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US 11,940,294 B2Granted
Altitude determination according to crowd sourced barometric pressure measurements
AssigneesAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., AT&T Mobility II LLC
InventorsSheldon Kent Meredith, Zachary Meredith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a process that formulates an inference that a first group of mobile devices are at ground level, and obtains, for the first group of mobile devices, positions and barometric pressure readings. Ground heights with respect to a common reference height are determined for the first group of mobile devices, and reference barometric pressures are calculated for the first group of mobile devices, at the common reference height according to the barometric pressure readings and the determined ground heights. At least a portion of the reference barometric pressures are combined to obtain a reference barometric pressure. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- determining, by a processing system including a processor, that a plurality of mobile devices is at ground level;
- obtaining, by the processing system for the plurality of mobile devices, positions and barometric pressure readings;
- for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices:
- comparing, by the processing system, a speed of the mobile device to a speed threshold to obtain a comparison result;
- and
- inferring, by the processing system, a mode of transportation according to the comparison result;
- determining, by the processing system for the plurality of mobile devices, ground heights with respect to a common reference height to obtain determined ground heights, wherein for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices, the determined ground height comprises a sum of a ground elevation above the common reference height corresponding to a position of the mobile device and an offset elevation based at least in part on the mode of transportation of the mobile device;
- combining, by the processing system for the plurality of mobile devices, reference barometric pressures at the common reference height according to the barometric pressure readings and the determined ground heights, to obtain a combined reference pressure;
- and
- determining, by the processing system, a height of a target device above a local ground position of the target device, in accordance with a reported barometric pressure at the target device and the combined reference pressure.
7 more elements
A device comprising:
- a processing system including a processor;
- and
- a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
- determining that a plurality of mobile devices is at ground level;
- obtaining, for the plurality of mobile devices, positions and barometric pressure readings;
- for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices:
- comparing a speed of the mobile device to a speed threshold to obtain a comparison result;
- and
- inferring a mode of transportation according to the comparison result;
- determining, for the plurality of mobile devices, ground heights with respect to a common reference height to obtain determined ground heights, wherein for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices, the determined ground height comprises a sum of a ground elevation above the common reference height corresponding to a position of the mobile device and an offset elevation based at least in part on the mode of transportation of the mobile device;
- combining, for the plurality of mobile devices, reference barometric pressures at the common reference height according to the barometric pressure readings and the determined ground heights, to obtain a combined reference pressure;
- and
- determining a height of a target device above a local ground position of the target device in accordance with a reported barometric pressure at the target device and the combined reference pressure.
10 more elements
A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
- determining that a plurality of mobile devices is at ground level;
- obtaining, for the plurality of mobile devices, positions and barometric pressure readings;
- for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices:
- comparing a speed of the mobile device to a speed threshold to obtain a comparison result;
- and
- inferring a mode of transportation according to the comparison result;
- determining, for the plurality of mobile devices, ground heights with respect to a common reference height to obtain determined ground heights, wherein for each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices, the determined ground height comprises a sum of a ground elevation above the common reference height corresponding to a position of the mobile device and an offset elevation based at least in part on the mode of transportation of the mobile device;
- combining, for the plurality of mobile devices, reference barometric pressures at the common reference height according to the barometric pressure readings and the determined ground heights to obtain a combined reference pressure, wherein the combining the reference barometric pressures comprises averaging at least a portion of the reference barometric pressures;
- and
- determining a height of a target device above a local ground position of the target device, in accordance with a reported barometric pressure at the target device and the combined reference pressure.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.