Abstract: A multi-sensor device and a method for indoor and outdoor navigation are presented. The objective is a ubiquitous localization and tracking methodology that relies on multiple sensors to localize and track a navigator in a given environment. The method is based on fusing information from multiple sensors. Sensor fusion is based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. The wearable version of the device fuses data from a GPS receiver, a wireless signal detector, a pedometer, and a digital compass. The version of the device that can be mounted on a robotic base fuses data from a laser range finder and a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader. The indoor localization is done by using wireless signals already available in many indoor environments due to the ubiquitous use of wireless IEEE Wi-Fi networks. One advantage of this approach is that it does not require any modification of the environment.

Abstract: An embedded information retrieval system is provided including a free-text parser, a knowledge-based query generator, a distributed query dispatcher, and a persistent feedback retrieval manager. When the system is embedded in a text application, the free-text parser takes samples of the text supplied by the user and segments the samples into sentences. The sentences are ranked by their content. The top content-bearing sentences are supplied to the query generator to be converted into queries for the query dispatcher. For each query, the query dispatcher identifies the relevant distributed information sources, submits the query to them, and waits for retrievals. The retrievals are passed to the retrieval manager and saved locally. User feedback is used by the retrieval manager persistently and incrementally to improve retrieval accuracy.