Apparatus and method for use in location determination

Abstract

An apparatus is provided that includes circuitry configured for location determination arranged to obtain a geographic location of the apparatus; circuitry configured receiving connection point identification data, the connection point identification data useable in providing a wireless communication path to a remote circuitry providing a connection point, and wherein the connection point identification data is associated with a geographic location of the remote circuitry; and circuitry configured for associating one or more instances of the geographic location of the apparatus, as provided by the circuitry configured for location determination, with corresponding instances of the connection point identification data. This associating may be used to cross-check/validate the geographical location provided by the circuitry configured for location determination.

1 . An apparatus, comprising a processor and memory including computer program code, wherein the memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 obtain a geographic location of a mobile apparatus;   receive an indication of movement of the mobile apparatus; and   determine, in response to the received indication of movement indicating movement of the mobile apparatus whilst the obtained geographic location indicates that the mobile apparatus is static, that the obtained geographic location of the mobile apparatus is a spoofed geographic location.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the indication of movement comprises one or more indications that the mobile apparatus is:
 not stationary, has speed, has velocity, and has acceleration.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the static geographic location of the mobile apparatus from the apparatus or the mobile apparatus. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises one or more of the following to provide an indication of movement of the mobile apparatus:
 a speedometer, and an accelerometer.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the geographic location and indication of movement of the mobile apparatus are received from the mobile apparatus. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the apparatus is configured to wirelessly receive the geographic location and indication of movement of the mobile apparatus for use in said determining. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the geographic location of the mobile apparatus is received from one or more of:
 the mobile apparatus, a global positioning satellite or satellite or satellite system, GPS, Galileo, satellite source, external source, land-based source, dead-reckoning circuitry, WLAN, Bluetooth™ network, cellular telecommunications network, and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is one or more of:
 a mobile item, circuitry for a mobile item, circuitry for a vehicle, a tag for imposing house arrest, and circuitry for a tag for imposing house arrest.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is one or more of:
 a server, a remote server, and circuitry for one or more of said servers.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is the mobile apparatus. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 obtaining a geographic location of a mobile apparatus;
 receiving an indication of movement of the mobile apparatus; and 
   determining, in response to the received indication of movement indicating movement of the mobile apparatus whilst the obtained geographic location indicates that the mobile apparatus is static, that the obtained geographic location of the mobile apparatus is a spoofed geographic location.   
     
     
         12 . A computer readable medium comprising computer program code stored thereon, the computer program code being configured to, when run on a processor, perform at least:
 obtaining a geographic location of a mobile apparatus;   receiving an indication of movement of the mobile apparatus; and   determining, in response to the received indication of movement indicating movement of the mobile apparatus whilst the obtained geographic location indicates that the mobile apparatus is static, that the obtained geographic location of the mobile apparatus is a spoofed geographic location.   
     
     
         13 . An apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory having computer program code stored thereon, wherein the memory and the computer program code are configured to, when run on the processor, cause the apparatus to:   obtain a first geographic location for a mobile item;   receive corresponding connection point identification data from a connection point in the vicinity of the mobile item to provide a second geographic location for the mobile item, the connection point identification data being useable in providing a wireless communication path to a remote circuitry capable of providing a connection point for the mobile item or a mobile cellular device, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive connection point identification data without establishing a wireless communication path to that remote circuitry, the connection point identification data being associated with a geographic location of the remote circuitry said associated geographic location of the remote circuitry being used to provide the second geographic location for the mobile item;   associate one or more corresponding instances of the first and second geographic locations of the mobile item; and   compare the association to provide a cross-check to determine whether the first geographic location of the mobile item is a spoofed geographic location for the mobile item.