TWI622784B - Positioning system and positioning method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The positioning method includes the following steps. First, command several base stations to detect a tracked object. Then, based on the plurality of first backhaul information, a first positioning position of the tracked object is obtained. Then, a plurality of fixed signal transceivers are selected according to the first positioning position. Then, the selected fixed signal transceivers are instructed to detect the tracked object, and according to the plurality of second backhaul information returned by the fixed signal transceivers, a second positioning position of the tracked object is obtained. .

Description

Positioning system and positioning method thereof

The present invention relates to a positioning system and a positioning method thereof, and more particularly to a positioning system and method for applying a fixed signal transceiver.

Traditional positioning systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), use the signals of satellites over the Earth to locate the tracked objects. However, although the positioning system is accurate, it has the problem of high construction costs.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to propose a new technology to improve the aforementioned problems.

Accordingly, the present invention proposes a positioning method that can improve conventional problems.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a positioning method is proposed for use in a positioning system. The positioning system includes a plurality of base stations, the base station has a corresponding group of signal transceivers, and the signal transceiver group includes a plurality of fixed signal transceivers. The positioning method includes the following steps. Commanding a plurality of base stations to detect a tracked object and generating a plurality of first backhaul information; according to the plurality of first backhaul information, obtaining a first positioning position of the tracked object; and selecting the number according to the first positioning position Fixed signal And commanding the selected fixed signal transceivers to detect the tracked object, and based on the plurality of second backhaul information returned by the fixed signal transceivers, obtaining a tracked object Two positioning positions.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a positioning system is provided, including: a server; at least one base station; and at least one signal transceiver group corresponding to the base station and including a plurality of fixed signal transceivers. The server instructs the base station to detect a tracked object and obtain a first positioning position of the tracked object, and the server selects a plurality of fixed signals transmitted and received adjacent to the first positioning position by using the fixed signal transceivers. The device detects the tracked object, and the server obtains a second positioning position of the tracked object according to the returned information of the selected fixed signal transceivers.

In order to better understand the above and other aspects of the present invention, the preferred embodiments are described below, and in conjunction with the drawings, the detailed description is as follows:

1A and 1B are schematic views of a positioning system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIGS. 1A and 1B for a schematic diagram of a positioning system 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The positioning system 100 includes at least one base station 110, At least one signal transceiver group G and server 130. The signal transceiver group G corresponds to the base station 110 and includes a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120. The fixed signal transceivers 120 in the signal transceiver group G can send signals to the corresponding base station 110 and receive signals from the corresponding base station 110.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the number of base stations 110 is, for example, three, such as the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113, but there may be more than three. Each base station 110 has a corresponding signal transceiver group G. For example, the first base station 111 corresponds to the first signal transceiver group G1, and the second base station 112 corresponds to the second signal transceiver group G2. The third base station 113 corresponds to the third signal transceiver group G3. Each of the signal transceiver groups G1, G2, and G3 includes a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120. The fixed signal transceivers 120 in the first signal transceiver group G1 can send signals to the corresponding first base station 111 and receive signals from the corresponding first base station 111; the second signal transceiver group G2 Each fixed signal transceiver 120 can send a signal to the corresponding second base station 112 and receive signals from the corresponding second base station 112; each fixed signal transceiver 120 in the third signal transceiver group G3 can The signal is sent to the corresponding third base station 113, and the signal is received from the corresponding third base station 113.

In one embodiment, each fixed signal transceiver 120 has a corresponding transceiver name and transceiver location information. The transmit signal of each fixed signal transceiver 120 may include its own transceiver name and/or transceiver location information. The transceiver name and transceiver location information of each fixed signal transceiver 120 are different, and the transceiver location information is, for example, a latitude and longitude coordinate.

In an embodiment, the fixed signal transceiver 120 can be configured on any fixed object, such as a street light, a utility pole, a transformer box, a building, a traffic sign, and the like. In addition, the server 130 may be disposed on one of the base stations 110, or may be disposed on the same device as the fixed signal transceiver 120. Alternatively, the server 130, the base station 110, and the fixed signal transceiver 120 may be configured. The configuration may be separate; or the server 130 may be configured within or outside the positioning range R1. This positioning range R1 is a range in which the positioning system 100 can position the tracked object P1. The server 130 can receive the transmission signal of the base station 110, and can instruct the base station 110 to detect the tracked object P1. Further, the tracked object P1 is, for example, a wearable device provided with a signal transmitter, a vehicle, a transportation vehicle, an item managed by a logistic, or the like.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a flow chart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the invention. In step S110, the server 130 commands the base station 110 to detect the tracked object P1 to confirm whether the tracked object P1 appears in the positioning range R1. Next, in step S120, when it is confirmed that the tracked object P1 appears in the positioning range R1, the server 130 obtains the first positioning position of the tracked object P1 based on the first back information. Next, in step S130, the server 130 selects a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120 according to the first positioning position. In step S140, the server 130 commands the selected fixed signal transceivers 120 to detect the tracked object P1, and obtains a second positioning position of the tracked object P1 according to the second backhaul information. In an embodiment, the server 130 commands the selected fixed signal transceivers 120 to detect the tracked object P1 through the base stations 110 corresponding to the selected fixed signal transceivers 120.

