Method and system for intelligent switch between client based location and server based location for hybrid location client devices
View Patent ↗A client device dynamically selects one of client based location computation and server based location computation, based on propagation environment around the client device, to determine its own location. The client device may switch between client based location computation and server based location computation based on the local propagation environment for a desired quality of location and low data load from a remote location server. The client device measures power of received radio transmissions from radio transmission sources such as WLAN access points and/or cellular base stations. For a client based location solution, the client device performs location computation utilizing the local power measurement and assistance data downloaded from the remote location server. For a server based location solution, the remote location server may perform location computation for the client device. The client device determines the corresponding server based location solution by decoding information received from the remote location server.
1. A method in a wireless communication device, comprising:
selecting one of a first or a second location computation, computed by the wireless communication device or a server, respectively, based on propagation environment information around the wireless communication device;
determining a location of the wireless communication device utilizing the selected location computation; and
repeating the selecting of one of the first or the second location computation in response to changes in the propagation environment information.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring power of radio transmissions received by the wireless communication device, and further comprising:
computing the first location computation utilizing the power measurements.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the radio transmissions comprise at least one of:
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) radio transmissions;
Bluetooth radio transmissions;
cellular radio transmissions; or
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) radio transmissions.
4. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
downloading assistance data from the server,
wherein the assistance data comprises a location of the radio transmissions.
5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising:
computing the first location computation utilizing the assistance data.
6. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
communicating the power measurements and the propagation environment information to the server.
7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
computing the second location computation utilizing at least one of:
the power measurements;
the propagation environment information; or
information collected from a plurality of client devices associated with the server.
8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving the second location computation from the server via a communication network.
9. A system for communication, the system comprising:
one or more processors and/or circuits in a wireless communication device configured to:
measure propagation environment information around the wireless communication device;
select one of a first or a second location computation, performed by the wireless communication device or a server, respectively, based on the propagation environment information; and
determine a location of the wireless communication device utilizing the selected location computation,
wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to repeat the selecting of one of the first or the second location computation in response to changes in the propagation environment information.
10. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to measure power of radio transmissions received by the wireless communication device, and to utilize the power measurements to compute the first location computation.
11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the radio transmissions comprise at least one of:
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) radio transmissions;
Bluetooth radio transmissions;
cellular radio transmissions; or
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) radio transmissions.
12. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are to further configured to receive assistance data from the server, and wherein the assistance data comprises a location of the radio transmissions.
13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to compute the first location computation utilizing the power measurements and the assistance data.
14. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits include a transmitter and are further configured to communicate the power measurements and the propagation environment information to the server via the transmitter.
15. The system according to claim 14 , wherein the server is configured to compute the second location computation utilizing at least one of:
the power measurements;
the propagation environment information; or
information collected from a plurality of other client devices associated with the remote server.
16. The system according to claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors and/or circuits are further configured to receive the second location computation from the server via a communication network.
17. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
tracking the propagation environment information over time; and
storing the propagation environment information in a location database.
18. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
decoding the second location computation to provide decoded computation information, and wherein the determining comprises:
determining the location of the wireless communication device utilizing the decoded computation information.
19. The system according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a location database configured to store information,
wherein the processor is further configured to track the propagation environment information over time and to store the propagation environment information in the location database.
20. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to decode the second location computation to provide decoded computation information and to determine the location of the wireless communication device utilizing the decoded computation information.