Granted Patent B2

US 11,015,938 · App. 16/217,296 · Granted May 25, 2021

Inventors: Patrenahalli M. Narendra (Hoffman Estates, IL); Joseph R. White (Glenwood, MD)

Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation

G01C21/206G01C21/005G01S11/06G01S11/08H04B17/318H04W64/003

Abstract

Claims (53)

1. A method of navigational assistance at a mobile computing device for deployment in a facility having a global frame of reference, the method comprising:

receiving an anchor definition containing (i) an anchor position in the global frame of reference, and (ii) a feature set corresponding to physical characteristics of the facility at the anchor position;

receiving a task definition containing (i) a task position defined relative to the anchor position, and (ii) task overlay data;

capturing, using an image capture module, a sequence of images;

responsive to detecting the feature set in the sequence of images, determining a local device position of the mobile computing device relative to the anchor position;

based on the local device position and the task position, determining whether the task position is within a field of view of the mobile computing device;

responsive to determining that the task position is within the field of view, presenting the sequence of images overlaid with the task overlay data on a display;

determining a global device position of the mobile computing device; and

responsive to determining that the sequence of images does not contain the feature set, presenting an anchor guide prompt on the display indicating the anchor position relative to the global device position.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to receiving the anchor definition and the task definition, determining the global device position of the mobile computing device and sending the global device position to a server; and

receiving the anchor definition and the task definition responsive to sending the global device position.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the local device position comprises:

identifying transient features in the sequence of images and tracking the local device position based on movement of the transient features between images in the sequence.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feature set corresponds to (i) a visual appearance of physical structures in the facility and (ii) a proximity indicator corresponding to the proximity of the anchor position to a wireless transmitter; and wherein the method further comprises:

capturing simultaneously with the sequence of images, using at least one of the image capture module and a communications interface, proximity signatures;

wherein detecting the feature set includes (i) detecting the visual appearance in the sequence of images, and (ii) detecting the proximity indicator in the proximity signatures.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the proximity indicator includes at least one of:

a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) corresponding to a wireless access point;

a round trip time (RTT) corresponding to the wireless access point;

an identifier of a wireless beacon; and

an identifier of a visual light communication (VLC) emitter.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein presenting the sequence of images and the overlay data includes selecting a portion of the image corresponding to the task location, and presenting the overlay data on the selected portion.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responsive to determining that the task position is not within the field of view, presenting a task guide prompt on the display indicating the task position relative to the local device position.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the overlay data includes at least one of a task descriptor and an object identifier.

9. A mobile computing device for navigational assistance in a facility having a global frame of reference, the mobile computing device comprising:

a memory storing:

an anchor definition containing (i) an anchor position in the global frame of reference, and (ii) a feature set corresponding to physical characteristics of the facility at the anchor position; and

a task definition containing (i) a task position defined relative to the anchor position, and (ii) task overlay data;

a display;

an image capture module configured to capture a sequence of images;

a processor connected to the memory, the display and the image capture module, the processor configured to:

responsive to detecting the feature set in the sequence of images, determine a local device position of the mobile computing device relative to the anchor position;

based on the local device position and the task position, determine whether the task position is within a field of view of the mobile computing device; and

responsive to determining that the task position is within the field of view, control the display to present the sequence of images overlaid with the task overlay data on a display,

wherein the mobile computing device further comprises a motion sensor configured to generate motion data and the processor is further configured to:

determine a global device position of the mobile computing device based on the motion data, and

responsive to determining that the sequence of images does not contain the feature set, to present an anchor guide prompt on the display indicating the anchor position relative to the global device position.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 9 ,

wherein the processor is further configured, prior to receiving the anchor definition and the task definition for storage in the memory, to determine a global device position of the mobile computing device based on the motion data and to send the global device position to a server via a communications interface.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the local device position by identifying transient features in the sequence of images and tracking the local device position based on movement of the transient features between images in the sequence.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 9 , further comprising a communications interface; wherein the feature set corresponds to (i) a visual appearance of physical structures in the facility and (ii) a proximity indicator corresponding to the proximity of the anchor position to a wireless transmitter;

wherein the processor is further configured to control at least one of the image capture module and the communication interface to capture, simultaneously with the sequence of images, proximity signatures; and

wherein the processor is further configured, to detect the feature set, to (i) detect the visual appearance in the sequence of images, and (ii) detect the proximity indicator in the proximity signatures.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 12 , wherein the proximity indicator includes at least one of:

a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) corresponding to a wireless access point;

a round trip time (RTT) corresponding to the wireless access point;

an identifier of a wireless beacon; and

an identifier of a visual light communication (VLC) emitter.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to present the sequence of images and the overlay data by selecting a portion of the image corresponding to the task location; the processor further configured to present the overlay data on the selected portion.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured, responsive to determining that the task position is not within the field of view, to present a task guide prompt on the display indicating the task position relative to the local device position.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 9 , wherein the overlay data includes at least one of a task descriptor and an object identifier.

Assignments (6)