WO2020092463A1 - Systèmes de mise en réseau ble et procédés permettant une inversion de rôle central et périphérique avec détermination d'emplacement périphérique améliorée - Google Patents

Systèmes de mise en réseau ble et procédés permettant une inversion de rôle central et périphérique avec détermination d'emplacement périphérique améliorée Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020092463A1
WO2020092463A1 PCT/US2019/058702 US2019058702W WO2020092463A1 WO 2020092463 A1 WO2020092463 A1 WO 2020092463A1 US 2019058702 W US2019058702 W US 2019058702W WO 2020092463 A1 WO2020092463 A1 WO 2020092463A1
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Prior art keywords
ble
proximity
rps
information
beacon advertisement
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English (en)
Inventor
Mark Bloechl
Scott Wohler
Ricardo Luna
Patrick Li
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Link Labs Inc
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Link Labs Inc
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Priority claimed from US16/177,915 external-priority patent/US10499196B2/en
Application filed by Link Labs Inc filed Critical Link Labs Inc
Priority to DE112019005476.7T priority Critical patent/DE112019005476T5/de
Publication of WO2020092463A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020092463A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/02—Services making use of location information
    • H04W4/029—Location-based management or tracking services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/80—Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Definitions

  • Disclosed embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more specifically, to wireless communication among BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE) equipped devices in which conventional BLE central and peripheral roles of those devices are reversed and made applicable to nodes of a BLE-enabled network so as to enhance BLE networking capability, including refining determinations of a location of a node operating as a peripheral.
  • BLE BLUETOOTH Low Energy
  • a thing can be a natural or man-made object to which is assigned a unique ID/address and which is configured with the ability to capture and/or create data and transfer that data over a network.
  • a thing can be, e.g., a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low, field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue, personal biometric monitors woven into clothing that interact with thermostat systems and lighting systems to control HVAC and illumination conditions in a room continuously and imperceptibly, a refrigerator that is "aware" of its suitably tagged contents that can both plan a variety of menus from the food actually present therein and warn users of stale or spoiled food, etc.
  • the fringe nodes will be comprised substantially of such small devices.
  • the sub-segment that has the greatest growth potential is embedded, low-power, wireless devices.
  • Networks of such devices are described as comprising the Wireless Embedded Internet (“WET”), which is a subset of loT.
  • WET Wireless Embedded Internet
  • the WET includes resource-limited embedded devices, which typically are battery powered, and which are typically connected to the Internet by low-power, low-bandwidth wireless networks (“LoWPANs").
  • LoWPANs low-power, low-bandwidth wireless networks
  • the BLUETOOTH Special Interest Group devised BLE particularly in consideration of loT devices and applications which do not rely upon continuous connection(s), but depend on extended battery life.
  • a good example of these devices includes a temperature sensor which intermittently provides temperature readings to a collector device that collects such readings. That is, continuous connection between the sensor and collector is not necessary to obtain, for example, such temperature reading at a discrete point in time.
  • the BLUETOOTH specification governing operation of BLE devices relates definitional roles to each of the above sensor and collector as peripheral and central, respectively.
  • a peripheral such as a sensor above, makes its presence known to any central, such as a collector above, merely by continuously“advertising” its presence.
  • the peripheral continuously sends beacon advertisement messages for recognition by a central that itself decides whether connection with the
  • a peripheral device such as an end node (EN)
  • a central device such as an access point (AP).
  • An example of such an impediment exists in the form of an uncertainty that a peripheral device may experience in actually knowing why its broadcast advertisement has not been acknowledged by a central device. Specifically, such uncertainty exists due to the peripheral’s inability to know whether a central device is in a range enabling receipt of its advertisement, or additionally, whether a central device that is in range is simply overloaded such that it has not had sufficient time or capacity to process the peripheral’s advertisement.
  • a still further impediment to BLE networking exists in the fundamental complexity brought about by the conventional BLE peripheral/central relationship.
  • a mobile peripheral which moves out of range of a central such as a first network access point (AP) to which it had previously connected essentially loses any established relationship that such peripheral made with that first AP.
  • this second AP is not immediately able to know, due to the established relationship of the peripheral with the first AP, whether a connection should be made in view of considerations including network configuration, security and authentication.
  • connection with the peripheral The only basis for informing the second AP whether connection with the peripheral should occur is information it receives from a coordinating application running on the BLE network and that provides information to APs concerning whether connection should be made with a peripheral as a result of its broadcast advertisement. However, by the time the coordinating application learns of the lost connection with the first AP in the above scenario, a
  • connection information can be, or is, provided by the coordinating application to the second AP in order to allow it to determine that it should connect with the peripheral.
  • connection information can be, or is, provided by the coordinating application to the second AP in order to allow it to determine that it should connect with the peripheral.
  • barriers to receipt of signaling among intended devices may, as alluded to above, be due to natural occurrences such as congestion, or otherwise be defined by artificial structures in the vicinity or vicinities in which operation of the devices is desired.
  • important information which is associated with a respective one or more of the devices such as its location or other collected and communicable data may be unable to be delivered with optimum efficiency and accuracy.
  • operators of systems dependent upon knowing such important information may be denied the capability to carry out intended duties, such as those which may be involved in encompassing project tasks like those of asset tracking and temperature or other variable monitoring, just to name of few.
