Systems and methods for indoor positioning

Abstract

A method for wireless positioning includes: receiving by a plurality of controllers using wideband receivers a wideband positioning frame from one or more devices and transmitting using narrow band transmitters acknowledgement frames including timing and control data for use by the one or more devices to establish timing for transmission of the positioning frame; and transmitting using a wideband transmitter by at least one of the devices the positioning frame to the plurality of controllers and receiving using a narrow band receiver the acknowledgement frame from one or more of the plurality of controllers, extracting timing and control information from the acknowledgement frame, and adjusting a timing and synchronization of the wideband transmitter using the timing and control information.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for wireless positioning, the method comprising:
 receiving by a plurality of controllers using wideband receivers a wideband positioning frame from one or more devices and transmitting using narrow band transmitters acknowledgement frames including timing and control data for use by the one or more devices to establish timing for transmission of the positioning frame; and   transmitting using a wideband transmitter by at least one of the devices the positioning frame to the plurality of controllers and receiving using a narrow band receiver the acknowledgement frame from one or more of the plurality of controllers, extracting timing and control information from the acknowledgement frame, and adjusting a timing and synchronization of the wideband transmitter using the timing and control information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the narrow band transmitter and the narrow band receiver are configured to operate in the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the narrow band transmitter and the narrow band receiver are configured to operate at about 2.45 GHz. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wideband receiver and the wideband transmitter are configured to operate in the Ultra Wideband (UWB) spectrum. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of controllers transmits, using the narrow band transmitter, the timing and control information for the wideband transmitter operation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more devices receive the timing and control information, synchronize the wideband transmitter and transmit the positioning frame. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of controllers receives the positioning frame and sends information included in the positioning frame to a server. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the positioning frame includes a time stamp, and wherein the plurality of controllers that receives the positioning frame determine the time the positioning frame was received. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the server uses triangulation to determine a position of the one or more devices. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more devices use a superframe to communicate with the controllers via the wideband transmitter, and wherein the timing and control information includes superframe information including a start time of the superframe. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more devices turn on the wideband transmitter for a short duration in order to transmit the positioning frame and then turn the transmitter off. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more devices then turn the narrow band receiver on for a short period in order to receive the acknowledgement frame form one or more of the plurality of controllers and then turn the receiver off. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more devices attempt re-transmission of the positioning frame when it does not receive an acknowledgement in a certain period of time. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a server interfaced with the plurality of controllers, the server configured to maintain synchronization between the plurality of controllers. 
     
     
         15 . A method for wireless positioning, the method comprising:
 receiving by a plurality of controllers using wideband receivers a wideband positioning frame from one or more devices and transmitting using narrow band transmitters acknowledgement frames including timing and control data for use by the one or more devices to establish timing for transmission of the positioning frame;   transmitting using a wideband transmitter by at least one of the devices the positioning frame to the plurality of controllers and receiving using a narrow band receiver the acknowledgement frame from one or more of the plurality of controllers, extracting timing and control information from the acknowledgement frame, and adjusting a timing and synchronization of the wideband transmitter using the timing and control information; and   maintaining synchronization among the plurality of controllers by a server interfaced with the plurality of controllers.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the narrow band transmitter and the narrow band receiver are configured to operate in the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the narrow band transmitter and the narrow band receiver are configured to operate at about 2.45 GHz. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the wideband receiver and the wideband transmitter are configured to operate in the Ultra Wideband (UWB) spectrum. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein each of the plurality of controllers transmits, using the narrow band transmitter, the timing and control information for the wideband transmitter operation. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more devices receive the timing and control information, synchronize the wideband transmitter and transmit the positioning frame. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the plurality of controllers receives the positioning frame and sends information included in the positioning frame to the server. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the positioning frame includes a time stamp, and wherein the plurality of controllers that receives the positioning frame determine the time the positioning frame was received. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the server uses triangulation to determine the position of the one or more devices. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the one or more devices use a superframe to communicate with the controllers via the wideband transmitter, and wherein the timing and control information includes superframe information including a start time of the superframe. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more devices turn on the wideband transmitter for a short duration in order to transmit the positioning frame and then turn the transmitter off. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the one or more devices then turn the narrow band receiver on for a short period in order to receive the acknowledgement frame form one or more of the plurality of controllers and then turn the receiver off 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more devices attempt re-transmission of the positioning frame when it does not receive an acknowledgement in a certain period of time.