Calibration-free location determination using wireless communication

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with a computer, the computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein, when executed by the computer, the program instructions cause the computer to determine a location of an electronic device in an environment by performing one or more operations comprising:

• receiving received-signal-strength (RSS) values associated with access points in sub-regions of an environment, wherein the RSS values characterize wireless communication between the access points and an electronic device in the environment;
• selecting a subset of the RSS values from a subset of the access points, wherein the subset of the RSS values comprises a largest RSS value associated with a sub-region and at least N RSS values associated with one or more access points in neighboring sub-regions, and wherein N is an integer;
• calculating pairwise distance estimates of a location of the electronic device in the environment based on predefined locations of the subset of the access points, one or more differences of pairs of RSS values in the subset of the RSS values and a predetermined path-loss factor in the environment, wherein a given pair of RSS values comprises a largest RSS value and one of the at least N RSS values;
• and
• determining the location of the electronic device in the environment based on the pairwise distance estimates.

A method for determining a location of an electronic device in an environment, wherein the method comprises:

• by a computer:
• receiving received-signal-strength (RSS) values associated with access points in sub-regions of an environment, wherein the RSS values characterize wireless communication between the access points and an electronic device in the environment;
• selecting a subset of the RSS values from a subset of the access points, wherein the subset of the RSS values comprises a largest RSS value associated with a sub-region and at least N RSS values associated with one or more access points in neighboring sub-regions, wherein N is an integer;
• calculating pairwise distance estimates of a location of the electronic device in the environment based on predefined locations of the subset of the access points, one or more differences of pairs of RSS values in the subset of the RSS values and a predetermined path-loss factor in the environment, wherein a given pair of RSS values comprises a largest RSS value and one of the at least N RSS values;
• and
• determining the location of the electronic device in the environment based on the pairwise distance estimates.

A computer, comprising:

• one or more nodes;
• an interface circuit, coupled to the one or more nodes, configured to communicate with access points via a network;
• a processor coupled to the interface circuit;
• and
• memory, coupled to the processor, that stores program instructions, wherein, when executed by the processor, the program instructions cause the computer to perform one or more operations comprising:
• determining a location of an electronic device in an environment based on pairwise distance estimates that are calculated using predefined locations of access points in the environment, one or more differences of pairs of received-signal-strength (RSS) values from the access points and a predetermined path-loss factor in the environment, wherein the RSS values characterize wireless communication between the access points and the electronic device, and wherein the RSS values in a given pair of RSS values are associated with two different access points.