  • An aspect of the embodiments includes a BLE communications system having an end node (EN), an access point (AP) configured to connect to a network and transmit a first beacon advertisement message, and a plurality of reference points (RPs) each configured to not connect to the network and transmit a second beacon advertisement message comprising position information.
  • EN end node
  • AP access point
  • RPs reference points
  • the EN is configured to detect the first and second beacon advertisement messages, initiate a connection with the AP in which, as a result of the connection, the AP is caused to transfer to the network identifying information of each of the EN and the AP, and determine, as against others of the plurality of RPs, whether a proximity of a respective one of the plurality of RPs to the EN is a nearest RP proximity based on the position information and a received signal strength (RSS) of each of the detected second beacon advertisement messages. Further, the EN determines whether to initiate the connection with the AP in response to evaluating from the detected first beacon advertisement message at a time of transmission of the first beacon
  • RSS received signal strength
  • advertisement message each of at least (a) whether a proximity of the AP to the EN is a nearest AP proximity and (b) a loading of the network to which the AP is connected, and transmits, via the connection, identifying information of the respective one of the plurality of RPs to the network in response to a
  • a communication providing for executing, by one or more processors among a BLE end node (EN), a BLE access point (AP) configured to connect to a network, and a plurality of BLE reference points (RPs) configured to not connect to the network, a set of instructions for transmitting a first and a second beacon advertisement message from the AP and each of the plurality of RPs, respectively, each second beacon advertisement message comprising position information, detecting the first and the second beacon advertisement messages at the EN, and also initiating a connection between the AP and the EN, in which, as a result of the connection, the AP is caused to transfer to the network identifying information of each of the EN and the AP.
  • EN BLE end node
  • AP BLE access point
  • RPs BLE reference points
  • the EN conducts determining, as against others of the plurality of RPs, whether a proximity of a respective one of the plurality of RPs is a nearest RP proximity based on the position information and received signal strengths (RSSs) of the second beacon advertisement messages.
  • the EN determines whether to initiate the connection with the AP in response to evaluating from the detected first beacon advertisement message at a time of transmission of the first beacon advertisement message each of at least (a) whether a proximity of the AP to the EN is a nearest AP proximity and (b) a loading of the network to which the AP is connected, and also transmits, via the connection, identifying
  • the disclosed embodiments may include one or more of the features described herein.
  • FIG. 1 is an illustration of BLE transmission of a beacon advertisement message between a BLE central and a BLE peripheral, according to the related art
  • FIG. 2 is an illustration of BLE transmission of a beacon advertisement message between a BLE end node (EN) and a BLE access point (AP), according to embodiments disclosed herein;
  • EN BLE end node
  • AP BLE access point
  • FIG. 3 is an illustration of a BLE-enabled network in accordance with FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of proximity association of a BLE EN with a BLE AP, in accordance with FIG. 3;
  • FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram of detection, by a BLE EN, of a BLE AP, in accordance with FIG. 3;
  • FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of connection, by the BLE EN, with the BLE
  • FIG. 7 is an illustration of a zonal configuration of BLE reference points (RPs) relative to which the BLE EN may determine a nearest proximity to one or more thereof, according to embodiments disclosed herein;
  • RPs BLE reference points
  • FIG. 7 A is a diagrammatic illustration of a nearest proximity determination according to a trilateration technique according to embodiments disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram setting forth a manner in which the BLE EN may determine the nearest proximity in accordance with FIG. 7.
  • the blocks in a flowchart, the communications in a sequence-diagram, the states in a state-diagram, etc. may occur out of the orders illustrated in the figures. That is, the illustrated orders of the blocks/communications/states are not intended to be limiting. Rather, the illustrated blocks/communications/states may be reordered into any suitable order, and some of the blocks/communications/states could occur simultaneously.
  • a reference to "A and/or B", when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
  • the phrase "at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements.
  • This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.
  • At least one of A and B can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
  • network is used herein to mean one or more conventional or proprietary networks using an appropriate network data transmission protocol, or other specification and/or guidelines which may be applicable to the transfer of information.
  • networks include, PSTN, LAN, WAN, WiFi,
  • WiMax Internet, World Wide Web, Ethernet, other wireless networks, and the like.
  • wireless device is used herein to mean one or more conventional or proprietary devices using radio frequency transmission techniques or any other techniques enabling the transfer of information.
  • wireless devices examples include cellular telephones, desktop computers, laptop computers, handheld computers, electronic games, portable digital assistants, MP3 players, DVD players, or the like.
  • BLE networking enables detection and connection among devices that generally do not require continuous connection therebetween in order for an exchange of information in the form of data to occur. Yet, such devices depend upon extended battery life in order that the opportunity for such an exchange may continue to reliably exist.
  • the devices themselves vary in their construction, whether, for example, a sensor, a cellphone, a network access point (AP), or some other object configured to enable and/or provide BLE communication(s) and which is either stationary or mobile, such as a BLUETOOTH tag.
  • BLUETOOTH In the context of BLE networking, such devices are prescribed by the BLUETOOTH Core Specification 4.0 and are compatible with IEEE 802.15.1 , as appropriate.
