1. A method, comprising:
determining, by a computing device, a plurality of trained Gaussian processes that model signals emitted by a plurality of wireless signal emitters, each Gaussian process of the plurality of trained Gaussian processes based on one or more hyperparameters, wherein the plurality of trained Gaussian processes comprises a first Gaussian process and a second Gaussian process, wherein the first Gaussian process is based on first hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a first wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters, and wherein the second Gaussian process is based on second hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a second wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters;
determining, by the computing device, a set of comparison hyperparameters from the one or more hyperparameters;
determining, by the computing device, a first set of comparison hyperparameter values of the first hyperparameter values and a second set of comparison hyperparameter values of the second hyperparameter values;
determining, by the computing device, whether the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values;
after determining that the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within the one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values, determining by the computing device, that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes;
after determining that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes, determining by the computing device, a representative Gaussian process based on the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process; and
providing an estimated-location output of the computing device based on the representative Gaussian process.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the estimated-location output comprises:
receiving a request related to locating a mobile device;
determining an estimate of the location of the mobile device based on the representative Gaussian process;
generating the estimated-location output comprising the estimate of the location; and
providing the estimated-location output.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
after determining, for an outlying comparison hyperparameter of the set of comparison hyperparameters, that a first outlying comparison hyperparameter value of the first set of comparison hyperparameter values is not within a corresponding threshold outlying comparison hyperparameter value of a second outlying comparison hyperparameter value of the second set of hyperparameter values, determining by the computing device that the first Gaussian process is independent of the second Gaussian process.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining by the computing device the representative Gaussian process comprises:
determining first signal-strength measurements used to train the first Gaussian process;
determining second signal-strength measurements used to train the second Gaussian process, wherein the first signal-strength measurements differ from the second signal-strength measurements; and
training the representative Gaussian process using both the first signal-strength measurements and the second signal-strength measurements.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein providing the estimated-location output comprises:
after training the representative Gaussian process, providing the estimated-location output based on the representative Gaussian process.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more hyperparameters are selected from the group of hyperparameters consisting of: a location hyperparameter, a power-output hyperparameter, a signal-attenuation hyperparameter, and a noise hyperparameter.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the location hyperparameter comprises a latitude hyperparameter and a longitude hyperparameter.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the noise hyperparameter comprises a background-noise hyperparameter and a noise-confidence hyperparameter.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless signal emitter is identified using a first wireless-signal-emitter identifier, wherein the second wireless signal emitter is identified using a second wireless-signal-emitter identifier, wherein the first Gaussian process is associated with the first wireless-signal-emitter identifier, and wherein the second Gaussian process is associated with the second wireless-signal-emitter identifier.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining, by the computing device, the representative Gaussian process comprises:
determining first signal-strength measurements used to train the first Gaussian process;
determining second signal-strength measurements used to train the second Gaussian process, wherein the first signal-strength measurements differ from the second signal-strength measurements;
training the representative Gaussian process using both the first signal-strength measurements and the second signal-strength measurements; and
after training the representative Gaussian process, associating the representative Gaussian process with the first wireless-signal-emitter identifier and the second wireless-signal-emitter identifier.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one wireless-signal-emitter identifier of the first wireless-signal-emitter identifier and the second wireless-signal-emitter identifier comprises a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID).
12. A computing device, comprising:
one or more processors; and
data storage, configured to store at least computer-readable program instructions, wherein the instructions are configured to, upon execution by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
determining a plurality of trained Gaussian processes that model signals emitted by a plurality of wireless signal emitters, each Gaussian process of the plurality of trained Gaussian processes based on one or more hyperparameters, wherein the plurality of trained Gaussian processes comprises a first Gaussian process and a second Gaussian process, wherein the first Gaussian process is based on first hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a first wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters, and wherein the second Gaussian process is based on second hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a second wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters;
determining a set of comparison hyperparameters from the one or more hyperparameters;
determining a first set of comparison hyperparameter values of the first hyperparameter values and a second set of comparison hyperparameter values of the second hyperparameter values;
determining whether the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values;
after determining that the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within the one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values, determining that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes;
after determining that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes, determining a representative Gaussian process based on the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process; and
providing an estimated-location output based on the representative Gaussian process.
13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein providing the estimated-location output comprises:
receiving a request related to locating a mobile device;
determining an estimate of the location of the mobile device based on the representative Gaussian process;
generating the estimated-location output comprising the estimate of the location; and
providing the estimated-location output.
