WO2006123274A2

WO2006123274A2 - Apparatus and method for providing a guide directing to a desired position

Info

Publication number: WO2006123274A2
Application number: PCT/IB2006/051462
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xin Chen; Yongqin Zeng; Feng Li
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2005-05-17
Filing date: 2006-05-10
Publication date: 2006-11-23
Also published as: WO2006123274A3

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing guide directing to a target position. The method for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising the steps of: acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information. The method and apparatus in the present invention takes full advantage of the processing capability of the processor and the storage means on the user equipment, to provide a guide recommendation to a target position easily when the user needs orientation guide, and can reduce costs for infrastructures in large public facilities as well.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A GUIDE DIRECTING TO A

DESIRED POSITION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a method, apparatus and system for providing users with position information, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus and system for providing users with a guide directing to a desired position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It's often difficult for people to find a given position in large public facilities. For example, finding a seat in large public facilities such as stadiums, convention centers, or concert halls, finding the position of a given work in a large museum or art gallery, finding the office of a given person in the office building of a large organization and so on.

Taking as an example to find a seat in large public facilities such as stadiums, convention centers, concert halls and so on, the audience may find their seats by comparing the seat number on the ticket purchased beforehand with that on the seat. If a public facility occupies a large space and there are a lot of seats, it's difficult for the audience to find their seats very soon. Meanwhile, sometimes it's even difficult for the audience to find their right seats under the influence of various factors like the visibility of a large public facility, the position of the seat number on the seat, the eyesight range of the audience and so on, which even will lead to traffic jam in the pedestrian paths in the large public facility.

Among prior arts, a method and system for guiding a seat with a Bluetooth device is disclosed in Korea patent application Publication No. KR2003036400, filed by bizmodeline Inc. and invented by HONG JC. A Bluetooth ticket distribution server acquires position information of a user's Bluetooth device via the Bluetooth access points installed at multiple special positions in a showplace, computes the way between the position information of the user's Bluetooth device and the user's target position information to get a seat guide recommendation, and sends the guide recommendation to the user's Bluetooth device. In this technique, a LAN following Bluetooth communication protocols has to be established and the Bluetooth ticket distribution server generates a seat guide recommendation and sends it to the user's Bluetooth device. This technique occupies some spectral resources, yet with low reliability and high cost. Japanese patent application Publication No. JP2003067787 filed by SONY CORP. and invented by KONYA SATOSHI discloses a guide system for transmitting seat identification information of a ticket when a contactless inductive apparatus receives a request electromagnetic wave from a guiding apparatus. This patent application provides a highly reliable technique without occupying some spectral resources. Information about the target position is stored in the contactless inductive apparatus that transmits the target position information of a ticket on receipt of a request electromagnetic wave from the guiding apparatus. The guiding apparatus computes a seat guide recommendation according to the current seat of the guiding apparatus, the target position of the ticket and an e-map. However, several guiding apparatuses need to be arranged in a large public facility, thus the cost is high. Furthermore, if several users employ the guiding apparatuses at the same time, congestion is prone to occur which may bring inconvenience to users.

It is, therefore, necessary to provide a new method, apparatus and system for providing users with a guide for a target position, which may bring more convenience to users while reduce cost for infrastructures in large public facilities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for providing guide directing to a target position. The method for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising the steps of: acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.

In an embodiment of the present invention, said identifier is a wireless tag. The wireless tag may be a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or a near field communication (NFC) tag. Said acquiring step further may acquire said e-map from said wireless tag.

Preferably, an embodiment of the present invention further comprises: presenting the guide recommendation. The present invention further provides an apparatus for providing a guide directing to a target position, comprising: acquiring means for acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and generating means for generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.

In an embodiment of the present invention, said identifier is a wireless tag. Said acquiring means is also arranged to acquire said e-map from said wireless tag. Preferably, an embodiment of the present invention further comprises a storage means, for storing target position information. The storage means may also be used for storing the e-map.

The present invention further provides a system for providing a guide directing to a target position, comprising: a plurality of wireless tags, wherein each wireless tag stores its current position information; and an apparatus for providing a guide directing to a target position comprising an acquiring means and generating means, wherein said acquiring means is used to acquire current position information which is from a wireless tag and said generating means is used to generate a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.