  • a peripheral is generally understood as a device which merely broadcasts, or advertises, its presence toward another device referred to as a central, with the intent that such presence be detected by that central.
  • the broadcast generally takes the form of a beacon advertisement message transmitted as a radio frequency (RF) signal.
  • RF radio frequency
  • peripheral is shown by arrows“A,” in FIG. 1 , while the directional flow of establishment of a connection with the peripheral by the central is shown by arrows“B.”
  • FIG. 2 illustrates such reversal of roles insofar as each of exemplary BLE end nodes (ENs) 14 are responsible for detection of a beacon advertisement message transmitted from an exemplary BLE access point (AP) 16 in the direction of arrows“A,” and moreover, whereby such ENs 14 are solely responsible for evaluating and/or determining whether to initiate and/or establish a BLE connection with the AP 16, as shown in the direction of arrows“B.” That is, in no way is the AP 16 responsible for evaluating and/or determining any aspect or aspects of whether to make a connection between a respective AP 16 and a respective EN 14, and whereas such aspect or aspects, rather, are solely evaluated and/or determined by the EN 14 so that the EN 14, itself, is enabled to then solely initiate and/or establish the aforementioned connection, if doing so is deemed appropriate by the EN 14.
  • ENs BLE end nodes
  • the term,“initiate” means taking any initial steps or enacting any initial procedures
  • the terms,“establish,” or “established” mean taking any steps or enacting any procedures related to whether to cause and/or maintain a connection between an AP 16 and an EN 14, and thereafter making and/or maintaining such connection.
  • FIGS. 3-6 and their accompanying descriptions below address various manner of associating an EN 14 to an AP 16.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a BLE- enabled network and communications system thereof
  • FIG. 4 illustrates a manner of proximity association of a BLE EN to a BLE AP
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a manner of detection, by a BLE EN, of a BLE AP
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a manner of connection, by a BLE EN, with a BLE AP.
  • an EN 14 does not, at any time, transmit to an AP 16 its location, but rather, the location of the EN 14 may be determined by relative association of one or more APs 16 or reference points (RPs) 17.
  • RPs reference points
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a BLE-enabled network 18
  • ENs 14 detect a received signal strength (RSS) of all beacon advertisement messages transmitted from the APs 16, solely determine proximity with respect to the APs 16, and further, solely initiate and establish all connections
  • RSS received signal strength
  • the ENs 14 and APs 16 in response to having evaluated and/or made a decision with respect to, for example, such RSS, information contained in the beacon advertisement message, and/or other information, as discussed below in regard to FIGS. 4-6.
  • data such as, optionally, identifying information, other than location information, of the EN 14 and identifying information of, other than the connected AP 16, the most proximate AP 16, and contained information of the EN 14 including, for example, sensory information thereof, may be transferred to the respective AP 16 for delivery through a backhaul 20, implemented by a cellular, WiFi, or Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) configuration, to a network or cloud service 22 for transfer to an end user terminal 24, such as a personal computing or other electronic device enabled to convey the aforementioned information.
  • LPWAN Low Power Wide Area Network
  • Pertinent identifying and/or location information of the APs 16 and RPs 17 are known to the network 22.
  • Such network or cloud service 22 includes any one of available data and connectivity platforms to allow users of nodes within network 18 to, for instance, manage and distribute information pertinent to the nodes and/or information desired in the administration of the nodes.
  • An example of such a platform is CONDUCTOR, available from Link Labs, Inc. of Annapolis, Maryland.
  • EN 14 may transmit identifying information, i.e. , the media access control (MAC) address, of the AP 16 which is most proximate to the EN 14.
  • AP 16 may or may not be an AP 16 which is connectable to the network 22, as is explained below.
  • an AP 16 is connectable if able to connect to the network 22 via backhaul 20, and as non-connectable if unable to make such connection.
  • non- connectable APs 16 defining RPs 17, which may or may not be present in the network 18 according to FIG. 3, are shown in dashed lines, as are transmissions of their beacon advertisement messages.
  • network 22 is configured to message an EN 14, in order to provision certain ones of settings of the EN 14.
  • a heartbeat message i.e., a message sent by the EN 14 to the network 22 which informs the network 22 of the communication state of the EN 14.
  • aspects may include one or more of a battery configuration, a heartbeat message interval defining a period of time between transmissions of heartbeat messages,“scans per fix” defining a number of scans to be conducted for every proximity location determination of a most proximate stationary AP 16, as well as any update information in relation to any of the aforementioned aspects.
  • a transmitted heartbeat message will include the MAC address of a most proximate stationary AP 16 and/or RP 17.
  • EN 14 and AP 16 are exemplary of first and second network nodes, respectively, which may be similarly configured as are EN 14 and AP 16 to carry out communications with respect to the BLE networking described herein and/or according to the other, appropriate wireless protocol discussed above.
  • the EN 14 is configured with an estimator comprising appropriate software and/or hardware for causing an estimating of proximity to a given AP 16 or RP 17, based on RSS, and is also configured with appropriate software and/or hardware for performing all operations associated with initiating and/or establishing a connection with an AP 16. All discussion herein regarding a determination of proximity of an AP 16 is to be understood as being equally applicable to determination of proximity of a
  • the estimator conducts a Bayesian Estimation, and specifically a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation for each AP 16 encountered by the mobile EN 14 at the time of the encounter, i.e. , at the time of receipt of a single or multiple beacon advertisement messages, so as to account for either a single RSS, or alternatively, multiple RSSs.
