Method, apparatus, and system for positioning and powering a wireless monitoring system
Methods, apparatus and systems for powering a wireless monitoring system are described. In one example, a described method comprises: positioning and powering a transmitter at a first location in a venue; positioning and powering a receiver at a second location in the venue; transmitting a wireless signal from the transmitter through a wireless multipath channel of the venue; receiving the wireless signal by the receiver through the wireless multipath channel, wherein the wireless signal is impacted by the wireless multipath channel and a modulation of an object undergoing a motion in the venue; obtaining a set of channel information (CI) of the wireless multipath channel based on the wireless signal; and monitoring the object and the motion of the object based on the set of CI.
1 . A method to position and orient a first target wireless device and a second target wireless device in a venue, implemented by a wireless monitoring system having the first target wireless device, the second target wireless device, a first testing wireless device, a second testing wireless device, a processor, a memory communicatively coupled with the processor, and a set of instructions stored in the memory to be executed by the processor, comprising:
in an installation phase, selecting a first location and a first orientation to install the first target wireless device and selecting a second location and a second orientation to install the second target wireless device, based at least in part by:
transmitting a plurality of testing wireless signals in the venue each from the first testing wireless device at a respective one of a plurality of candidate first locations through a wireless multipath channel to the second testing wireless device at a respective one of a plurality of candidate second locations, wherein the wireless channel is impacted by a testing motion of a testing object,
generating a plurality of first time series of channel information (TSCI) of the wireless multipath channel by the second testing wireless device, each first TSCI generated from a respective received testing wireless signal associated with a respective candidate first location and a respective candidate second location, wherein each channel information (CI) is a CI vector,
computing a plurality of pairwise-CI-similarity scores associated with the plurality of first TSCI, each pairwise-CI-similarity score is an inner product of a pair of CI vectors of a respective first TSCI associated with a respective candidate first location and a respective candidate second location,
selecting a plurality of best candidate first locations for the plurality of candidate second locations based on a first criterion, wherein each best candidate first location is selected for respective candidate second location as one of the plurality of candidate first locations with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate second location,
selecting a plurality of best candidate second locations for the plurality of candidate first locations based on a second criterion, wherein each best candidate second location is selected for respective candidate first location as one of the plurality of candidate second locations with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate first location,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate first locations as the first location to install the first target device, wherein the first location is selected as the best candidate first location with a maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate first locations,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate second locations as the second location to install the second target device, wherein the second location is selected as the best candidate second location with a maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate second locations,
selecting a plurality of best candidate first relative orientations for the plurality of candidate second relative orientations based on the first criterion, wherein for each candidate second relative orientation, a respective best candidate first relative orientation is selected as one of the plurality of candidate first relative orientations with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate second relative orientation,
selecting a plurality of best candidate second relative orientations for the plurality of candidate first relative orientations based on the second criterion, wherein for each candidate first relative orientation, a respective best candidate second relative orientation is selected as one of the plurality of candidate second relative orientations with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate first relative orientation,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate first relative orientations as the first relative orientation to install a first antenna of the first target device with respect to its housing, wherein the first relative orientation is selected as the best candidate first relative orientation with a maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate first relative orientations,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate second relative orientation as the second relative orientation to install a second antenna of the second target device with respect to its housing, wherein the second relative orientation is selected as the best candidate second relative orientation with a maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate second relative orientations,
positioning the first target device at the first location and orienting the first antenna at the first relative orientation relative to its housing,
positioning the second target device at the second location and orienting the second antenna at the second relative orientation relative to its housing, and
powering the first target device and the second target device; and
in an operating phase after the installation phase:
transmitting a wireless signal from the first target device through a wireless multipath channel of the venue,
receiving the wireless signal by the second target device through the wireless multipath channel, wherein the wireless signal is impacted by the wireless multipath channel and a modulation of an object undergoing a motion in the venue,
generating a second TSCI of the wireless multipath channel by the second target device based on the received wireless signal,
computing a pairwise-CI-similarity score based on the second TSCI, and
monitoring the object and the motion of the object based on the pairwise-CI-similarity score.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first criterion, or the second criterion is based on: a spatial relationship between the first target device and the second target device.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first criterion is different from the second criterion.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first criterion, or the second criterion is based on at least one of:
a signal strength of the testing wireless signal;
characteristics of the wireless multipath channel; or
characteristics of the set of testing CI.
