IP Library Granted Patent US 11,323,978
Granted Patent B2
US 11,323,978 · App. 15/937,822 · Granted May 3, 2022

Method and system for tracking position of one or more Wi-Fi devices

Inventors: Mustafa Ergen (Istanbul, TR); Hasan Şildir (Istanbul, TR); Sinem Çöleri Ergen (Istanbul, TR)
Assignee: Ambeent Inc.
H04W64/003H04W48/04H04W48/16H04W48/20H04W72/005
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,323,978
App. No.
15/937,822
Granted
May 3, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

The invention provides a method and system for tracking a position of one or more Wi-Fi devices of a plurality of Wi-Fi devices. For tracking the position of the one or more Wi-Fi devices, a Triggering Router triggers the one or more Wi-Fi devices to transmit one of a broadcast probe and a directed probe through broadcasting hidden SSID networks and common SSIDs that increase a probing tendency of the one or more Wi-Fi devices. The plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, then, collect measurement data associated with the one or more Wi-Fi devices in response to detecting the broadcast probe transmission and the directed probe transmission. Thereafter, the position of the one or more Wi-Fi devices is estimated using an adaptive machine learning model based on an indoor model whose parameters are tuned based on radio frequency (RF) measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices and the measurement data.

Claims (43)

1. A method for tracking a position of at least one Wi-Fi device of a plurality of Wi-Fi devices, the method comprising:

triggering, by a Wi-Fi access point of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points and a Wi-Fi sniffer of a plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, one of a broadcast probe transmission or a directed probe transmission from the at least one Wi-Fi device, wherein the triggering comprises broadcasting, by the at least one Wi-Fi access point, one of hidden service set identifiers (SSIDs) or common SSIDs to increase a probing tendency of the at least one Wi-Fi device;

collecting, by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, measurement data associated with the at least one Wi-Fi device in response to transmission of the broadcast probe or the directed probe from the at least one Wi-Fi device, wherein the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers use a synchronization algorithm to switch to and sniff same channels simultaneously;

tuning, by one or more processors, at least one parameter corresponding to an indoor model based on radio frequency (RF) measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices; and

estimating, by the one or more processors, a position of the at least one Wi-Fi device using an adaptive machine learning model based on the tuned indoor model and the measurement data.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the triggering further comprises:

on receiving a beacon with a NULL SSID value, transmitting, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the triggering further comprises:

counting, by the one or more processors, the common SSIDs to determine a router SSID corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points;

enabling, by the one or more processors, the at least one Wi-Fi access point to broadcast the router SSID; and

on detecting the router SSID, transmitting, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to the at least one Wi-Fi access point.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the collecting comprises, adjusting, by the one or more processors, a listening duration of the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers based on a number of the Wi-Fi devices and a probing frequency corresponding to one of the Wi-Fi devices of the plurality of W-Fi devices.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement data comprise Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) signals associated with the plurality of Wi-Fi devices.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising training the adaptive machine learning model using data obtained through a solution of the indoor model based on the at least one parameter and the measurement data collected by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising updating the adaptive machine learning model based on checking a pre-training range associated with RSSI measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices and a plurality of parameters associated with the indoor model.

8. A system for tracking a position of at least one Wi-Fi device of a plurality of Wi-Fi devices, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:

trigger, by a Wi-Fi access point of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points and a Wi-Fi sniffer of a plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, one of a broadcast probe transmission or a directed probe transmission from the at least one Wi-Fi device, wherein the triggering comprises broadcasting, by the at least one Wi-Fi access point, one of hidden SSIDs and common SSIDs to increase a probing tendency of the at least one Wi-Fi device;

collect, by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, measurement data associated with the at least one Wi-Fi device in response to transmission of the broadcast probe or the directed probe from the at least one Wi-Fi device, including adjusting a listening duration of the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers based on a number of the Wi-Fi devices and a probing frequency corresponding to one of the Wi-Fi devices of the plurality of W-Fi devices;

tune at least one parameter associated with an indoor model based on radio frequency (RF) measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices; and

estimate a position of the at least one Wi-Fi device using an adaptive machine learning model based on the tuned indoor model and the measurement data.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers use a synchronization algorithm to switch to and sniff same channels simultaneously.

10. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to:

transmit, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points on receiving a beacon with a NULL SSID value.

11. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to:

count the common SSIDs to determine a router SSID corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points;

enable the at least one Wi-Fi access point to broadcast the router SSID; and

on detecting the router SSID, transmit, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to the at least one Wi-Fi access point.

12. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the measurement data comprise Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) signals associated with the plurality of Wi-Fi devices.

13. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the adaptive machine learning model is trained using data obtained through a solution of the indoor model based on the at least one parameter and the measurement data collected by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers.

14. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the adaptive machine learning model is updated based on checking a pre-training range associated with RSSI measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices and a plurality of parameters associated with the indoor model.

15. A method for tracking a position of at least one Wi-Fi device of a plurality of Wi-Fi devices, the method comprising:

triggering, by a Wi-Fi access point of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points and a Wi-Fi sniffer of a plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, one of a broadcast probe transmission or a directed probe transmission from the at least one Wi-Fi device, the triggering further including broadcasting, by the at least one Wi-Fi access point, one of hidden service set identifiers (SSIDs) or common SSIDs to increase a probing tendency of the at least one Wi-Fi device, counting, by the one or more processors, the common SSIDs to determine a router SSID corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points, enabling, by the one or more processors, the at least one Wi-Fi access point to broadcast the router SSID and on detecting the router SSID, transmitting, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to the at least one Wi-Fi access point;

collecting, by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers, measurement data associated with the at least one Wi-Fi device in response to transmission of the broadcast probe or the directed probe from the at least one Wi-Fi device, wherein the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers use a synchronization algorithm to switch to and sniff same channels simultaneously;

tuning, by one or more processors, at least one parameter corresponding to an indoor model based on radio frequency (RF) measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices; and

estimating, by the one or more processors, a position of the at least one Wi-Fi device using an adaptive machine learning model based on the tuned indoor model and the measurement data.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the triggering further comprises:

on receiving a beacon with a NULL SSID value, transmitting, by the at least one Wi-Fi device, a probe request message to at least one Wi-Fi access point of the plurality of Wi-Fi access points.

17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the collecting comprises, adjusting, by the one or more processors, a listening duration of the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers based on a number of the Wi-Fi devices and a probing frequency corresponding to one of the Wi-Fi devices of the plurality of W-Fi devices.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the measurement data comprise Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) signals associated with the plurality of Wi-Fi devices.

19. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising training the adaptive machine learning model using data obtained through a solution of the indoor model based on the at least one parameter and the measurement data collected by the plurality of Wi-Fi sniffers.

20. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising updating the adaptive machine learning model based on checking a pre-training range associated with RSSI measurements from the plurality of Wi-Fi devices and a plurality of parameters associated with the indoor model.

Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62601530 · Mar 27, 2017
Related Publication 20220039051A1 · Feb 3, 2022
Cited By (1)
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