By placing on several given positions in a large public facility wireless tags for identifying the given positions, the present invention acquires the current position information of the given position, and generates a guide recommendation according to the current position information, target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information. The present invention takes full advantage of the processing capability of the processor and the storage means on the user equipment, to provide a guide recommendation directing to a target position easily when the user needs guide, and can reduce costs for infrastructures in large public facilities as well. Other objects and attainments together with a fuller understanding of the invention will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following descriptions and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention and the related advantages may get further explanation with reference to exemplary embodiments and accompanying figures, in which:

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.2 illustrates a user interface for providing a guide pointing a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.3 is a diagram showing an apparatus for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.4 is a block diagram showing the system for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout all the above drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like, similar or corresponding features or functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment acquires the current position information of a user in a large stadium, for example, using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technique. RFID is a contactless automatic identification technique, which identifies a target object and acquires the related data by RF signals automatically without human intervention and works well in various environments.

A RFID system usually comprises three parts: a RFID tag, a reader and an antenna. A RFID tag is composed of coupled devices and chips. Every tag has a unique electronic code and is attached on an object to identify the object. A RFID tag can store data information about the object (about Ik bits). In an automatic identification management system, each RFID tag keeps information about an object, such as property, state, number and etc. A reader is an apparatus for reading (sometimes writing) tag information. Its main function is to read data information stored currently in an RFID tag, write data information to be stored into an empty RFID tag and modify (rewrite) data information in the RFID tag.

An antenna is operable to transfer RF signals between the tag and the reader. RFID technique operates as follows: when a reader approaches an object having a

RFID tag within a range of 0~10m, the RFID tag installed on the surface of the object receives a query signal from the reader and synthesizes this signal with the data information in the tag and reflects it back to a RFID reading means. In the RF synthesized signal reflected back to the RFID reading means, there exists data information stored in the RFID tag. After the reader receives the RF synthesized signal reflected from the RFID tag, a microprocessor within the reader processes the signal and then information such as the ID code stored in the RFID tag can be separated and read out.

Firstly, send a RF query signals to a RFID tag (step SIlO).

In this embodiment, a RFID tag is attached on each seat in a large stadium, the RFID tag storing the seat number of the seat, i.e. the current position information of each seat. When a user needs to acquire the current position information, his/her personal device such as mobile phone, PDA and the like equipped with a RFID reader approaches a place attached with RFID tag, then the RFID reader will transmit a RF query signal to the RFID tag through the antenna operating at a certain frequency.

The operating frequency of a RFID reader can be roughly divided into three ranges: LF (30 kHz - 300 kHz), HF (3 MHz - 30 MHz) and UHF (300 MHz - 3 GHz). Usually, the operating frequency may be LF 125 kHz and 134.2 kHz, and HF 13.56 kHz and etc.

RFID tags can be classified into passive tags and active tags. An active tag itself is equipped with battery power. Compared with a passive tag, the active tag has longer reading distance, its size is bulkier and it costs more. A passive tag obtains the energy required in operation from the magnetic field produced by the reader. It has very low cost and a long life span. The passive tag is smaller and lighter than the active tag, and has a longer reading distance.

Since the passive tag has lower cost and smaller size, it can save cost and be downsized to store the current position information in a passive RFID tag.

The second step: receive a RF reply signal from the RFID tag (step S 120). Specifically, the receiving step may comprise the steps of: receiving a RF reply signal reflected or dispersed backward from the RFID tag, demodulating the RF reply signal; filtering and amplifying the demodulated RF reply signal.

The third step: determine whether the current position information exists in the RF reply signal (step S 130). It's to be determined whether the current position information exists in the RF reply signal received from the RFID tag. The current position information indicates a seat number in the large stadium, for example, Block A, Row 3, Seat 52.

The fourth step: extract the current position information from the RF reply signal (step S 140).

If the current position information exists in the RF reply signal, extract the current position information, i.e. Block A, Row 3, Seat 52, from the RF reply signal.

The fifth step: generate a guide recommendation (step S 150).

A recommendation for guide is generated according to the current position information, target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target information. The target position information and the e-map including the current position information and the target information can be acquired beforehand and stored in the storage means of the user's personal device. For example, the user purchases an e-ticket for the large stadium and stores the e-ticket into his mobile phone. The e-ticket includes a seat number, for example, Block C, Row 20, Seat 31, and an e-map for all seat information in the stadium. The e-map may be a plan view that includes the seat numbers of all seats in the stadium.

A calculation is made of the optimal way from the current position, Block A, Row 3, Seat 52 to the target position, Block C, Row 20, Seat 31, to generate a guide recommendation. Existing electronic navigation algorithms can be applied to implement the calculation process for obtaining an orientation guide according to the current position information, the target position information and the e-map, for example, by using the navigation calculation method in a GPS car navigation system.

