Controlling beaconing in a positioning system
A location system comprising: a location network comprising a plurality of reference nodes and at least one controller. Each reference node is operable to transmit a respective beaconing signal from which a respective measurement can be taken by a mobile device for use in determining a location of the mobile device. The at least one controller is configured to control whether and/or how often one or more signals of the location system are transmitted to be used in determining the location of the mobile device, the control being based on feedback from at least one determination of the location of the mobile device relative to the reference nodes.
1. A location system comprising:
a location network comprising a plurality of reference nodes each configured to transmit a respective beaconing signal from which a respective measurement is taken by a mobile device for use in determining a location of the mobile device; and
a plurality of controllers, one for each reference node with each being configured to control the occurrence of the beacon signal transmitted from that reference node, and further configured to control whether and/or how often one or more signals of the location system are transmitted to be used in determining the location of the mobile device, the control being based on feedback from at least one determination of the location of the mobile device relative to the reference nodes, wherein said one or more signals of the location system comprise the beaconing signals emitted from the reference nodes, the plurality of controllers being configured to control whether and/or how often the beaconing signals are emitted based on said feedback,
wherein said controlling of the beaconing signals further comprises, for each of a plurality or more of the reference nodes:
when the location of the mobile device is within a proximity of the respective reference node, activating the respective beaconing signal or increasing a number of instances of the respective beaconing signal transmitted per unit time, and
when the location of the mobile device is outside a proximity of the respective reference node, deactivating the respective beaconing signal or decreasing a number of instances of the respective beaconing signal transmitted per unit time.
2. The location system of claim 1 , wherein said one or more signals of the location system comprise an uplink signal transmitting the measurements or partially processed versions of said measurements from the mobile device to a location server, to be used to determine the location of the mobile device.
3. The location system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to receive said feedback from an additional location system other than said location system.
4. The location system of claim 3 , wherein the additional location system comprises a presence sensing system which detects a location of a user carrying the mobile device, the feedback being based on the location of the user as sensed by the presence sensing system.
5. The location system of claim 4 , wherein the presence sensing system is an occupancy sensing system which detects the location of the user within a room or corridor.
6. The location system of claim 4 , wherein the presence sensing system detects presence of the user based on an ultrasound, or infrared, or light-based presence sensing technology.
7. The location system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to receive said feedback from the mobile device, the feedback being based on said location as determined at the mobile device using said measurements.
8. The location system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to receive said feedback from a location server, the feedback being based on said location as determined at the location server using the measurements or partially processed versions of said measurements submitted from the mobile device.
9. The location system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to receive said feedback from an application server providing a location based service to said mobile device in dependence on the location of the mobile device, the feedback being based on the mobile device being granted access to the location based service.
10. The location system of claim 1 , wherein the reference nodes are dedicated anchor nodes of an indoor location network.
11. A non-transitory computer program product for use in a location network comprising a plurality of reference nodes, each being operable to transmit a respective beaconing signal from which a respective measurement can be taken by a mobile device for use in determining a location of the mobile device; wherein the computer program product comprises code embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and configured so as when executed on one of the reference nodes to control whether and/or how often one or more signals of said reference node are transmitted to be used in determining the location of the mobile device, the control being based on feedback from a determination of the location of the mobile device relative to the reference nodes, wherein said one or more signals of the location system comprise the beaconing signals emitted from the reference nodes, the computer program product being configured to control whether and/or how often the beaconing signals are emitted based on said feedback,
wherein said controlling of the beaconing signals further comprises, for each of a plurality or more of the reference nodes:
when the location of the mobile device is within a proximity of the respective reference node, activating the respective beaconing signal or increasing a number of instances of the respective beaconing signal transmitted per unit time, and
when the location of the mobile device is outside a proximity of the respective reference node, deactivating the respective beaconing signal or decreasing a number of instances of the respective beaconing signal transmitted per unit time.