In an embodiment, the first positioning position of the tracked object P1 is directly detected by the base station 110 (steps S110 and S120), and the second positioning position of the tracked object P1 is detected by the fixed signal transceiver 120 ( Steps S130 and S140). The following is further exemplified.

In step S110, as shown in FIG. 1A, the server 130 can command a plurality of base stations 110, such as the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113 to detect the tracked object P1. When the tracked object P1 enters the positioning range R1, the base station 110 can detect the tracked object P1. As described above, the positioning range R1 is a range in which the positioning system 100 can locate the tracked object P1. For example, the positioning system 100 can be accessed through the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113. The range in which the tracker P1 performs positioning. In an embodiment, the base station 110 can continuously detect whether the tracked object P1 enters the positioning range R1; when the tracked object P1 enters the positioning range R1, the base station 110 automatically reports that the tracked object P1 has been detected. Server 130. In another embodiment, after the server 130 searches the base station 110 for the tracked object P1, the base station 110 starts detecting whether the tracked object P1 enters the positioning range R1. In addition, the server 130 can command the base station 110 to search for the tracked object P1 according to a handheld device (not shown), such as a smart phone application (APP) search command.

In step S120, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113 track the tracked object P1 entering the positioning range R1, the first base station 111, two base stations 112 and 113 the third base station backhaul information T _x1 of the first return to the server, the server 130 calculates a first localization position P1 of the object to be tracked according to a first P _x1 return information T _x1. The first backhaul information T _{x1 is,} for example, the time when the base station detects the tracked object P1. For example, the first backhaul information T _x1 returned by the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113 to the server 130 is the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base, respectively. The time of each of the stations 113 detecting the tracked object P1 is not exactly the same.

Further, in an embodiment, the tracked object P1 may be previously registered in the positioning system 100 so that the base station 110 recognizes the tracked object P1 based on the registered identity. In an embodiment, the server 130 may utilize the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) technique to locate the location of the tracked object P1. Therefore, after the server 130 receives the first backhaul information T _x1 that is sent back to the server by the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113, the first base station 111 is received. the second base station 112 and the third base station 113 detects each time after being tracked matter P1, the server 130 can be calculated in accordance with a first return information T _x1 first localization position P1 of the object to be tracked P _x1. In general, with the number of base stations 110 being three, the error of positioning the tracked objects P1 by the three base stations 110 is substantially 300 meters or more. The more the number of base stations 110, the smaller the error of the position of the tracked object P1, but the higher the construction cost of the base station 110. The positioning method proposed by the embodiment of the present invention can effectively reduce the positioning error through several fixed signal transceivers 120 in the subsequent steps.

In step S130, as shown in FIG. 1B, the server 130 selects a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120 according to the first positioning position _Px1 . For example, the server 130 selects a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120, such as fixed signal transceivers 121, 122, and 123, adjacent to the first positioning position P _x1 to request the fixed signal transceivers to detect the tracked objects. P1. The fixed signal transceivers 121, 122, and 123 may be the fixed signal transceivers closest to the first positioning position P _x1 , but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

When the server 130 calculates the coordinates of the tracked object P1 according to the signal of the fixed number of fixed signal transceivers 120, the positioning error of the tracked object P1 can be smaller.

In one embodiment, the fixed signal transceiver 120 is, for example, a low power wireless transceiver, the tracked object P1 includes a low power wireless transmitter, and the base station 110 includes a low power wireless transceiver. The stationary signal transceiver 120, the tracked object P1, and the base station 110 transmit and/or receive signals through a low-power wireless technology. In an embodiment, the low power wireless technology is, for example, a wireless technology such as LoRa, Zigbee, Sub1G, or Z-wave. In one embodiment, the fixed signal transceiver 120 is, for example, a LoRa transceiver and the tracked object P1 can include a LoRa transmitter that transmits signals using LoRa wireless technology. The base station 110 can include a LoRa transceiver to receive and transmit LoRa signals to the fixed signal transceiver 120. Compared with the disadvantages of the conventional 4G wireless technology and the high power consumption of the GPS wireless technology, the LoRa wireless technology has the advantages of low power consumption. Due to the low power consumption characteristics of the LoRa wireless technology, the tracked object P1 can continuously transmit signals for a long time, so that the fixed signal transceivers 121~123 can continuously receive the transmission signal of the tracked object P1, and the fixed signal transceiver 121~123 can also send signals to the base station 110 for a long time.