The guide recommendation may be an arrow mark including the current position and the target position on the e-map. Alternatively, the guide recommendation may be a literal prompt, for example, "Go forward 3 meters to the first crossroad and turn left, then go forward 15 meters to the second crossroad and turn left, and the target position Block C, Row 20, Seat 31 is the third seat in the last row but two on the right". Since the presentation of voice prompt is very nice for eyesight-impaired or blind users, the guide recommendation may also be a voice prompt equivalent to the above content. In the last, present the guide recommendation (step S 160).

If the guide recommendation is an arrow mark including the current position and the target position on the e-map or a literal prompt, the display means of the personal device can be used to display the above orientation guide. If the orientation guide is a voice prompt, a personal device can be used to play the voice prompt.

Another implementation of the embodiment is to save the current position information of each seat and an e-map including position information of each seat in the stadium into the RFID tag. In this way, step S 130 in this embodiment is to judge whether the current position information and the e-map exist in the RF reply signal. If it is judged that the current position information and the e-map exist in the RF reply signal, the current position information and the e-map are extracted from the RF reply signal (step S 140). A guide recommendation is generated according to the current position information, the e-map and target position information (step S 150). In this implementation, the target position information can be obtained by the user beforehand and stored in the storage means of the user's personal device, or inputted by the user manually.

In this embodiment, the current position may be obtained by applying NFC (Near Field Communication) technique. NFC technique is evolved from RFID technique, with operating frequency at 13.56 MHz and enabling data communication up to lMbps@20cm. NFC is compatible with the widely applied contactless IC card based on ISO 14443A standard, such as Phillips' MIFARE card and Sony's FeIiCa card. The current position information is stored in a NFC tag or a contactless IC card based on ISO 14443A standard, and the current position information can be obtained by reading the data in the NFC tag or the contactless IC card based on ISO 14443A standard.

Fig.2 illustrates a user interface for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention. This interface indicates the guide from the current position Block A, Row 3, Seat 52 to the target position Block C, Row 20, Seat 31 in the large stadium and is displayed on the display means of the personal device.

The first part in the interface is the e-map including the arrow mark from the current position Block A, Row 3, Seat 52 to the target position Block C, Row 20, Seat 31. The second part in the interface is a literal prompt, for example, "Go forward 3 meters to the first crossroad and turn left, then go forward 15 meters to the second crossroad and turn left, the target position Block C, Row 20, Seat 31 is the third seat in the last row but two on the right".

Fig.3 is a diagram showing an apparatus 300 for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention. The guiding apparatus 300 is a part of a personal device, such as mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

The apparatus 300 for providing a guide directing to a target position comprises an acquiring unit 310 and a generating unit 320. The apparatus 300 for providing a guide directing to a target position further comprises a storage unit 330 and a presenting unit 340.

The acquiring unit 310 is operable to acquire the current position information originating from a RFID tag. In this embodiment, a RFID tag is attached on each seat in the large stadium. The current position information for each seat is stored in the RFID tag and a signal coded with the current position information is transmitted in response to a query signal. A RFID tag may be an active tag or a passive tag.

KDDI, the second largest mobile operator in Japan, has developed a mobile phone that can connect with a RFID tag reader. The RFID tag reader is inserted in the mounting part on the back of a mobile phone for use, and it may provide readers with communication frequency at 2.45 GHz and 300 MHz. A reader with frequency at 2.45 GHz may read passive tag data while a reader with frequency at 300 MHz can read active tag data.

The acquiring unit 310 comprises a sending unit 312, a receiving unit 314 and an extracting unit 316.

The sending unit 312 is operable to send a RF signal to a RFID tag. The sending unit

312 may comprise an antenna and a RF transceiver. The RF transceiver is the RF energy source. It generates RF signals, provides RF energy to activate and support the operation of passive RFID tags. The RF signals generated from the RF transceiver are transmitted via the antenna.

The receiving unit 314 is operable to receive a RF reply from the RFID tag. The receiving unit 314 is composed of an antenna and a RF transceiver. The RF transceiver controls and demodulates the RF response signals received at the antenna, and filters and amplifies the tag signals reflected or dispersed backward from the RFID tag.

The extracting unit 316 is operable to extract the current position information from the reply from the RFID tag. The extracting unit 316 extracts the current position information from the reply received by the receiving unit 314 from the RFID tag and transfers it to the generating unit 320 for processing.

In this embodiment, the RFID tag may also be an NFC tag. In this case, the acquiring unit 310 is a NFC module in a personal terminal.