  • the MAP estimation may reflect either (1 ) a single RSS at the time of receipt of a beacon advertisement message from the respective AP 16 or (2) in order to mitigate RF hopping, a predetermined number of consecutive RSSs, e.g., five RSSs, resulting from multiple beacon advertisement messages from the respective AP 16.
  • the EN 14 and its estimator may also be configured to undertake the MAP estimation at any time during operation of the EN 14.
  • the estimation is given by the following Equation (1 ),
  • Equation (1 ) the posterior distribution, f 0 r a given proximity between a particular EN 14 and AP 16 pair at time, t, is determined. In particular, such determination is made by advancing the next most previous posterior,
  • Equation (2) Equation (2)
  • x represents a variable distance from an EN 14 to an AP 16
  • y represents a RSS of a beacon advertisement message
  • N represents a number of observations, i.e. , a number of received beacon advertisement messages.
  • the highest value, or minimum variance, distribution is chosen as the MAP estimate.
  • a confidence value representing a level of expectation that a respective AP 16 is most proximate to the EN 14, is calculated for each AP 16 encountered by the EN 14, based on the estimated posterior distribution and Equation (3) below, and insofar as a 10 dB
  • Selection of which AP 16 is most proximate to the EN 14 is determined as that AP 16 which yields the highest confidence value. However, if a further AP 16 yields a next most confident value corresponding to a predetermined tolerance for the confidence value, selection of the AP 16 that is most proximate to the EN 14 is determined from among all of the APs 16 which have broadcast a beacon advertisement message received by the EN 14. Still further, a signal strength from a respective AP 16 may be adjusted, in accordance with an adjustment factor included in the beacon advertisement message, to confer exclusive selection thereof by the EN 14, i.e. , any other AP 16 whose beacon advertisement message the EN 14 has received is excluded from being considered as being most proximate to the EN 14. It is to be understood, that the estimator of a particular EN 14 may be configured to create a statistical fingerprint of AP 16 associations so as to optimize interpretation of future association patterns.
  • flow begins at decision block 410 and proceeds to decision block
  • an EN 14 receives a RSS from one or more APs 16.
  • the EN 14 measures the RSSs.
  • the estimator which is configured integrally with the EN 16, calculates a MAP estimation for each of the RSSs.
  • EN 14 calculates a confidence value from each of the estimated posterior distributions.
  • the AP 16 yielding a highest confidence value is selected as the most proximate AP 16 to the EN 14.
  • Flow proceeds to decision blocks 470-480 in response to the selection by the EN 14.
  • EN 14 records the selection of the AP 16 according to identifying information thereof, including, for example, its network address or other appropriate networking identifying information.
  • the proximity association process ends.
  • EN 14 may modulate its behavior depending upon certain conditions. For example, EN 14 may vary the frequency with which it conducts its MAP estimate depending upon whether the EN 14 is stationary or moving. That is, EN 14 may perform its estimation more frequently if it is moving, and less often if it is stationary. Still further, EN 14 may be configured to perform some predetermined action depending upon whether it is at a predetermined location (e.g., activate a light-emitting device (LED) or alarm) and/or whether no further AP 16 is detected (e.g., deactivate a device).
  • a predetermined location e.g., activate a light-emitting device (LED) or alarm
  • no further AP 16 e.g., deactivate a device
  • the decision as to which AP 16 a mobile EN 14 should connect with, and to which it may transmit the identifying information of the most proximate AP 16, is determined based on attainment of a highest connection value calculated by the mobile EN 14. That is, as a mobile EN 14 moves in proximity to one or more APs 16, the value of connection with any one of the APs is assessed based on several components including the confidence value, in accordance with FIG. 4, and an associated weighting factor, a network loading value and an associated weighting factor, and an association factor of the broadcasting AP 16, and is given by the following Equation (4):
  • s represents the connection value, as an absolute value
  • a represents a weighting factor assigned to the confidence value calculated by the EN 14
  • P represents the confidence value
  • b represents a weighting factor assigned to loading of the connected network
  • L represents a loading value of the connected network and is included in the beacon advertisement message
  • g represents an association factor for a respective AP 16, such that g equals zero if the EN 14 has not made a previous connection with the respective AP 16 and equals a predetermined highest value if the respective AP 16 is the AP 16 with which the EN 14 has made a most previous connection.
  • an EN 14 that moves among various APs 16, which may or may not be connectable to the network 22, may determine an optimal connection among such APs 16 based on the aforementioned components yielding the highest connection value in accordance with Equation 4.
  • the connected AP 16 may receive from the EN 14 the identifying information of another AP 16 that is most proximate in a case in which the connected AP 16 has been determined to have attained the highest connection value, but not the highest confidence value.
  • the other, most proximate AP 16 may include another connectable AP 16, indicated at 26 in FIG. 3, to which connection has not been made due to it not achieving the highest connection value.
  • the consideration of the confidence value in Equation 4 increases the likelihood that the most proximate AP 16 is the one to which EN 14 connects.
