Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a positioning method, a positioning server, and a positioning system. The positioning method includes: receiving a wireless positioning coordinate of a moving object; determining a visual sub-map to be matched in a visual map database based on the wireless positioning coordinate; and obtaining a visual positioning coordinates corresponding to a current image of the moving object captured at time of wireless positioning as a positioning result, based on the determined visual sub-map to be matched.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for communicating information to a visitor of a site, e.g., a theme park, historical site, zoo, etc., providing mementoes of the visit and/or communicating information encouraging future, e.g., repeat, visits are described. In various embodiments costumed characters, vending carts and/or other items of interest may move around a site and thus be at different locations at different times of the day. In some embodiments beacon transmitters are inserted in the costumes of the characters, on the vending carts and/or on other moveable items. Each beacon transmitter transmits a unique wireless signal.

Abstract: A sensor system may include first and second sensors configured to be coupled to a vehicle and generate respective first and second sensor signals indicative of operation of the vehicle. The sensor system may also include a sensor anomaly detector including an anomalous sensor model configured to receive the first and second sensor signals and determine that one or more of the first sensor or the second sensor is an anomalous sensor generating inaccurate sensor data. The sensor system may also be configured to identify one or more of the first sensor or the second sensor as the anomalous sensor generating inaccurate sensor data.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for automatically calibrating a magnetometer during user activity. A portable device associated with a user provides magnetic field measurements during user activity, which are converted to a frequency domain and frequency component(s) that correspond to the user activity are distinguished. A criterion is defined for the distinguished frequency components such that magnetometer bias is estimated by satisfying a condition for the criterion. Accordingly, the estimated magnetometer bias may be applied to the obtained magnetic field measurements. The calibrated magnetic field measurements may be used for any suitable purposes, including for building a magnetic fingerprint map using crowdsourcing techniques.

Abstract: A method for localizing one or more devices in an environment make use of repeated allocation of resources for one or more sensor measurements. Each sensor measurement is characterized by the amount of resources allocated to the measurement, by a quality factor, and by direction-dependent characteristics of information that is obtainable from that sensor measurement. Knowledge of a current location of each of the one or more devices determined from past sensor measurements is characterized by a distribution, with each of the distribution containing information about the current location of the device, including the direction-dependent information and the uncertainty of the location. The allocation of resources makes use of the quality factors and direction-dependent characteristics of the sensor measurements, in combination with the distributions characterizing the current location of each of the one or more devices to allocate a variable amount of a resource to each of the one or more sensor measurements.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus, wherein the apparatus is caused to acquire a location estimate of a positioning device that is to determine its location inside a building, wherein the location estimate is acquired on the basis of an indoor non-magnetic field based location discovery system; access an indoor Earth's magnetic field, EMF, map of plurality of buildings, wherein the indoor EMF map represents at least one of magnitude and direction of the Earth's magnetic field affected by the local structures of a corresponding building; and select a part of the indoor EMF map on the basis of the location estimate of the positioning device, wherein the selected part of the indoor magnetic field map includes the indoor EMF map for the area in which the positioning device currently is.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus, wherein the apparatus is caused to acquire a location estimate of a positioning device that is to determine its location inside a building, wherein the location estimate is acquired on the basis of an indoor non-magnetic field based location discovery system; access an indoor Earth's magnetic field, EMF, map of plurality of buildings, wherein the indoor EMF map represents at least one of magnitude and direction of the Earth's magnetic field affected by the local structures of a corresponding building; and select a part of the indoor EMF map on the basis of the location estimate of the positioning device, wherein the selected part of the indoor magnetic field map includes the indoor EMF map for the area in which the positioning device currently is.

Abstract: The general field of the invention is that of methods for determining safety zones surrounding an aircraft travelling or taking off from an airport zone, the safety zone being calculated at a determined instant that may be the present instant or the future instant. The method according to the invention comprises at least the following steps: Step 0: Establishment of a convex safety envelope surrounding the aircraft on the basis of reference points taken on the aircraft; Step 1: Establishment of a first convex envelope safety zone surrounding the aircraft on the basis of reference circles taken on the aircraft, each circle having as center one of the reference points and as radius the value of the uncertainty in the exact position of the aircraft. Other steps of the method make it possible to refine this first safety zone depending on whether the aircraft is in a taxiing or takeoff phase and depending on whether it is calculated at the present instant or at the future instant.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with improved reliability. According to one aspect of the invention, interference experienced by onboard sensors from onboard electrical components is reduced. According to another aspect of the invention, user-configuration or assembly of electrical components is minimized to reduce user errors.

Abstract: A noise pattern acquisition device includes: a geomagnetic sensor; a coordinate estimation unit configured to estimate current position coordinates; and a geomagnetic noise pattern management unit configured to, when an abnormality occurs in a magnetic field strength detected by the geomagnetic sensor during movement of the noise pattern acquisition device, store in a geomagnetic noise pattern storage unit a geomagnetic noise pattern which is a pattern representing a time-series change of the magnetic field strength detected by the geomagnetic sensor. This makes it possible to not only acquire a geomagnetic noise pattern but also detect a proper position with a simple structure and process at reduced cost.