5 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
powering the first testing wireless device at one of candidate first locations in the venue;
powering the second testing wireless device at one of candidate second locations in the venue;
obtaining the plurality of first TSCI using a testing processor, a testing memory and a set of testing instructions of the second testing wireless device;
performing a testing procedure associated with the monitoring of the object and the motion of the object by monitoring the testing object and the testing motion of the testing object based on the plurality of first TSCI; and
selecting, based on the testing procedure, the first and second locations from the candidate first locations and candidate second locations respectively as best locations with respect to the first criterion and the second criterion respectively.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
determining the first relative orientation of the first antenna of the first target device with respect to its housing based on the first criterion and the testing procedure; and
determining the second relative orientation of the second antenna of the second target device with respect to its housing based on the second criterion and the testing procedure.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein:
the first testing wireless device comprises at least one of: the first target device, another transmitter, the second target device, another receiver or another wireless device;
the second testing wireless device comprises at least one of: the first target device, another transmitter, the second target device, another receiver or another wireless device;
the testing object comprises at least one of: the object, the object performing the motion, a testing object with similar physical appearance as the object, a testing object with similar physical structure as the object, or a testing object with moveable parts similar to the object;
the testing motion comprises at least one of: the motion of the object, a part of the motion of the object, the motion of moveable parts of the object, or a target motion to be monitored in the monitoring task;
the testing wireless signal comprises at least one candidate wireless signal, one of the candidate wireless signal being the wireless signal.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein:
each of the first target device and the second target device comprises at least one of: a power supply unit, a power management unit, a power transfer unit, an energy storage unit, a power generation unit or an energy harvesting unit;
each of the first target device and the second target device is powered based on at least one of: the respective power supply unit, the respective power management unit, the respective power transfer unit, the respective energy storage unit, the respective power generation unit or the respective energy harvesting unit, of the respective target device.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein:
each of the first target device and the second target device is positioned by securing the respective target device to its respective location based on a respective attachment feature; and
the respective attachment feature comprises at least one of: a locking mechanism, bayonet coupling, screw coupling, push-pull coupling, plug-and-socket coupling, breakaway coupling, push-and-press-to-release coupling, coupling locked by screw, push-push locked coupling, or magnetic coupling.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the respective attachment feature of the respective target device is for attaching the respective target device to at least one of:
a surface in the venue, a glass surface, a window, a refrigerator, or
at least one matching attachment feature in the venue.
11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: securing the respective target device to a respective location by attaching the respective attachment feature of the respective target device to a matching attachment feature at the location.
12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: securing the respective target device to a power socket at the respective location by inserting a power plug of the target device into the power socket.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: powering the respective target device based on the power plug and the power socket.
14 . A method for positioning, orienting, and powering a wireless monitoring system in a venue, comprising:
in an installation phase: selecting a first positioning in a venue to install a first target device of the wireless monitoring system and selecting a second positioning to install a second target device of the wireless monitoring system, based at least in part by:
transmitting a plurality of testing wireless signals in the venue each from a first testing wireless device of the wireless monitoring system at a respective one of a plurality of candidate first positionings through a wireless multipath channel to the second testing wireless device of the wireless monitoring system at a respective one of a plurality of candidate second positionings, wherein the wireless channel is impacted by a testing motion of a testing object,
generating a plurality of first time series of channel information (TSCI) of the wireless multipath channel by the second testing wireless device, each first TSCI generated from a respective received testing wireless signal associated with a respective candidate first positioning and a respective candidate second positioning, wherein each channel information (CI) is a CI vector,
computing a plurality of pairwise-CI-similarity scores associated with the plurality of first TSCI, each pairwise-CI-similarity score is an inner product of a pair of CI vectors of a respective first TSCI associated with a respective candidate first positioning and a respective candidate second positioning,
selecting a plurality of best candidate first positionings for the plurality of candidate second positionings based on a first criterion, wherein each best candidate first positioning is selected for respective candidate second positioning as one of the plurality of candidate first positionings with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate second positioning,
selecting a plurality of best candidate second positionings for the plurality of candidate first positionings based on a second criterion, wherein each best candidate second positioning is selected for respective candidate first positioning as one of the plurality of candidate second positionings with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate first positioning,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate first positionings as the first positioning to install the first target device, wherein the first positioning is selected as the best candidate first positioning with maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate first positionings,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate second positionings as the second positioning to install the second target device, wherein the second positioning is selected as the best candidate second positioning with maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate second positionings,
installing the first target device at the first positioning and the second target device at the second positioning, and
powering the first target device and the second target device;
in an operating phase after the installation phase:
transmitting a wireless signal from the first target device through a wireless multipath channel of the venue,
receiving the wireless signal by the second target device through the wireless multipath channel, wherein the wireless signal is impacted by the wireless multipath channel and a modulation of an object undergoing a motion in the venue,;
generating a second TSCI of the wireless multipath channel based on the received wireless signal using a processor, a memory communicatively coupled with the processor and a set of instructions stored in the memory,
computing a pairwise-CI-similarity score based on the second TSCI; and
monitoring the object or a motion of the object based on the pairwise-CI-similarity score.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
positioning the first testing wireless device at one of the candidate first positionings in the venue; and
positioning the second testing wireless device at one of the candidate second positionings in the venue.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
transmitting the testing wireless signal from the first testing wireless device through a wireless multipath channel of the venue; and
receiving the testing wireless signal by the second testing wireless device through the testing wireless multipath channel, wherein the testing wireless signal is impacted by the wireless multipath channel and a modulation of the testing object undergoing the testing motion in the venue.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
obtaining the plurality of first TSCI of the wireless multipath channel based on the testing wireless signal using a testing processor, a testing memory and a set of testing instructions; and
performing a testing procedure associated with the monitoring of the at least one of the object or the motion of the object by monitoring at least one of the testing object or the testing motion of the testing object based on the plurality of first TSCI.