14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the functions further comprise:
after determining, for an outlying comparison hyperparameter of the set of comparison hyperparameters, that the first outlying comparison hyperparameter value of the first hyperparameter values is not within a corresponding threshold outlying comparison hyperparameter value of the second outlying comparison hyperparameter value of the second hyperparameter values, determining that the first Gaussian process is independent of the second Gaussian process.
15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein determining the representative Gaussian process comprises:
determining first signal-strength measurements used to train the first Gaussian process;
determining second signal-strength measurements used to train the second Gaussian process, wherein the first signal-strength measurements differ from the second signal-strength measurements; and
training the representative Gaussian process using both the first signal-strength measurements and the second signal-strength measurements.
16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the one or more hyperparameters are selected from the group of hyperparameters consisting of: a location hyperparameter, a power-output hyperparameter, a signal-attenuation hyperparameter, and a noise hyperparameter.
17. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the first wireless signal emitter is identified using a first wireless-signal-emitter identifier, wherein the second wireless signal emitter is identified using a second wireless-signal-emitter identifier, wherein the first Gaussian process is associated with the first wireless-signal-emitter identifier, and wherein the second Gaussian process is associated with the second wireless-signal-emitter identifier.
18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein determining the representative Gaussian process comprises:
determining first signal-strength measurements used to train the first Gaussian process;
determining second signal-strength measurements used to train the second Gaussian process, wherein the first signal-strength measurements differ from the second signal-strength measurements;
training a merged Gaussian process using both the first signal-strength measurements and the second signal-strength measurements; and
after training the merged Gaussian process, associating the merged Gaussian process with the first wireless-signal-emitter identifier and the second wireless-signal-emitter identifier.
19. An article of manufacture including a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform functions comprising:
determining a plurality of trained Gaussian processes that model signals emitted by a plurality of wireless signal emitters, each Gaussian process of the plurality of trained Gaussian processes based on one or more hyperparameters, wherein the plurality of trained Gaussian processes comprises a first Gaussian process and a second Gaussian process, wherein the first Gaussian process is based on first hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a first wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters, and wherein the second Gaussian process is based on second hyperparameter values of the one or more hyperparameters related to a second wireless signal emitter of the plurality of wireless signal emitters;
determining a set of comparison hyperparameters from the one or more hyperparameters;
determining a first set of comparison hyperparameter values of the first hyperparameter values and a second set of comparison hyperparameter values of the second hyperparameter values;
determining whether the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values;
after determining that the first set of comparison hyperparameter values are within the one or more threshold values of the second set of comparison hyperparameter values, determining that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes;
after determining that the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process are dependent Gaussian processes, determining a representative Gaussian process based on the first Gaussian process and the second Gaussian process; and
providing an estimated-location output based on the representative Gaussian process.
20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein providing the estimated-location output comprises:
receiving a request related to locating a mobile device;
determining an estimate of the location of the mobile device based on the representative Gaussian process;
generating the estimated-location output comprising the estimate of the location; and
providing the estimated-location output.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An RF tag reader and writer comprising:
a communication unit configured to communicate with an RF tag as a target from which information is obtained and obtains the information held in the RF tag; and
a communication stability determination unit configured to determine that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established when the same information is obtained over a predetermined plural number of times from the RF tag communicating with the communication unit.
2. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1,
wherein the communication unit includes:
a response requesting unit configured to send a response request command to the RF tag over a plural number of times;
a response obtaining unit configured to obtain the response sent from the RF tag in accordance with the obtaining of the response request command;
a tag information requesting unit configured to send a tag information request command, which requests the sending of the information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag which sent the response to be obtained, when the response requesting unit obtains the response within a predetermined time after the response requesting unit sent the response request command; and
a tag information obtaining unit configured to obtain the information, which is sent from the RF tag which sent the response in accordance with the obtaining of the tag information request command, and which is held in the RF tag.
3. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 2,
wherein the RF tag reader and writer communicates with the RF tag in a slot ALOHA method, and
wherein the RF tag reader writer further includes a slot number setting unit capable of changing the setting of the slot number in the slot ALOHA method based on a user’s operation input.
4. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1, further comprising:
an output changing unit configured to change a transmission output of radio waves based on output information, which is set in advance, regarding the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication between the communication unit and the RF tag,
wherein the communication stability determination unit determines whether or not stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established every time when the output changing unit changes the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication between the communication unit and the RF tag.
5. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 4, further comprising:
an output setting unit configured to set the transmission output of the radio waves for a writing process to the RF tag from which the information held therein was obtained through the communication with the communication unit, in accordance with a determination result by the communication stability determination unit.
6. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 1, further comprising:
a tag writing unit configured to write data to the RF tag from which the information held therein was obtained, when the communication stability determination unit determines that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established.
7. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 2, further comprising:
a tag writing unit configured to write data to the RF tag from which the information held therein was obtained, when the communication stability determination unit determines that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established; and
an output adjusting unit configured to set the transmission output of the radio waves for the data writing to the RF tag by the tag writing unit to be greater than the transmission output of the radio waves for the response request command by the response requesting unit with respect to the RF tag.
8. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 6,
wherein the communication unit communicates with a writing-completed RF tag, to which data was written, in accordance with the data writing by the tag writing unit and obtains information held in the writing-completed RF tag, and
wherein the RF tag reader and writer further includes a successful writing determination unit which determines that the writing process to the writing-completed RF tag succeeded, when the communication unit obtains the information held in the writing-completed RF tag over a predetermined plural number of times.
9. An RF tag reader and writer comprising:
a communication unit configured to include a response requesting unit configured to send a response request command to the RF tag, a response obtaining unit configured to obtain a response sent from the RF tag in accordance with the obtaining of the response request command, a tag information requesting unit configured to send a tag information request command, which requests the sending of the information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag which sent the response to be obtained, when the response requesting unit obtains the response within a predetermined time after the response requesting unit sent the response request command, and a tag information obtaining unit configured to obtain the information, which is sent from the RF tag which sent the response in accordance with the obtaining of the tag information request command, and which is held in the RF tag, the communication unit communicating with the RF tag in a slot ALOHA method;
a communication stability determination unit configured to determine that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established when the tag information obtaining unit obtains information held in the RF tag from the RF tag which sent the response;
a tag writing unit configured to perform data writing on the RF tag, from which the response and the information held therein were obtained, when the communication stability determination unit determines that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established; and
an output adjusting unit configured to change the transmission output of the radio waves for the data writing by the tag writing unit with respect to the RF tag to be greater than the transmission output of the radio waves for the response request command by the response requesting unit with respect to the RF tag.
10. An RF tag communication stability determination method comprising:
communicating with an RF tag as a target from which information is obtained and thereby obtaining the information held in the RF tag; and
determining that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established when identical information is obtained from the RF tag, with which the communication was made, over a predetermined plural number of times.
11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:
sending a response request command to the RF tag over a plural number of times;
obtaining response sent from the RF tag in accordance with the response request command;
sending a tag information request command, which requests the sending of the information held in the RF tag, to the RF tag which sent the response to be obtained, when the response is obtained within a predetermined time after the sending of the response request command, and
obtaining the information which is sent from the RF tag, which sent the response in accordance with the obtaining of the tag information request command, and which is held in the RF tag.
12. The method according to claim 11,
wherein the communication with the RF tag is performed in a slot ALOHA method, and
wherein the setting of the number of slots in the slot ALOHA method is changed based on a user’s operation input.
13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:
changing a transmission output of a radio waves based on output information, which is set in advance, regarding the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication with the RF tag; and
determining whether or not stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established every time when the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication with the RF tag is changed.
14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:
setting the transmission output of the radio waves for the writing process to the RF tag from which the information held therein was obtained through the communication, in accordance with a determination result.
15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:
performing data writing to the RF tag, from which the information held therein was obtained, when it is determined that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established.
16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:
setting a transmission output of a radio waves for the data writing with respect to the RF tag to be greater than a transmission output of a radio waves for the response request command with respect to the RF tag; and
performing the data writing to the RF tag, from which the information held therein was obtained, when it is determined that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established.
17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:
communicating with a writing-completed RF tag, to which data was written, in accordance with the execution of the data writing and thereby obtaining information held in the writing-completed RF tag, and
determining that the writing process to the writing-completed RF tag succeeded when the information held in the writing-completed RF tag was obtained over a predetermined plural number of times.
18. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 2, further comprising:
an output changing unit configured to change a transmission output of radio waves based on output information, which is set in advance, regarding the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication between the communication unit and the RF tag,
wherein the communication stability determination unit determines whether or not stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established every time when the output changing unit changes the transmission output of the radio waves for the communication between the communication unit and the RF tag.
19. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 2, further comprising:
a tag writing unit configured to write data to the RF tag from which the information held therein was obtained, when the communication stability determination unit determines that stable communication with a specific RF tag is being established.
20. The RF tag reader and writer according to claim 7,
wherein the communication unit communicates with a writing-completed RF tag, to which data was written, in accordance with the data writing by the tag writing unit and obtains information held in the writing-completed RF tag, and
wherein the RF tag reader and writer further includes a successful writing determination unit which determines that the writing process to the writing-completed RF tag succeeded, when the communication unit obtains the information held in the writing-completed RF tag over a predetermined plural number of times.