  • this scenario is not certain given connectability of one or more APs 16 and other considerations used in determining the connection value according to Equation (4).
  • FIG. 5 provides a sequence for scanning for detection of a beacon advertisement message respectively transmitted from one or more APs 16, while FIG. 6 provides a sequence for determining an AP 16 with which the EN 14 should connect, based on the above- discussed connection value, o, as determined in accordance with Equation 4.
  • Flow begins in FIG. 5 at decision block 510 and proceeds to decision block 520 at which EN 14 scans for and detects a respective beacon
  • the estimator of EN 14 calculates respective confidence values for the detected APs, and records each of the respective confidence values for the detected APs 16 such that attained confidence value is associated with a respective, detected AP 16 when such AP 16 is added to the detection list, and also its selection of the most proximate AP 16. Thereafter, it is determined at decision block 560 whether the scanning operation has timed out. If not, as in the case of negative decisions at decision blocks 530 and 540, scanning continues. If the scanning operation has timed out, flow proceeds, as shown in FIG. 6, to determine which AP 16, from among the detection list, the EN 14 should connect.
  • this connection list is initialized, an AP 16, with its associated confidence value, is drawn from the detection list, at decision block 620, at which point it is then determined, at decision block 630, if such AP 16 is connectable to the network 22 of FIG. 3, for example. If the drawn AP 16 is connectable, flow then proceeds, with respect to such drawn AP 16, to decision block 640 whereat a connection value therefor is calculated in accordance with Equation (4).
  • EN 14 selects and connects with, at decision block 650, the AP 16 having a highest connection value in accordance with Equation (4), and proceeds to an end at decision block 660 once connection is established.
  • identifying information, other than location information, of a RP 17 which is determined to be most proximate to the EN 14 may be transmitted, by the EN 14, to the AP 16 with which the
  • the aforementioned proximity determination serves the dual purpose of both determining an estimate of which AP 16 and/or RP 17 is most proximate to an EN 14, and providing a basis for determining which AP 16 the EN 14 should connect. That is, the AP 16 with which the EN 14 ultimately connects may receive identifying information of a non-connectable RP 17 that is most proximate to the EN 14 so that a relative determination of the location of the EN 14 may be determined with reference to this latter, non-connectable RP 17. In this way, the granularity of the proximity determination above is increased such that non-connectable RPs 17, and not only connectable APs 16, are each considered by the estimator of EN 14 so as to render available a more accurate AP/EN proximity association.
  • connection with a respective one thereof may be made based upon the aforementioned confidence and connection values, such that the connected AP 16 likewise may yield a highest confidence value so as to be most proximate to the EN 14, and represent the optimal connection according to Equation (4).
  • proximity will be made known to the user 24 by virtue of the established connection and the lack of any other AP 16 identifying information being transferred to the network 22.
  • Such ability of a EN 14 to select and connect with a specified, respective one of APs 16 removes the shortcomings of conventional BLE networking by enabling a mobile EN 14 to have the autonomy necessary to initiate and/or establish connection with an AP 16 solely in response to its own evaluation and decisionmaking with respect to aspects contributing to the aforementioned proximity association, connection value and/or other information associated with the EN 14.
  • such other information may optionally include one or more parameters relating to operation of the EN 14.
  • the embodiments discussed herein eliminate the conventionally overwhelming number of advertisements transmitted by peripherals in conventional BLE networking. That is, the present embodiments substantially reduce the number of advertisements occurring at a given time by virtue of the BLE role reversal, discussed herein, in which plural end nodes receive, rather than transmit, advertisements in the form of beacon advertisement messages from one more access points.
  • the EN 14 may then transfer its own identifying information, other than location information, and identifying information of the most proximate AP 16 and/or RP 17. In this way, when information of an AP 16 other than the connected AP 16 is not transferred, it will be understood that the connected AP 16 is most proximate to the EN 14. Concurrently with the transfer of the above information, the EN 14 may also transfer one or more of its contained information including sensory information, access information, notification information, alarm information, and any other status and/or content information thereof as may be applicable to its particular configuration.
  • EN 14 may transfer any of the aforementioned types of information so as to be applicable to such environments including a workplace or other type of commercial environment in which commerce is a purpose, a residence, and a medical facility or other facility in which tracking of persons or objects is necessary and/or desired.
  • an EN 14 which may be defined as a BLE tag and/or a BLE tag attached to or associated with a particular object, is seeking association with a BLE AP 16 that is configured to report information of the tag to an end user 24 via backhaul 20 and network 22.
  • an EN 14 which may be defined as a BLE tag and/or a BLE tag attached to or associated with a particular object, is seeking association with a BLE AP 16 that is configured to report information of the tag to an end user 24 via backhaul 20 and network 22.
  • EN 14 and AP 16 may be embodied as being any stationary and/or mobile nodes of an appropriate wireless network, and as being capable of operating according to a BLE protocol or other protocol in which such nodes may operate as respective first and second nodes according to any of FIGS. 4, 5, and/or 6.
  • a respective EN 14 may be configured to calculate its confidence and connections values at the same time, or, at different times.
  • EN 14 may undertake any of the processes of FIGS. 4-6 at any time, whether the EN 14 is mobile or stationary.
