Patent ID: 7769396
Filing Date: 2010-08-03
Classification: G01S,G06Q,G08G,H04W,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of locating a user-device having a Wi-Fi radio, comprising: providing a reference database of Wi-Fi access point information about Wi-Fi access points in a target area; in response to a user application request to determine a location of a user-device having a Wi-Fi radio, receiving messages from Wi-Fi access points within range of the Wi-Fi device, each message identifying the Wi-Fi access point sending the message; determining attributes of the messages received by the Wi-Fi radio; accessing the reference database to obtain information about the identified Wi-Fi access points; based on the number of Wi-Fi access points identified via received messages, choosing a corresponding location-determination algorithm from a plurality of location-determination algorithms, said chosen algorithm being suited for the number of identified Wi-Fi access points; and using the information about the identified Wi-Fi access points and the determined attributes of said received messages and the chosen location-determination algorithm to determine the location of the user-device.