Abstract: An indoor positioning system and method of localizing a person/object in an indoor environment by identifying the orientation and direction of a person/object to provide a true location of the person/object without navigation errors. The system comprises magnets disposed on a doorway to create a unique magnetic field; a wireless communication unit comprising a magnetometer sensor to sense perturbations in each of the unique magnetic fields in the event that the person/object with the wireless communication unit passes through the doorway, and generate corresponding signals; a processor receiving the signals and extracting data from the same; and a backend server wirelessly communicating with the wireless communication unit, the backend server processing the data sample received from the wireless communication unit to identify the opening and the wireless communication unit to localize the person/object.

Abstract: Automatically identifying a geographic direction (e.g., a heading relative to true north) is disclosed. Responsive to a correction trigger event, geographic position data that identifies a geographic position of the device can be obtained. A magnetic declination based on the geographic position data can be obtained. A magnetic heading of the device can be obtained. A geographic direction based on the magnetic heading and the magnetic declination can be identified without user intervention.

Abstract: An apparatus includes (i) an absolute position sensor coupled to a case, the position sensor including a light sensor, and circuitry configured to determine an identifier within a barcode, the individual bars of the barcode being sensed by the light sensor, and (ii) a motion sensor coupled to the case, the motion sensor including a first magnetic field sensor, a code wheel having two or more magnets positioned to rotate in unison with a wheel of the moveable object, and encoder circuitry configured to determine an amount of rotation of the wheel of the moveable object based on an output of the first magnetic field sensor.

Abstract: A system and method are provided that allow for localization of a mobile device using detected magnetic signals and magnetic survey data. The magnetic signals may be produced by one or more magnetic signal sources, which are located at particular positions. The mobile device may be localized without information regarding the positions of the magnetic signal sources.

Abstract: There is provided a solution comprising detecting that a positioning device is within a predetermined control area associated with a building, acquiring a first sequence of magnetic field measurements carried out by the positioning device, wherein the first sequence represents at least one of the magnitude and the direction of Earth's magnetic field; determining that an operational environment of the positioning de-vice has changed between an indoor environment and an outdoor environment when a at least one predetermined criterion with respect to the first sequence is met; and causing actuation of a predetermined software function in or with respect to the positioning device when the operational environment of the positioning device has changed.

Abstract: Systems and methods for using magnetic field readings to refine device location estimates are provided. As an example, a plurality of magnetic field readings can be collected by a device as it travels along a path. A positioning system (e.g., GPS) or other sensors can be used to provide a coarse location for the device at each reading. A contribution to each of the magnetic field readings by the Earth's magnetic field can be removed to obtain a plurality of residual readings and a plurality of regions of interest along the path can be identified based at least in part on the residual readings. The regions of interest can be compared to each other to identify a plurality of correspondences between magnetic field readings or residual readings and the plurality of correspondences can be used to refine the location estimates.

Abstract: A sensor system for use with an automated guided vehicle (AGV) includes a plurality of sensor units electronically coupled to a sensor control module via parallel communications. Each sensor unit may include a sensor array having a plurality of sensor elements, a conditioning circuit having one or more filter/amplifiers, and a conversion circuit. The sensor control module may be configured to communicate with other AGV components via serial communications. The sensor system is capable of obtaining and storing sensor readings with or without associated offset values and can use the sensor readings to determine the center of a magnetic field using methods that require relatively little processing power. A method of calibrating the sensor system may include determining and storing offset values for a plurality of sensor elements and may be performed with the sensor system installed or uninstalled to the AGV.

Abstract: The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the control and utilization of multiple sensors within a device. For an example, motion of a device may be detected in response to receipt of a signal from a first sensor disposed in the device, and a power state of a second sensor also disposed in the device may be changed in response to detected motion.

Abstract: A navigation system is disclosed comprising a navigation device (2a) with a navigation sensor unit (3) and a magnetic field sensor unit (4), the navigation device is arranged to be moved. The navigation sensor unit (3) is arranged for providing a navigation signal with navigation information (?, ?). The magnetic field sensor unit is arranged for providing a magnetic field signal (H) indicative for a magnetic field strength.

Abstract: The present invention provides three different algorithms, namely, the “divide and conquer” algorithm, the “Hiddensee compensation” algorithm, and the “impulse response” algorithm. Any one of these three inventive algorithms may be made a part of an overall degaussing algorithm for a marine vessel. Each corrective algorithm, by itself, compensates for deviation of the vessel's induced signature from direct, linear proportionality to the ambient magnetic field. This deviation is associated with the dependency of a marine vessel's magnetic signature on the frequency at which the vessel rolls in the water. Practice of inventive compensation tends to be increasingly called for with increasing magnetic character of the vessel.