  • the EN 14 is configured to optimize, at least, a rate at which connection may be established, with respect to, at least, proximity of such connection as well as the efficiency of such connection, as will be understood based on the components of Equation (4).
  • such tag is attached to an object, such as a hospital bed for which it is desirous to know the location thereof at any given point in time when it is moving throughout a hospital environment.
  • an object such as a hospital bed for which it is desirous to know the location thereof at any given point in time when it is moving throughout a hospital environment.
  • the hospital bed, with the tag attached thereto is transient throughout the hospital, moving from floor to floor and from room to room, as the case may be when a patient is to undergo a particular procedure.
  • the bed moves from one location to the next, its whereabouts may be tracked through monitoring achieved by the BLE communications system disclosed herein.
  • the hospital bed may move throughout a particular floor, it contemplated that it will move among a number of APs whose location is known to the hospital network.
  • the tag attached to the bed will scan for beacon advertisement messages transmitted from the various APs.
  • the tag Upon receipt of the transmitted signals, the tag is configured to conduct the MAP estimation discussed hereinabove and calculate a highest confidence value for the AP that is in closest proximity at a given point in time and which may or may not be connectable to the hospital network.
  • the tag is further configured to connect with a particular connectable AP having a highest connection value, as shown by the exemplary double arrows extending between an exemplary EN 14 and AP 16 of FIG.
  • the tag is further contemplated to conduct a determination of whether an AP is connectable to the network 22 via backhaul 20 so as to be able to transfer information of the tag to an end user desirous of knowing the location of the hospital bed.
  • Each connectable AP is then evaluated as to its associated connection value in accordance with Equation (4) above.
  • proximity to either an AP 16 or RP 17 may be determined by an EN’s implementation of its estimator, i.e. , through execution of Equations (1 ) - (3).
  • an RP 17 within these executions greatly increases the granularity of the resulting proximity determinations which enable a final determination of an actual position of the EN 14 at the network 22.
  • Innumerable settings provide for the opportunity to reap a variety of benefits to be gained from an ability to learn a precise location of assets, such as ENs (and/or objects with which they may be associated). These settings may include factories, crop fields, and buildings such as hospitals. Relatedly, the benefits may include an ability to track when and where materials, resources, and personnel are located at a given time. As a result, optimizations for the following non-limiting examples of scheduling, material allocation, and other types of productivity levels associated with heightening the prospect for attaining desired monetary and procedural goals which are in any way tied to knowing the location of an asset may be further made more obtainable when the accuracy of the asset’s actual location is refined.
  • the EN 14 may be configured to, as an alternative to the estimation(s) provided in accordance with Equations (1 ) - (3), otherwise determine which of the plurality of RPs 17 is nearest in proximity to the EN 14 by evaluating a coordinate location of each of respective ones of the plurality alongside an evaluation of their RSSs. This way, the alternative estimation performed by the EN 14 enhances the outcome determined in accordance with Equations (1 ) - (3) by supplementing it with relative positioning for a given RP 17.
  • an exemplary setting 30, such as may be implemented on a floor of a building whereby an EN 14 is confronted with determining a nearest proximity RP 17 from among a plurality of RPs 17 each of which is separated by an artificial boundary such as a wall. Determining of the nearest proximity is contemplated to reduce distortions in location estimation due to interference caused by such a boundary, or other interference, as the EN 14 moves throughout the floor.
  • setting 30 corresponds to a predetermined floor plan having a number of zones (Z) each containing an RP 17 (though more than one RP 17 may be contained within any one zone).
  • RP 17 Upon activation, RP 17 will initially function as an EN 14 so as to receive, via communication with network 22 through AP 16, its initial provisioning to function as an RP 17. Such provisioning will also include assigning, based on the network’s own mapping of RPs 17 within the setting 30, a set of coordinates to the RP 17 to identify the exact location of the fixed location of the RP 17 within the setting 30.
  • the setting 30 may be of any configuration, as will the nature of the coordinates that comport therewith. In the interest of brevity and for purposes of explanation herein, such coordinates of any one RP 17 may be assigned as Cartesian coordinates according to x-y axes made applicable upon setting 30.
  • setting 30 may be divided into an exemplary number of zones Zi through Zs (, each having a corresponding, respective Zone ID), though other types of configurations and divisions are contemplated. Although shown as containing a single RP 17 in each zone, it will be understood that multiple RPs 17 may be stationed within a zone in
  • EN 14 may detect respective beacon advertisements which are broadcast from the one or more RPs 17 so as to estimate a nearest proximity thereto.
  • each RP 17 will be associated with its own (x,y) coordinate and zone description according to setting 30 as defined by network 22.
  • network 22 retains a mapping of each of the RPs 17 according to their (x,y) coordinate and zonal locations, and is enabled to communicate such information to one or more APs 16 operating in and/or relative to the setting 30.
  • each AP 16 operating within setting 30 may be preloaded, i.e., provisioned by network 22, with RP 17 coordinate and zonal location information.
  • EN 14 moves throughout setting 30, it is contemplated that it obtain position information, and specifically the (x,y) coordinate information, of a detected one or more RPs 17, according to one of at least two collection methods.
  • the EN 14 may collect the (x,y) coordinate information of any RP 17 as data that is included in any RP advertisement received by the EN 14.
