Patent ID: 8174438

Claim:
A positioning apparatus, comprising: a wireless communication module, for generating a detection signal, for receiving a satellite signal and for receiving assistance positioning data; a storage unit, coupled to the wireless communication module, for storing the assistance positioning data; a positioning module, coupled to the storage unit, for generating coordinate information according to the satellite signal and the assistance positioning data; and a control unit, coupled to the wireless communication module, the storage unit and the positioning module, for determining whether the assistance positioning data stored in the storage unit is valid and controlling the wireless communication module to generate and transmit the detection signal when the assistance positioning data is invalid, wherein the wireless communication module is a radio frequency identification (RFID) communication module having a reader mode and a tag mode, and when the control unit determines that the assistance positioning data is invalid, the control unit controls the wireless communication module to enter the reader mode to generate and transmit the detection signal, and wherein the control unit controls the wireless communication module to enter the tag mode when determining that the assistance positioning data is valid, and the wireless communication module transmits the assistance positioning data stored in the storage unit to another positioning apparatus when the wireless communication module is operating in the tag mode.