In step S140, as shown in FIG. 1B, the server 130 requests the selected fixed signal transceivers 121 through the first base stations 111 corresponding to the selected fixed signal transceivers 121-123. 123 to detect the tracked object P1. The fixed signal transceivers 121-123 return the second backhaul information T _x2 to the first base station 111, wherein the second backhaul information T _x2 includes the location information of the transmitted signal of the tracked object P1 and the name of the tracked object and the fixed The transceiver name of the signal transceivers 121~123 and the transceiver location information. According to a second server 130 and then return information T _x2 is the triangulation technique using, for example, to calculate a second localization position is tracked matter P1 P _x2. Through the secondary positioning of the fixed signal transceiver 120 of the embodiment of the present invention, the positioning error of the second positioning position P _x2 of the tracked object P1 can be reduced to 3 meters.

The positioning information of the transmitted signal of the tracked object P1 includes the signal strength and/or time, wherein the signal strength is, for example, a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and/or a signal-to-noise ratio (Signal-to-noise). Ratio, SNR). The positioning information of the transmitted signal of the tracked object P1 received by each fixed signal transceiver 120 may be different. For example, depending on the distance from the tracked object P1, the signal strength of the tracked object P1 received by each of the fixed signal transceivers 121-123 and/or the time of receiving the signal are not completely the same. For example, the positioning information in the second backhaul information T _x2 transmitted back to the first base station 111 by the fixed signal transceivers 121~123 is respectively the fixed signal transceivers 121~123 receiving the transmission signal of the tracked object P1. The signal strength and/or reception time are not exactly the same.

In another embodiment, the base station 110 can detect the first positioning position of the tracked object P1 through the fixed signal transceiver 120 (step S110 and S120), and detecting the second positioning position of the tracked object P1 through the fixed signal transceiver 120 (steps S130 and S140). The following is further exemplified.

In step S110, as shown in FIG. 3, a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. When the server 130 commands a plurality of base stations 110, such as the first base station 111, the second base station 112, and the third base station 113 to detect the tracked object P1, the base station 110 further commands the corresponding signal transceiver group G. A plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120 are used to detect the tracked object P1. For example, the first base station 111 instructs the corresponding signal transceiver group G1 and the second base station 112 to command the corresponding signal transceiver group G2 and the third base station 113 to command the fixed signal transceiver group G3. The signal transceiver 120 detects the tracked object P1. When any of the fixed signal transceivers 120 detects the tracked object P1, the first backhaul information T _{x1 is} returned to the corresponding base station 110, wherein the first backhaul information T _{x1 is,} for example, a fixed type. The transceiver name and transceiver location information of the signal transceiver 120 itself and the tracked object name of the tracked object P1. In other embodiments, the positioning system 100 can be designed to only transmit the first backhaul information T _x1 to the corresponding base station 110 by detecting the fixed signal transceiver 120 of the tracked object P1. A return message T _x1 can omit the tracked object name of the tracked object P1.

Then, in step S120, the server 130 according to the first and then return that information T _x1 first localization position P1 of the object to be tracked P _x1. For example, when one of the fixed signal transceivers 120 of the first signal transceiver group G1 detects the tracked object P1, the first backhaul information T _{x1 is} returned to the first base station 111, because the first back pass The information T _x1 includes the transceiver location information of the fixed signal transceiver 120 itself, so the server 130 can set the first positioning position P _x1 of the tracked object P1 as the transceiver location information.

Next, in step S130, as shown in FIG. 1B, the server 130 selects a plurality of fixed signal transceivers 120 based on the first positioning position _Px1 . For example, the server 130 selects positioned closest to the first position P _x1 several fixed signal transceiver 120, such as a fixed signal transceiver 121, 122 and 123, fixed to the requirements of such detection signals to the transceiver is tracked P1. The steps S130 and S140 of the embodiment are similar to the steps S130 and S140 of the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In addition, the positioning method of the embodiment of the present invention can also dynamically track the tracked object P1. For example, after obtaining the second positioning position P _x2 , the server 130 may set the obtained second positioning position P _x2 as the new first positioning position P _x1 , and repeat the foregoing steps S130 and S140, according to the new The first positioning position P _x1 reselects the adjacent fixed signal transceiver 120 and then repositions to continue to derive the latest second positioning position P _{x2 of the} tracked object P1. In this way, even if the tracked object P1 is in a moving state, its movement can be continuously grasped by the positioning system 100.

