Patent ID: 9031775
Filing Date: 2015-05-12
Classification: G01S,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: receiving, at an apparatus including a microcontroller, a plurality of known locations of a plurality of wireless mobile nodes over a wireless link; determining the apparatus is located in a three-dimensional (3-D) environment in response to detecting a first plurality of wireless mobile nodes arranged in a 3-D arrangement and located in a two-dimension (2-D) environment in response to detecting a second plurality of wireless mobile nodes arranged in a 2-D arrangement; selectively operating the microcontroller in a two-dimensional (2-D) location mode to calculate the apparatus location in response to detecting the 2-D environment, and a three-dimensional (3-D) location mode to calculate the apparatus location in response to detecting the 3-D environment, each of the 2-D and 3-D location modes configured to determine a plurality of geometric features associated with the plurality of locations; and calculating via the microcontroller the apparatus location from the plurality of known locations and the plurality of geometric features, the 3-D location mode using a first plurality of known locations including a first coordinate system based on longitude and latitude with respect to the earth and the 2-D location mode using a second plurality of known locations including a second coordinate system different from the first coordinate system based on physical dimensions of structures, wherein, when operating in the 3-D location mode, the apparatus location is calculated using a plurality of angles, an angle indicating a relationship between the apparatus location and a known location, an inclination angle and the azimuth angle between a line from the known node to the unknown node and a second line and a plane formed by the three known nodes; and one or more distances between two or more known locations; and the calculating the apparatus location comprising calculating the apparatus location from the angles and the distances using triangulation, wherein, when operating in the 2-D location mode, the apparatus location is calculated without using an inclination angle and the azimuth angle between a line from the known node to the unknown node and a second line and a plane formed by the three known nodes, and displaying a calculated location of at least one wireless node included in the 2-D environment or the 3-D environment.