18 . A wireless monitoring system, comprising:
a first target device installed based on a first criterion at a first positioning in a venue, wherein the first target device comprises a transmitter configured to transmit a wireless signal through a wireless multipath channel of the venue;
a second target device installed based on a second criterion at a second positioning in the venue, wherein the second target device comprises a receiver configured to receive the wireless signal through the wireless multipath channel, wherein the wireless signal is impacted by the wireless multipath channel and a modulation of an object undergoing a motion in the venue;
and
a processor configured for, in an operating phase:
obtaining a second time series of channel information (TSCI) of the wireless multipath channel based on the received wireless signal, wherein each CI has a plurality of components,
computing a pairwise-CI-similarity score based on the second TSCI, and
monitoring at least one of the object or a motion of the object based on the pairwise-CI-similarity score, wherein:
the first and second positionings are selected in an installation phase before the operating phase, based on a testing procedure by:
transmitting a plurality of testing wireless signals by a first testing wireless device at various candidate first positionings to a second testing wireless device at various candidate second positionings, each testing wireless signal from a respective candidate first positioning to a respective candidate second positioning,
generating a plurality of first TSCI by the second testing wireless device, each first TSCI generated based on respective testing wireless signal transmitted from the first testing wireless device at respective candidate first positioning to the second testing wireless device at respective candidate second positioning, each channel information (CI) being a CI vector,
computing a plurality of pairwise-CI-similarity scores associated with the plurality of first TSCI, each pairwise-CI-similarity score being an inner product of a pair of temporally adjacent CI vectors of a respective first TSCI associated with a respective candidate first positioning and a respective candidate second positioning,
selecting a plurality of best candidate first positionings for the plurality of candidate second positionings based on the first criterion, wherein each best candidate first positioning is selected for respective candidate second positioning as one of the plurality of candidate first positionings with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate second positioning,
selecting a plurality of best candidate second positionings for the plurality of candidate first positionings based on the second criterion, wherein each best candidate second positioning is selected for respective candidate first positioning as one of the plurality of candidate second positionings with a respective maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score associated with the respective candidate first positioning,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate first positionings as the first positioning to install the first target device, wherein the first positioning is selected as the best candidate first positioning with maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate first positionings,
selecting one of the plurality of best candidate second positionings as the second positioning to install the second target device, wherein the second positioning is selected as the best candidate second positioning with maximum pairwise-CI-similarity score among the plurality of best candidate second positioning.
19 . The wireless monitoring system of claim 18 , further comprising:
the first testing wireless device positioned at one of the candidate first locations in a testing venue, and configured for transmitting the testing wireless signal through a testing wireless multipath channel of the testing venue;
the second testing wireless device positioned at one of the candidate second locations in the testing venue, and configured for receiving the testing wireless signal by the through the testing wireless multipath channel, wherein the testing wireless signal is impacted by the testing wireless multipath channel and a modulation of a testing object undergoing a testing motion in the testing venue; and
a testing processor configured for:
obtaining the set of testing CI of the testing wireless multipath channel based on the testing wireless signal,
performing the testing procedure associated with the monitoring of the at least one of the object or the motion of the object by monitoring at least one of the testing object or the testing motion of the testing object based on the set of testing CI, and
selecting, based on the testing procedure, the first and second locations from the candidate first locations and candidate second locations respectively as best locations with respect to the first and second criteria respectively to install the first and second target devices respectively.