1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to indoor navigation or location systems for mobile communication devices and, more particularly, to binning venues into categories based, at least in part, on propagation characteristics of such venues for use in or with mobile communication devices.
2. Information
Certain mobile communication devices, such as, for example, location-aware cellular telephones, smart telephones, or the like may assist users in estimating their geographic location by providing suitable or desired navigation or positioning information obtained or gathered from various systems. One such system may include, for example, a satellite positioning system (SPS), such as the Global positioning system (GPS) or other like Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) comprising a number of Earth-orbiting satellites or space vehicles (SVs) capable of transmitting wireless signals to and receiving such signals from one or more suitable wireless transmitters or receivers, terrestrial or otherwise.
In an outdoor environment, certain mobile communication devices may estimate their relative locations based, at least in part, on wireless signals received or acquired from such SVs or, in some instances, terrestrial transmitters (e.g. base stations, access points, location beacons, etc.) via a cellular telephone or other wireless communications networks. Received wireless signals may be processed in some manner by a mobile communication device, and a relative geographical location may be estimated, for example, using one or more applicable position estimation techniques. In some instances, such techniques may include multiple signal-based position estimation, such as trilateration, for example, wherein a mobile communication device may utilize point-to-point distances or ranges measured from such a mobile communication device to one or more wireless transmitters positioned at known fixed locations. Alternatively, a position of a mobile communication device may be estimated using a heat map signature matching technique, for example, in which characteristics of wireless signals or signal signatures received at a mobile communication device are compared with expected signatures of such characteristics stored as heat map values in a database, wherein the individual signal signatures stored in the database are associated with particular locations. By finding a signature in a database that most closely matches characteristics exhibited by wireless signals received at a mobile device, a location associated with a matching signature may be used as an estimated location of a mobile device.