Abstract: A method for determining a user bearing, implemented on a portable device programmed to perform the method includes determining with a physical sensor of the portable device, a first geometric orientation of the portable device with respect to gravity at a first time, determining with a magnetic sensor of the portable device, a first sensed magnetic field of the portable device in response to an external magnetic field at the first time, determining with the magnetic sensor of the portable device, a second sensed magnetic field of the portable device in response to the external magnetic field at the second time, and determining with the portable device a bearing of the portable device at the second time in response to the first geometric orientation, the first sensed magnetic field, and the second sensed magnetic field.

Abstract: A method of generating a geometric heading during positioning is provided. The method includes the following steps: estimating a current declination information of a current position according to a declination database, wherein the declination database gathers a magnetic map and a plurality of declination information corresponding to a difference between a magnetic north and a geometric north at all grid positions on the magnetic map; generating a predicted heading according to an angular velocity reading of a gyroscope and a magnetic heading reading of a magnetometer; and generating the geometric heading according to the current declination information of the current position and the predicted heading.

Abstract: There is provided a solution comprising detecting that a positioning device is within a predetermined control area associated with a building, acquiring a first sequence of magnetic field measurements carried out by the positioning device, wherein the first sequence represents at least one of the magnitude and the direction of Earth's magnetic field; determining that an operational environment of the positioning de-vice has changed between an indoor environment and an outdoor environment when a at least one predetermined criterion with respect to the first sequence is met; and causing actuation of a predetermined software function in or with respect to the positioning device when the operational environment of the positioning device has changed.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus, wherein the apparatus is caused to acquire a location estimate of a positioning device that is to determine its location inside a building, wherein the location estimate is acquired on the basis of an indoor non-magnetic field based location discovery system; access an indoor Earth's magnetic field, EMF, map of plurality of buildings, wherein the indoor EMF map represents at least one of magnitude and direction of the Earth's magnetic field affected by the local structures of a corresponding building; and select a part of the indoor EMF map on the basis of the location estimate of the positioning device, wherein the selected part of the indoor magnetic field map includes the indoor EMF map for the area in which the positioning device currently is.

Abstract: Removal of extraneous magnetic measurement components from magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) tends to increase its accuracy. Conventional removal accounts for anomalous magnetism manifested by the MAD vehicle (typically, unmanned), but assumes that the magnetic field applied to the MAD vehicle is the earth's magnetic field, i.e., is non-anomalous and known. In contrast, the present invention accounts not only for anomalous magnetism manifested by the MAD vehicle, but also for anomalous magnetism manifested in the MAD vehicle's vicinity, such as by a manned control vehicle. The present invention's mathematical characterization of vehicular “self-noise” due to induced and permanent magnetization is more refined, especially insofar as treating the vehicle's ambient magnetic field as an unknown (empirical) quantity, rather than a known (non-empirical) quantity.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for using a measurement of only one axis of a three-axis magnetometer to perform at least one corrective action on an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”). An exemplary embodiment comprises (i) receiving from a three-axis magnetometer a measurement representative of an attitude of a UAV, wherein the measurement is of only one axis of the magnetometer, (ii) comparing the measurement to an allowable range of attitudes, (iii) determining that the measurement is not within the allowable range of attitudes, and (iv) performing at least one corrective action on the UAV.

Abstract: An integrated positioning apparatus includes a processing module, a satellite positioning module, an inertial positioning module, a transmission interface and a switching module. The processing module is utilized for executing a navigation program. The satellite positioning module functions to provide satellite positioning information. The inertial positioning module is used for generating inertial positioning information. The switching module is connected between the processing module and the transmission interface for receiving a control signal furnished by the processing module and is selectively switched to a first status or a second status based on the control signal. While in the first status, the switching module drives the transmission interface to connect to the satellite positioning module so as to transmit the satellite positioning information to the processing module for navigating.

Abstract: A system locates a user in a remote troubleshooting environment. An office device is utilized to perform at least one of a copy, a facsimile, a print, and an email. A headset facilities audio communication between the user and a remote troubleshooter. A compass is located proximate to the office device wherein the headset is placed in a predetermined location proximate to the compass to establish a datum point such that movement from the datum point is recognized as a location proximate to the office device. A remote processing component displays the location of the headset relative to the office device based on information provided by the compass.

Abstract: A device is provided for backing up calibration information for an air navigation instrument intended to be installed in an aircraft, the air navigation instrument comprising a first connector intended to be connected to a second connector belonging to the aircraft. The invention also relates to an aircraft instrument panel including the device. According to the invention, the backup device is connected between the first and the second connectors. The device comprises a third connector similar to the first connector and connected to the second connector and a fourth connector similar to the second connector and connected to the first connector. All the links from the second connector pass through the device to the fourth connector with no electrical interaction with the device. The device comprises backup means, connected only to the air navigation instrument, by means of the first and fourth connectors.