US-12618738-B2 - Location of interest altitude and determining calibration points

US12618738B2US 12618738 B2US12618738 B2US 12618738B2US-12618738-B2

Abstract

Described herein are techniques to enable a mobile device to perform multi-source estimation of an altitude for a location. A baseline altitude may be determined at ground level for a location and used to calibrate a barometric pressure sensor on the mobile device. The calibrated barometric pressure sensor can then estimate changes in altitude relative to ground level based on detected pressure differentials, allowing a relative altitude to ground to be determined. Baseline calibration for the barometric sensor calibration can be performed to determine an ambient ground-level barometric pressure.

Inventors

Lei Wang
Alexandru Popovici
Christina Selle
Aditya Narain SRIVASTAVA
Richard Warren
Michael P. Dal Santo
Pejman Lotfali Kazemi
William J. Bencze
Kumar Gaurav Chhokra
Fatemeh Ghafoori
Stephen P. Jackson
Cheng Jia
YI-WEN LIAO
Glenn D. MacGougan
Isaac T. Miller

Assignees

APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240722

Claims (18)

1 . An electronic device comprising: one or more memory devices to store instructions; and one or more processors to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions are associated with an operating system executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device and the instructions cause the one or more processors to: determine a baseline barometric pressure in response to at least one detected calibration signal, the at least one detected calibration signal associated with an event that is indicative of a probability that the electronic device is outdoors and at ground level; determine, by a location subsystem of the operating system, first geographic coordinates for a first location; determine, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the first location; determine, via the location subsystem, second geographic coordinates for a second location; determine, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the second location, wherein to determine the altitude estimate for the first location and the second location comprises a comparison of a barometric pressure at a location with the baseline barometric pressure; disambiguate the first location from the second location based on altitude estimates for the first location and the second location in response to an observed location history of the first location and the second location; and store the first location and the second location as separate locations within a location database of the location subsystem, the location database stored in the one or more memory devices.
2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the event comprises detection of an exit from a location that the electronic device dwelled for a period of time.
3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises ambient light sensor data.
4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises at least one of Wi-fi access point data or wireless connection data.
5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the event comprises work-out detection.
6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the event comprises detection of engagement of a do not disturb setting.
7 . A method comprising: on a mobile device having one or more processors to execute instructions associated with an operating system on the mobile device: determining a baseline barometric pressure in response to at least one detected calibration signal, the at least one detected calibration signal associated with an event that is indicative of a probability that the mobile device is outdoors and at ground level; determining, by a location subsystem of the operating system, first geographic coordinates for a first location; determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the first location; determining, via the location subsystem, second geographic coordinates for a second location; determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the second location, wherein to determine the altitude estimate for the first location and the second location comprises a comparison of a barometric pressure at a location with the baseline barometric pressure; disambiguating the first location from the second location based on altitude estimates for the first location and the second location in response to an observed location history of the first location and the second location; and storing the first location and the second location as separate locations within a location database of the location subsystem, the location database stored in the one or more memory devices.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the event comprises detection of an exit from a location that the mobile device dwelled for period of time.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises ambient light sensor data.
10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises at least one of Wi-fi access point data or wireless connection data.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the event comprises work-out detection.
12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the event comprises detection of engagement of a do not disturb setting.
13 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions to cause one or more processors of an electronic device to perform operations comprising: determining a baseline barometric pressure in response to at least one detected calibration signal, the at least one detected calibration signal associated with an event that is indicative of a probability that the electronic device is outdoors and at ground level; determining, by a location subsystem of the operating system, geographic coordinates for a first location; determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the first location; determining, via the location subsystem, geographic coordinates for a second location; determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the second location, wherein to determine the altitude estimate for the first location and the second location comprises a comparison of a barometric pressure at a location with the baseline barometric pressure; disambiguating the first location from the second location based on altitude estimates for the first location and the second location in response to an observed location history of the first location and the second location; and storing the first location and the second location as separate locations within a location database of the location subsystem, the location database stored in the one or more memory devices.
14 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the event comprises detection of an exit from a location that the electronic device dwelled for a period of time.
15 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises ambient light sensor data.
16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the at least one detected calibration signal comprises at least one of Wi-fi access point data or wireless connection data.
17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the event comprises work-out detection.
18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the event comprises detection of engagement of a do not disturb setting.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/163,180 filed on Jan. 29, 2021, which claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/041,787 filed Jun. 19, 2020, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD Embodiments described herein relate to technique to generate altitude estimates for locations of interest and determining calibration points for a barometric pressure sensor. BACKGROUND INFORMATION An electronic device can include a location services system that provides location-based functionality, such as enabling the electronic device to estimate the location for the device. Location estimation for the device can be performed, for example, via a satellite-based positioning system (e.g., GPS, etc.) or a wireless positioning system that enables location triangulation based on radio signals received from a wireless base station. The location services system can also determine a set of locations that may be locations of interest or significance to a user of the electronic device. Under some circumstances, metadata about a significant location or a location of interest can be determined based on map data or metadata for the geographic area of the location of interest. However, map data or metadata may not provide all of the information about a location, particularly in well developed areas, such as urban environments. SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION Embodiments described herein provide techniques to enable a mobile device to perform multi-source estimation of an altitude for a location. A baseline altitude may be determined at ground level for a location and used to calibrate a barometric pressure sensor on the mobile device. The calibrated barometric pressure sensor can then estimate changes in altitude relative to ground level based on detected pressure differentials, allowing a relative altitude to ground to be determined. Baseline calibration for the barometric sensor calibration can be performed to determine an ambient ground-level barometric pressure. One embodiment provides an electronic device comprising one or more memory devices to store instructions and one or more processors to execute the instructions. The instructions are associated with an operating system executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device. The instructions cause the one or more processors to determine, by a location subsystem of the operating system, geographic coordinates for a first location, determine, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the first location, determine, via the location subsystem, geographic coordinates for a second location, determine, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the second location, and disambiguate the first location from the second location based on altitude estimates for the first location and the second location in response to a determination that the first location and the second location have similar geographic coordinates. The electronic device can then store the first location and the second location as separate locations within a location database of the location subsystem. The location database is stored in the one or more memory devices. One embodiment provides a method comprising, on an mobile device having one or more processors to execute instructions associated with an operating system on the mobile device, determining, via a location subsystem of the operating system of the mobile device, geographic coordinates for a first location, determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the first location, determining, via the location subsystem, geographic coordinates for a second location, determining, via the location subsystem, an altitude estimate for the second location, and disambiguating the first location from the second location based on altitude estimates for the first location and the second location in response to a determination that the first location and the second location have similar geographic coordinates. The method additionally includes storing the first location and the second location as separate locations within a location database of the location subsystem. The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all embodiments in this disclosure. All systems and methods can be practiced from all suitable combinations of the various aspects and embodiments summarized above, and also those disclosed in the Detailed Description below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements, and in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network operating environment for mobile devices; FIG. 2 illustrates multiple relevant locations having similar geographic coordinates; FIG. 3A-3B illustrates a system to determine an altitude estimate for a loc