  • each RP 17 may be configured to broadcast, as part of its
  • the EN 14 may then query the AP 16 for information regarding RPs for the received area or zone, and receive from an AP 16 to which it has connected (according to Equation 4) the (x,y) coordinate information and corresponding RP association for all RPs 17 located within the received area or zone.
  • the coordinate information regarding the associated RP, as transmitted by the AP 16 further defines a graph of portions of the setting 30 in which there exists an opportunity for allowable path and transitions.
  • Such a graph is particularly applicable in the instance in which the setting 30 is embodied as a floorplan comprising various arrangements of doorways and hallways, for instance.
  • the graph is contemplated to represent the floor plan according to, at least, nodes and edges indicating the doorways and hallways, respectively.
  • the query by the EN 14 may be made recursively of the same or a different AP 16 with respect to zones that the EN 14 may successively encounter. The result is that the EN 14 accumulates a mapping of the RPs 17 according to their (x,y) coordinates, whether obtained solely from RP advertisements or from fulfillment of the request(s) by one or more APs 16.
  • an EN 14 is equipped to estimate the nearest RP 17 within setting 30 based on, with respect to a given one or more RPs 17, both (a) RSS and (b) coordinate information.
  • the estimate conducted by the EN 14 is supplemented by the coordinate information, in contrast to the RSS evaluation discussed above in connection with Equations (1 ) - (3).
  • this supplementation represents an alternative EN location estimate relative to the estimate otherwise achieved solely in accordance with Equations (1 ) - (3).
  • Calculation by the EN 14 of this alternative estimate may be carried out according to several techniques. They include performing, for a plurality of advertisements received from an RP 17, (A) a determination of a weighted average of coordinate information and RSS to achieve a coordinate estimate of the EN 14 to the RP 17, (B) a determination in accordance with trilateration, and (C) a determination in accordance with simplified trilateration. Each of these techniques is discussed in greater detail below.
  • an EN 14 Since an EN 14 has at its disposal both coordinate information and RSS for a given RP 17 which it has detected, it makes sense to determine an actual estimate of a coordinate location of the EN 14 within exemplary setting 30. Such an actual estimate of the EN’s location is obtainable based on the received coordinates for all the RPs 17 whose advertisements have been received by the EN 14. Once obtained, the actual estimate is compared to each of the received RP coordinates. Based upon this comparison, the EN 14 can then report its location to the best AP 16 connection in terms of the MAC address of the RP 17 whose coordinates are nearest, i.e. , most closely match, the actual coordinate estimate determined by and for the EN 14 itself.
  • Calculation of the estimated EN 14 coordinate is performed individually (and identically) for each x and y component thereof.
  • the x component is determined with respect to the x coordinate component for a given RP 17, as provided below in Equation (5).
  • Equation (5) in which N represents the number of reference points, XRP represents the x component of the RP’s coordinate location, and a, represents a weighting factor assigned to each observation based on the RSS for the given reference point as detected by the EN 14.
  • the weights, a, are calculated as provided in Equation (6), wherein
  • n represents the RSS for a given RP as detected by the EN 14
  • r mi n is the sensitivity (in dBm) of the receiver.
  • the weights, a / sum to one, as per Equation (7), wherein
  • an EN 14 will employ a path loss model (such as a free space path loss (FSPL) model) to estimate its location in terms of which RP 17 is most proximate.
  • FSPL free space path loss
  • the resultant path loss is assessed for each RP 17 relative to a an appropriate likelihood function, whereby maximization thereof represents the greatest proximity to the EN 14.
  • path loss in dBm
  • Pt and P r represent the transmit and receive powers of an RP 17 and EN 14, respectively, d (in meters) is the distance between the transmitter and receiver thereof, respectively, and l (in meters) is the wavelength of the radio emission.
  • Multiplicative effects on the transmission channel, such as body occlusion and structural loss, are combined with occurrences of additive noise.
  • FIG. 7 A provides a diagrammatic representation of the estimated location of the EN 14 according to the trilateration technique, whereby the location of an EN 14 relative to the transmitting ENs is indicated by the shown intersection therein.
  • di is a Euclidean distance relative to the location vector state, e.g., x-y coordinates, of a given RPi, or Li, and the location vector state of the EN 14, Q (as determined continually upon receipt of beacon advertisement messages and expressed in terms of x-y coordinates as measurements of proximity to the transmitter(s)), and is given by Equation (9), wherein
  • Equation (5) When rearranged to provide for a respective EN 14 receive power, P r,i (in dBm), and while substituting Equation (9), Equation (5) may be rewritten as Equation (10), wherein
  • Equation (1 1 ) provides consolidation of these known parameters into a constant, a, as shown by Equation (1 1 ), in which
  • Equation (10) may be rewritten as Equation (12) and to further include additive noise N, wherein
  • the likelihood function may be expressed as Equation (13), wherein
  • Equation 14 Equation 14
  • Equation (15) a location estimate, d ML , representing a value of Q that maximizes Equation (14), is given by Equation (15), in which
  • Equation (16) Equation (16) or (17), as shown respectively below.
