
at least one processor that executes said code.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises:
code that calculates the signal coverage for the route based on the following equation:
R
cp
=
∑
k
C
p
(
k
)
·
Δ
(
k
)
∑
k
Δ
(
k
)
wherein C p (k) is the signal coverage at the one or more second locations, and Δ(k) is the relative distance between two of the one or more second locations.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises:
code that determines a standard deviation based on the received signal strength information.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises:
code that determines the standard deviation based on one or more difference values, wherein a difference value represents the difference between a local mean and a corresponding window average.