Cooperative localization of portable electronic devices

A method of cooperative localization of a portable electronic device, the method comprising: receiving at a server a plurality of location identification messages comprising inertial navigation locations determined from previously known GPS locations each providing a known location information of a respective portable electronic device and an associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter identification (ID) of the respective portable electronic device; storing the received location information and associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs at the server; receiving at the server a location request message providing one or more Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs of portable electronic devices in communication range with a query portable electronic device and a Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter ID of the query portable electronic device; retrieving location information from the stored location information associated with the one or more Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs received in the location request message; estimating a location of the query portable electronic device based on the retrieved location information; storing, at the server, the estimated location of the query portable electronic device with the associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter ID; transmitting the estimated location to the query portable electronic device; and upon receiving the location estimation, the query portable electronic device uses an inertial navigation system to extend the location estimate until an error threshold is reached.

A computing device for estimating a location of a portable electronic device, the computing device comprising: a processor for executing instructions; and a memory for storing instructions, the instructions when executed by the processor configuring the computing device to perform: receiving at a server a plurality of location identification messages comprising inertial navigation locations determined from previously known GPS locations each providing a known location information of a respective portable electronic device and an associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter identification (ID) of the respective portable electronic device; storing the received location information and associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs at the server; receiving at the server a location request message providing one or more transmitter IDs of portable electronic devices in communication range with a query portable electronic device and a Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter ID of the query portable electronic device; retrieving location information from the stored location information associated with the one or more Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs received in the location request message; estimating a location of the query portable electronic device based on the retrieved location information; storing, at the server, the estimated location of the query portable electronic device with the associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter ID; transmitting the estimated location to the query portable electronic device; and upon receiving the location estimation, the query portable electronic device uses an inertial navigation system to extend the location estimate until an error threshold is reached.

A non-transitory computer readable memory containing instructions for cooperative localization of a portable electronic device, the instructions which when executed by a processor performing: receiving at a server a plurality of location identification messages comprising inertial navigation locations determined from previously known GPS locations each providing a known location information of a respective portable electronic device and an associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter identification (ID) of the respective portable electronic device; storing the received location information and associated Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs at the server; receiving at the server a location request message providing one or more Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs of portable electronic devices in communication range with a query portable electronic device and a Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter ID of the query portable electronic device; retrieving location information from the stored location information associated with the one or more Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15 transmitter IDs received in the location request message; estimating a location of the query portable electronic device based on the retrieved location information; storing, at the server, the estimated location of the query portable electronic device with the associated transmitted ID; transmitting the estimated location to the query portal electronic device; and upon receiving the location estimation, the query portable electronic device uses an inertial navigation system to extend the location estimate until an error threshold is reached.