In summary, the embodiment of the present invention uses a plurality of base stations or fixed signal transceivers to perform first positioning on the tracked object, and then receives and is tracked through a plurality of fixed signal transceivers within the range of the tracked object. The object sends a signal for a second, more precise positioning. In this way, the error of the calculated second position of the tracked object can be greatly reduced, and the error can be reduced to within 3 meters. In an embodiment, the fixed signal transceiver is a low power consumption wireless transceiver, which has low power consumption and low cost characteristics, so that the positioning system of the embodiment of the invention has low construction cost. Under the circumstance, the effect of small positioning error can still be obtained. In addition, since the tracked object and the fixed signal transceiver communicate using low-power wireless technology, the tracked object can continuously transmit signals for a long time, so that the surrounding fixed signal transceiver can continuously grasp the movement of the tracked object.

In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

A positioning method is applied to a positioning system, the positioning system includes a plurality of base stations, each of which has a corresponding signal transceiver group, the signal transceiver group includes a plurality of fixed signal transceivers, and the positioning The method includes: instructing the base stations to detect a tracked object, and generating a plurality of first backhaul information, wherein each of the first backhaul information corresponds to a time at which the base station detects the tracked object; Determining, by the first return information, a first positioning position of the tracked object; selecting at least three of the fixed signal transceivers from the fixed signal transceivers according to the first positioning position, wherein the Positioning the selected fixed signal transceiver is adjacent to the first positioning position; and instructing the selected fixed signal transceivers to detect the tracked object and returning according to the fixed signal transceivers A plurality of second backhaul information is obtained, and a second positioning position of the tracked object is obtained, wherein each of the second backhaul information includes a positioning message of a transmitted signal of the tracked object. The positioning method of claim 1, wherein the positioning message of the transmitted signal includes at least one of a signal strength and a time. A positioning method is applied to a positioning system, where the positioning system includes at least one base station, the base station has a corresponding signal transceiver group, and the signal transceiver group includes a plurality of fixed signal transceivers, and the positioning method include: Commanding the fixed signal transceivers in the signal transceiver group corresponding to the base station command to detect a tracked object and generating at least one first backhaul information, wherein the first backhaul information is detected a transceiver name of the fixed signal transceiver of the tracked object and a transceiver location information; according to the first return information, a first positioning position of the tracked object is obtained; according to the first positioning Positioning at least three of the fixed signal transceivers from the fixed signal transceivers, wherein positions of the selected fixed signal transceivers are adjacent to the first positioning position; and commanding the selected ones The fixed signal transceiver detects the tracked object, and according to the plurality of second backhaul information returned by the fixed signal transceivers, a second positioning position of the tracked object is obtained, wherein each of the second positioning positions The return message contains a positioning message of a transmitted signal of the tracked object. The positioning method of claim 3, wherein each of the second backhaul information further includes a tracked object name, a corresponding transceiver name of the fixed signal transceiver itself, and a transceiver location information. The positioning method of claim 3, wherein the positioning message of the transmitted signal includes at least one of a signal strength and a time. The positioning method of claim 3, further comprising: setting the second positioning position as a new first positioning position; Performing the steps of selecting the fixed signal transceivers according to the first positioning position and instructing the selected fixed signal transceivers to detect the tracked objects and returning the numbers according to the fixed signal transceivers The second return information is the step of deriving the second positioning position of the tracked object. The positioning method of claim 3, wherein each of the fixed signal transceiver and the tracked object transmits and/or receives a signal through a low power wireless technology. A positioning system comprising: a server; at least one base station; and at least one signal transceiver group corresponding to the base station and including a plurality of fixed signal transceivers; wherein the server commands the base station to pass The signal transceiver group detects a tracked object and obtains a first location of the tracked object according to the at least one first backhaul information, wherein the first backhaul information detects the tracked object The transceiver name of the fixed signal transceiver itself and a transceiver location information, wherein the server selects at least three of the fixed signal transceivers adjacent to the first positioning position by the fixed signal transceivers Detecting the tracked object, the server, according to the plurality of second backhaul information of the selected fixed signal transceivers, obtaining a second positioning position of the tracked object, wherein each of the second back passes Information containing the tracked object A positioning message that sends a signal. The positioning system of claim 8, wherein the server further sets the second positioning position to a new first positioning position, and again selects adjacent to the new one by the fixed signal transceivers. The plurality of fixed signal transceivers in the first positioning position detect the tracked object, and further obtain the tracked object according to the second back information of the selected fixed signal transceivers. The second positioning position.