A method for computing a correction to a compass heading for a portable device worn or carried by a user is described. The method involves determining a heading for the device based on a compass reading, collecting data from one or more sensors, determining if the device is indoors or outdoors based on the collected data, and correcting the heading based on the determination of whether the device is indoors or outdoors.

Techniques are provided for utilizing reference signals transmitted by network stations to determine the orientation of a wireless node. An example method for determining an orientation of a user equipment includes determining a first location associated with the user equipment, determining a second location associated with a first wireless node, receiving, with the user equipment, a radio frequency signal transmitted from the first wireless node, determining two measurements based at least in part on the first location, the second location, and angle of arrival information associated with the radio frequency signal, determining a gravity vector based on inertial measurements obtained with the user equipment, and computing the orientation of the user equipment based at least in part on the gravity vector and the two measurements.

Systems and methods for improved location accuracy are provided. For example, some systems can include a location engine, and a plurality of location anchors. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of location anchors can transmit or receive signals to or from an object for determining an angular orientation of the object with respect to the plurality of location anchors, and based on the angular orientation, the location engine can estimate a location of the object. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of location anchors can transmit first signals to the location engine, the location engine can receive a second signal from an object, based on the first signals and the second signal, the location engine can determine a differential pressure between the plurality of location anchors and the object, and based on the differential pressure, the location engine can estimate an altitude of the object.

Control of an apparatus is provided according to determination of positioning of information pieces with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. In embodiments, an apparatus may include one or more pieces, wherein each piece may be positionable in one or more piece positions of a region and may include a passive RFID tag that stores information relating to a characteristic of the piece. An arrangement of RFID antennas may be positioned proximal to the region, and a RFID reader may provide reads of the pieces near the RFID antennas. One or more processors may determine the piece positions of the one or more pieces from the reads and may provide control of the apparatus according to the one or more pieces and their piece positions.

An antenna apparatus operates as a base station in a wireless network with spatial nulling performed within such apparatus. The apparatus has an antenna assembly employing a selected reception beam pattern. During a nulling test, a reception beam pattern controller causes the assembly to employ each reception beam pattern. Quality metric determination circuitry determines for each reception beam pattern a link quality metric for each of several wireless terminals, based on communication between those wireless terminals and the base station while the assembly employs that reception beam pattern. Reception beam determination circuitry determines, from the various link quality metrics, a reception beam pattern from the reception beam patterns for use for subsequent communication with the wireless terminals. A reception beam pattern can be altered seeking to reduce interference source effects and to maintain an appropriate level of link quality regarding each wireless terminal communicating with the base station.

Provided is an agricultural remote sensing system. Remote sensors, a POS sensor and a data synchronization device are carried on an unmanned aerial vehicle, so that images conforming to the requirement of spatial resolution can be acquired by controlling the flight altitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and geometric splicing is conducted on the images according to position information recorded by the POS sensor, so as to obtain an agricultural remote sensing image in a relatively large area. At the same time, a plurality of remote sensors of different types can be simultaneously carried on a platform of the unmanned aerial vehicle, so that various pieces of image information of different types can be acquired once. On the other hand, in the present invention, after a collection trigger signal is received, the plurality of remote sensors execute the collection of the remote sensing image once, so that the remote sensors can be prevented from always being in an operating state, thereby reducing the power consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

A method and system detect directionality between two objects by measuring angles of signals incident on antenna arrays on at least one side to determine angle of incidence. The methods utilize Bluetooth Low Energy communications for both the control protocol and for providing updated information for deriving directionality. Directionality information is broadcast on selected BLE advertising or data channels, or broadcast using a hopping pattern over the BLE data channels, both at a specific interval duty cycle. If a hopping pattern is selected to transmit directionality information, then anchor information is simultaneously broadcast on the BLE advertising or data channels at a different, asynchronous duty cycle. In additional embodiments, signals incident on antenna arrays located on both target and tracking sides are used to determine angle of incidence, separate antennas are combined to form new antennas and antenna models are used to anticipate known antenna structure responses.

A method, device, system and use for determining a distance, location and/or orientation including the at least relative determination of a position of at least one object using at least two active anchors. A first signal is emitted by a first of the two anchors and is received at the object and by a second of said two anchors. A phase measurement is performed at said second anchor and wherein a distance determination with respect to said first anchor is performed and/or the distance from said first anchor to said second anchor is known. A second, particularly electromagnetic, signal is emitted from said second anchor, and information on phase measurement and distance between said first and second anchors is made available to a computation unit and at least one phase measurement respectively of said first and second signal is performed at said object and made available to said computation unit.

A user equipment (UE) device pointed at an appliance to be controlled, or at an object that is to be accessed or about which information needs to retrieved, determines its position and orientation within an environment with respect to a fixed frame of reference. The appliance to be controlled is identified based on a determined position and orientation of the UE device and a known position of the appliance. The UE device controls the identified appliance by establishing a wireless communication link between the identified appliance and UE device based on a wireless technology that is compliant with both the appliance and the UE device. The UE device may control another appliance via a central control computer server to which the other appliance is interfaced, when the other appliance is not configured for wireless communication.

The present invention is a method for dynamically determining attitude of a mobile platform via a system implemented on-board the platform. The method includes providing initialization data for the platform from a memory of the system to a processor of the system, the initialization data including platform position platform velocity data, and platform heading for a first point in time. The method includes receiving RF signals via an antenna array of the system at a second point in time subsequent to the first point in time. The method includes providing RF inputs including the received signals from the antenna array to a receiving unit of the system, and then from the receiving unit to a processor of the system. The processor then processes the signals and, based on the processed signals and initialization data, determines an attitude of the platform, the attitude corresponding to the second point in time.