  • Equation (16) a are
  • Equation (18) the maximum likelihood estimate, indicating the triangulated position of an EN 14 may be expressed according to Equation (18), in which arg
  • the determined nearest proximity to a RP 17 is evaluated via the above-discussed trilateration in connection with RSS for a plurality of RPs encountered by the EN 14.
  • the coordinates provided to an RP 17 may be more acutely interrogated in light of corresponding RSS to narrow an estimation of proximity of the EN 14.
  • Equation (14) such implementation of that equation and likelihood(s) rendered thereby may be considered to be a multidimensional Gaussian.
  • an evolving multidimensional covariance of a combined Gaussian likelihood is disregarded, such that there is yielded a combined likelihood function having symmetric geometry in the x and y directions, i.e. , with correlation coefficients
  • the maximum likelihood estimate, d ML may be replaced as the mean of the determined Gaussian likelihood.
  • the EN 14 may employ Equations (1 ) - (3) to further refine any estimated EN location determined in accordance with techniques (A) - (C). Doing so allows the EN 14 to employ the accumulated knowledge of the setting 30 in order to reactively hone its proximity determination to a given RP 17 when further RP advertisements are received. Operation of the EN 14 in accordance with the above-described alternative manner of EN location determination with respect to a RP 17 is depicted in FIG. 8. Therein, the operation starts at decision block 810 whereat an EN 14 will identify, in accordance with Equation (4), the best AP connection within, for example, the discussed setting 30.
  • the EN 14 in response to the EN querying the connected AP 16 for the (x,y) coordinates for RPs within any Zone ID which it has received, the EN 14 receives a mapping of such coordinates to their respective RPs within the identified zone. At this stage, it is likely that, since multiple RP advertisement may mix
  • the EN 14 has accumulated its own RP 17 mapping of those portions of setting 30 which it has traversed. Accordingly, based upon this mapping, the EN 14 is equipped, at decision block 840, to estimate its own coordinates according to its collected RP 17 (x,y) coordinates and their corresponding RSS. At block 850, once the estimate is complete, the EN 14 may then transmit to the connected AP 16 its estimated location (in terms of the particular RP 17 to which it is most proximate according to the estimate of its own EN location).
  • the determination as to which RP 17 is most proximate the EN 14 is made based on the EN 14 conducting a comparison of its own estimated location to the (x,y) coordinates for all those RPs 17 for which it has detected a beacon advertisement message.
  • the transmitted location will comprise messaging detailing the MAC address of the particular RP 17 that has been determined as being nearest in proximity to the EN 14.
  • the AP 16 will then, at block 860, transmit such MAC address to network 22 for receipt and analysis thereby to verify the EN’s estimated location relative to knowledge of the setting 30, and perhaps, prior location estimates reported by the EN 14 in combination with timing of those reports.
  • network 22 may conduct its own analysis to ensure that the estimated location comports with a predetermined time and distance threshold so as to discard location estimates that may exceed such threshold.
  • the embodiments disclosed herein optimize the efficiency of a BLE-enabled network by, at least, reducing burdens on network resources, as well as by enhancing the likelihood of connection in situations in which multiple end nodes are co-located. It will likewise be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein enable a determination of the relative location of an end node in view of its proximity to an access point, and one or more reference points.
  • each of the APs 16 and RPs 17 described herein may be configured to include directional and circularly polarized antennas to, respectively, better focus their broadcasts and reduce cross polarization loss sometimes experienced with vertically polarized antennas. This way, EN 14 proximity determinations may be achieved with increased accuracy.
  • suitable computer-usable media include: volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM); nonvolatile, hard-coded or programmable-type media such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically
  • volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM)
  • nonvolatile, hard-coded or programmable-type media such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically

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Abstract

La présente invention concerne des systèmes et des procédés d'inversion des rôles habituels de dispositifs centraux et périphériques dans un réseau BLE. Cela implique la mise en œuvre d'un nœud d'extrémité (EN) en tant qu'initiateur unique d'une connexion entre un EN particulier et un point d'accès (AP) particulier. Un tel mode de réalisation comprend la détermination d'un emplacement de l'EN sur la base d'informations de position pour de multiples points de référence (RP), qui peuvent dans des cas être fournis par l'AP. De manière avantageuse, le positionnement relatif est plus particulièrement basé sur les intensités de signal reçues (RSS) de messages d'annonce de balise diffusés à partir des RP, et affinés par chacune des informations de position.
PCT/US2019/058702 2018-11-01 2019-10-30 Systèmes de mise en réseau ble et procédés permettant une inversion de rôle central et périphérique avec détermination d'emplacement périphérique améliorée Ceased WO2020092463A1 (fr)

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US16/177,915 US10499196B2 (en) 2017-06-17 2018-11-01 BLE networking systems and methods providing central and peripheral role reversal with enhanced peripheral location determination

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US9282582B1 (en) * 2014-10-31 2016-03-08 Aruba Networks, Inc. Sleep control for network of bluetooth low energy devices
US10028105B1 (en) * 2016-05-31 2018-07-17 Infinite Leap, Inc. Bluetooth low energy (BLE) real-time location system (RTLS) having tags that harvest energy, bridges that instruct tags to toggle beacon modes on and off, beacons and bridges that self-report location changes, and optional use of a single beacon channel

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