Time-multiplex transmission of localisation beacon signals and control-related signals

1. A localization system for detecting a location of a mobile device within an environment, the localization system comprising:

a plurality of wireless reference nodes, wherein each of the wireless reference nodes comprises a wireless interface arranged for transmission of localization beacon signals between the wireless interface and the mobile device, wherein one or more wireless reference nodes, of said plurality of wireless reference nodes, further comprises a respective sensor;

one or more appliances arranged to provide or contribute to providing another utility into the environment, other than localization of mobile devices;

one or more controllers arranged to control said one or more appliances, and to use a wireless interface of each of the appliances to transmit and/or listen for a plurality of control-related signals, other than the localization beacon signals, related to controlling the provision of said utility, the control-related signals being communicated on a same or overlapping frequency band as the localization beacon signals;

wherein at least some of the control-related signals comprise sensor data transmitted from at least one of said one or more wireless reference nodes, taken using the respective sensor;

wherein the plurality of wireless reference nodes are configured to time-multiplex transmission of and/or listening for the localization beacon signals and transmission of and/or listening for said plurality of control-related signals into different time slots;

wherein the at least one of said one or more wireless reference nodes is further configured to detect one or more sensing events based on activity sensed using the respective sensor, transmit the sensor data in an allocated one of said time slots on condition that one of the sensing events is detected, and transmit one of the localization beacon signals in said allocated time slot on condition that none of the sensing events is detected.

2. The localization system of claim 1 , wherein one of said one or more appliances is co-located with each of one, some or all of the plurality of wireless reference nodes.

3. The localization system of claim 2 , wherein the appliance at each of one, some or all of the plurality of wireless reference nodes comprises one of: a lamp, a smoke alarm, a presence sensor unit, a light sensor unit, a security alarm, an air-conditioning unit, a ventilation unit, or a heating unit.

4. The localization system of claim 2 , wherein each of one, some or all of the plurality of wireless reference nodes comprises a luminaire or group of luminaires, said one of said appliance comprising a lamp or group of lamps, said utility comprising illumination for illuminating the environment.

5. The localization system of claim 1 , comprising a location server configured to compute the location of the mobile device using measurements of at least some of said localization beacon signals reported to the location server.

6. The localization system of claim 5 , wherein the measurements are reported to the localization server from the plurality of wireless reference nodes or from the mobile device.

7. The localization system of claim 1 , comprising an application server configured to provide the mobile device with a location-based service based on the location of the mobile device as computed using at least some of the localization beacon signals.

8. The localization system of claim 7 , wherein said computation of the location of the mobile device is performed at a location server or the mobile device, and reported to the application server in order for the location-based service to be provided based on said location.

9. The localization system of claim 1 , wherein said one or more controllers comprise a centralized control unit of the utility, and at least some of said plurality of control-related signals comprise control commands from the centralized controller.

10. The localization system of claim 1 , wherein the respective sensor of said at least one of said one or more wireless reference nodes comprises a presence sensor or a daylight sensor.

11. The localization system of claim 2 , wherein a respective controller of the one or more controllers is located at each of the plurality of wireless reference nodes, and wherein the at least some of the control-related signals are listened for by the respective controller.

12. The localization system of claim 1 , wherein functionality of said one or more appliances Is incorporated into each of said one or more wireless reference nodes.

13. A computer program product for use in a localization system comprising a plurality of wireless reference nodes for detecting a location of a mobile device within an environment, the computer program product comprising code embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and configured, when run on one or more controllers, to perform operations of:

controlling a wireless interface of each of the wireless reference nodes such that localization beacon signals are transmitted between the wireless interface and the mobile device;

controlling a respective sensor of one or more wireless reference nodes of said plurality of wireless reference nodes;

controlling one or more appliances to provide or contribute to providing another utility into the environment, other than localization of mobile devices;

controlling a wireless interface of the one or more appliances to transmit and/or listen for control-related signals, other than the localization beacon signals, related to controlling the provision of said utility, the control-related signals being communicated on a same or overlapping frequency band as the localization beacon signals, wherein the control-related signals comprise sensor data transmitted from at least one of said one or more wireless reference nodes, taken using the respective sensor;

wherein the code is configured to time-multiplex transmission of and/or listening for the localization beacon signals and transmission of and/or listening for said control-related signals into different time slots; and

wherein the code is configured to detect one or more sensing events based on activity sensed using the respective sensor, transmit the sensor data in an allocated one of said time slots on condition that one of the sensing events is detected, and transmit one of the localization beacon signals in said allocated time slot on condition that none of the sensing events is detected.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein functionality of said one or more appliances is incorporated into each of said one or more wireless reference nodes.

15. A method of operating a localization system comprising a plurality of wireless reference nodes for detecting a location of a mobile device within an environment, the method comprising:

controlling a wireless interface of each of the wireless reference nodes such that localization beacon signals are transmitted between the wireless interface and the mobile device;

controlling one or more wireless reference nodes, of said plurality of wireless reference nodes, comprising a respective sensor;

controlling one or more appliances to provide or contribute to providing another utility into the environment, other than localization of mobile devices;

controlling a wireless interface of each of the appliances to transmit and/or listen for control-related signals, other than the localization beacon signals, related to controlling the provision of said utility, the control-related signals being communicated on a same or overlapping frequency band as the localization beacon signals, wherein at least some of the control-related signals ta-comprise sensor data transmitted from at least one of said one or more wireless reference nodes, taken using the respective sensor;

wherein said controlling of the wireless interface comprises time-multiplexing transmission of and/or listening for the localization beacon signals and transmission of and/or listening for said control-related signals into different time slots; and

detecting one or more sensing events based on activity sensed using the respective sensor, transmitting the sensor data in an allocated one of said time slots on condition that one of the sensing events is detected, and transmitting one of the localization beacon signals in said allocated time slot on condition that none of the sensing events is detected.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein functionality of said one or more appliances is incorporated into each of said one or more wireless reference nodes.