Luminaire identification and positioning by constellation

1. A method for determining the position of a computing device, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the computing device, an image of a subset of luminaries from a plurality of luminaires located in an indoor environment, wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable;

comparing the subset of luminaires to a database storing each uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires, wherein the database includes position information for each luminaire in the plurality of luminaires; and

determining the position of the computing device based on the comparison of the subset of luminaires to the database.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable based at least in part on a position, orientation, brightness, or color of each luminaire, or a marking on or proximate to each luminaire.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the database stores the brightness or color of each luminaire in the plurality of luminaires and information about the marking of each luminaire.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

decoding a unique identifier of a first luminaire in the subset of luminaires, the first luminaire transmitting the unique identifier via light-based communication;

determining the position of the computing device based at least in part on the unique identifier, wherein the database stores the unique identifier for the first luminaire.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset of luminaires contains at least N number of luminaires and each subset grouping of N luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing the subset of luminaires to the database comprises:

identifying a match between the subset of luminaires and one of the uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires stored in the database; and

obtaining the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires from the database;

wherein determining the position of the computing device is based on the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the position of the computing device comprises:

determining a relative position of the computing device with respect to the subset of luminaires based on the obtained image; and

determining an absolute position of the computing device based on the relative position of the computing device and position information of the subset of luminaires stored in the database.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the absolute position of the computing device comprises a three dimensional location, a pitch, a roll, and a yaw of the computing device.

9. A computing device, comprising:

an image capture device configured to obtain an image of a subset of luminaries from a plurality of luminaires located in an indoor environment, wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable; and

a processor configured to:

compare the subset of luminaires to a database storing each uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires, wherein the database includes position information for each luminaire in the plurality of luminaires; and

determine the position of the computing device based on the comparison of the subset of luminaries to the database.

10. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable based at least in part on a position, orientation, brightness, or color of each luminaire, or a marking on or proximate to each luminaire.

11. The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the database stores the brightness or color of each luminaire in the plurality of luminaires and information about the marking of each luminaire.

12. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

decode a unique identifier of a first luminaire in the subset of luminaires, the first luminaire transmitting the unique identifier via light-based communication;

determine the position of the computing device based at least in part on the unique identifier, wherein the database stores the unique identifier for the first luminaire.

13. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the subset of luminaires contains at least N number of luminaires and each subset grouping of N luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable.

14. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to compare the subset of luminaires to the database by:

identifying a match between the subset of luminaires and one of the uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires stored in the database; and

obtaining the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires from the database;

wherein determining the position of the computing device is based on the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires.

15. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the position of the computing device by:

determining a relative position of the computing device with respect to the subset of luminaires based on the obtained image; and

determining an absolute position of the computing device based on the relative position of the computing device and position information of the subset of luminaires stored in the database.

16. The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the absolute position of the computing device comprises a three dimensional location, a pitch, a roll, and a yaw of the computing device.

17. A system comprising the computing device of claim 8 and further comprising a remote server, wherein:

the remote server is configured to compare the subset of luminaires to the database and determine the position of the computing device; and

the computing device is further configured to transmit the image of the subset of luminaires to the remote server and receive the position of the computing device from the remote server.

18. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions configured to cause a processor of a computing device to perform operations comprising:

obtaining an image of a subset of luminaries from a plurality of luminaires located in an indoor environment, wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable;

comparing the subset of luminaires to a database storing each uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires, wherein the database includes position information for each luminaire in the plurality of luminaires; and

determining the position of the computing device based on the comparison of the subset of luminaries to the database.

19. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein each subset grouping of luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable based at least in part on a position, orientation, brightness, or color of each luminaire, or a marking on or proximate to each luminaire.

20. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:

decoding a unique identifier of a first luminaire in the subset of luminaires, the first luminaire transmitting the unique identifier via light-based communication;

determining the position of the computing device based at least in part on the unique identifier, wherein the database stores the unique identifier for the first luminaire.

21. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the subset of luminaires contains at least N number of luminaires and each subset grouping of N luminaires in the plurality of luminaires is uniquely identifiable.

22. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations such that comparing the subset of luminaires to the database comprises:

identifying a match between the subset of luminaires and one of the uniquely identifiable subset grouping of luminaires stored in the database; and

obtaining the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires from the database;

wherein determining the position of the computing device is based on the position information of each of the luminaires in the matched subset grouping of luminaires.

23. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations such that determining the position of the computing device comprises:

determining a relative position of the computing device with respect to the subset of luminaires based on the obtained image; and

determining an absolute position of the computing device based on the relative position of the computing device and position information of the subset of luminaires stored in the database.