The wireless tag in the present invention may be an identifier capable of identifying a piece of position information and being acquired within a near field. An example of the identifier is a seat number sprayed on the seat, which can be read by an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) apparatus. Another example of the identifier is a barcode corresponding to the seat number of the seat, which can be acquired by an optical scanning apparatus. In this case, the acquiring unit 310 in the apparatus 300 may be an optical scan/recognition means.

The storage unit 330 is operable to store target position information. The storage unit 330 may also be used to store an e-map including all position information in the stadium. The target position information and the e-map including the current position information and the target information may be obtained beforehand and stored in the storage unit of the user's personal device. For example, the user purchased and downloaded an e-ticket for a game event on a given day in a large stadium and the e-ticket includes a seat number, i.e. the target position information and an e-map including all seats in the stadium. The seat number and the e-map are stored in the storage unit 330 of the user's personal device. The generating unit 320 generates a guide recommendation based on the current position information, the target position information and the e-map. A calculation is made of the optimal route from the current position to the target position according to the current position information from the acquiring unit 310 and the target position information and the e-map from the storage unit 330, to generate a guide recommendation. The presenting unit 340 is operable to present the orientation guide recommendation.

The presenting unit 340 may be a display unit in a personal device or a voice playback means.

Another implementation of the orientation guiding apparatus 300 in this embodiment is to store in a RFID tag the current position information of each seat and an e-map including the position information of each position in the stadium.

In this implementation, the acquiring unit 310 is operable to acquire the current position information and the e-map from a RFID tag, the storage unit 330 is operable to store the target position information and the generating unit 320 is operable to generate a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and the e-map. The target position information may be inputted by an input unit (not shown) and then provided to the generating unit 320.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a system for providing a guide directing to a target position according to an embodiment of the present invention. A system 400 for providing a guide directing to a target position according to the present invention comprises a plurality of wireless tags 100 and an orientation guiding apparatus 300.

A wireless tag 100 stores the current position information of the wireless tag and transmits a signal coded with the current position information in response to a query signal.

The wireless tag 100 may be a RFID tag or a NFC tag.

The wireless tag 100 may be attached on each position in need of providing a guide directing to a target position, such as each seat in a large stadium, or on some special positions in need of providing a guide directing to a target position, such as the seats on the two sides of the pedestrian paths in a large stadium.

The orientation guiding apparatus 300 is operable to acquire a guide recommendation.

The orientation guiding apparatus 300 comprises an acquiring unit 310, for acquiring a piece of current position information which originates from a wireless tag, and a generating unit 320, for generating a guide recommendation based on the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information. The orientation guiding apparatus 300 further comprises a storage unit 330 and a presenting unit 340. The storage unit 330 is operable to store target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information. The presenting unit 340 is operable to present the orientation guide recommendation.

In another implementation of the system 400 for providing a guide directing to a target position according to the present invention, the system 400 for providing a guide directing to a target position comprises a plurality of wireless tags 100 and an orientation guiding apparatus 300. Each wireless tag 100 stores the current position information of the wireless tag and an e-map. The orientation guiding apparatus 300 is operable to acquire a guide recommendation. In the orientation guiding apparatus 300, an acquiring unit 310 is operable to acquire the current position information and the e-map from the wireless tag, a storage unit 330 is operable to store target position information, and a generating unit 320 is operable to generate a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and the e-map.

While the above descriptions are given to the present invention in conjunction with specific embodiments, it's obvious to those skilled in the art that various substitutions, improvements and modifications can be made to the above descriptions without departing from the basis of the present invention, the scope of which is to be defined by the attached claims herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising the steps of: (a) acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and

(b) generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier is a tag.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier is a wireless tag.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said wireless tag is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein said wireless tag is a near field communication (NFC) tag.

6. The method according to claim 3, 4, or 5, wherein said acquiring step is also arranged for acquiring the e-map.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of:

(c) presenting the guide recommendation.

8. An apparatus for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising: acquiring means for acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and generating means for generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the identifier is a tag.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the identifier is a wireless tag.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said wireless tag is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said wireless tag is a near field communication (NFC) tag.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, 11, or 12, wherein said acquiring means is also arranged for acquiring the e-map.

14. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: storage means for storing target position information.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said acquiring means is also arranged for storing the e-map.

16. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: presenting means for presenting the guide recommendation.

17. A system for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising: a plurality of wireless tags, wherein each wireless tag stores its current position information; and an apparatus for providing guide directing to a target position, comprising: acquiring means for acquiring current position information which is from an identifier; and generating means for generating a guide recommendation according to the current position information, the target position information and an e-map including the current position information and the target position information.