FIELD

The following disclosure relates to the field of indoor positioning, or more particularly relates to systems, apparatuses, and methods for determining positions of low- capability devices in indoor positioning systems.

BACKGROUND

Indoor positioning requires novel systems and solutions that are specifically developed and deployed for this purpose. The "traditional” positioning technologies, which are mainly used outdoors, for instance satellite and cellular positioning technologies, cannot deliver such performance indoors that would enable seamless and equal navigation experience in both environments.

The required positioning accuracy (within 2 to 3 meters), coverage (~100 %) and floor detection are challenging to achieve with satisfactory performance levels with the systems and signals that were not designed and specified for the indoor use cases in the first place. Satellite-based radio navigation signals simply do not penetrate through the walls and roofs for the adequate signal reception and the cellular signals have too narrow bandwidth for accurate ranging by default.

Several indoor-dedicated solutions have already been developed and commercially deployed during the past years, for instance solutions based on pseudolites (Global Positioning System (GPS)-like short-range beacons), ultra-sound positioning,

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals (e.g. High-Accuracy Indoor Positioning, HAIP) and WiFi fingerprinting. What is typical to these solutions is that they require either deployment of totally new infrastructure (radio nodes or radio beacons, or tags to name but a few non-limiting examples) or manual exhaustive radio surveying of the buildings including all the floors, spaces and rooms. This is rather expensive and will take a considerable number of time to build the coverage to the commercially expected level, which in some cases narrowed the potential market segment only to very thin customer base, for instance for health care or dedicated enterprise solutions. Also, the diversity of these technologies makes it difficult to build a globally scalable indoor positioning solution, and the integration and testing will become complex if a large number of technologies needs to be supported in the consumer devices (e.g. smartphones).

For an indoor positioning solution to be commercially successful, that is, i) being globally scalable, ii) having low maintenance and deployment costs, and iii) offering acceptable end-user experience, the solution needs to be based on an existing infrastructure in the buildings and on existing capabilities in the consumer devices. This leads to an evident conclusion that the indoor positioning needs to be based on WiFi- and/or Bluetooth (BT)-technologies that are already supported in every smartphone, tablet, laptop and even in the majority of feature phones. It is, thus, required to find a solution that uses the WiFi- and BT-radio signals in such a way that makes it possible to achieve 2 to 3 meter horizontal positioning accuracy, close to 100% floor detection with the ability to quickly build the global coverage for this approach.

Further, an approach for radio-based indoor positioning that models for instance the WiFi-radio environment (or any similar radio e.g. Bluetooth) from observed Received Signal Strength (RSS)-measurements as two-dimensional radio maps and is hereby able to capture the dynamics of the indoor radio propagation environment in a compressable and highly accurate way. This makes it possible to achieve

unprecedented horizontal positioning accuracy with the WiFi signals only within the coverage of the created radio maps and also gives highly reliable floor detection.

To setup indoor positioning in a building, the radio environment in the building needs to be surveyed. This phase is called radio mapping. In the radio mapping phase samples containing geolocation (like latitude-, longitude-, altitude-; or x-, y-, z- (floor) coordinates) and radio measurements (WiFi and/or Bluetooth radio node identities and signal strengths). Having these samples allows understanding how the radio signals behave in the building. This understanding is called a radio map. The radio map enables localization capability to devices. When they observe varying radio signals, the signals can be compared to the radio map resulting in the location information.

The radio samples for the radio map may be collected with special software tools or crowd-sourced from the user devices. While automated crowd-sourcing can enable indoor localization in large number of buildings, manual data collection using special software tools may be the best option, when the highest accuracy is desired.

Yet another aspect of the modern Bluetooth radio node respectively beacon systems is beacon monitoring and management.

Hubs are deployed throughout the venue so that each beacon can communicate with at least one hub. The hubs, on the other hand, are connected to a

monitoring/management server via a gateway hub respectively a gateway device, which is essentially a wired/wireless router. The hubs may be connected to the gateway hub through cable (e.g. Ethernet) or wirelessly (e.g. WiFi, Cellular). The gateway hub may for instance be connected to a beacon monitoring and/or

management server.

The beacon monitoring refers to monitoring the beacon characteristics most typically via one-way communications by the hubs. The beacons may e.g. periodically broadcast their battery states, which transmissions are captured by the hubs and further routed to the monitoring/management server for analysis and visualization. The beacon management, on the other hand, refers to being able to perform two-way

communication with the hubs and beacons. With a beacon management system e.g. the beacon transmit power can be re-configured remotely or the advertisement message changed, when needed. The server managing/monitoring the hub and/or beacon constellations can be a virtual server operated in a cloud (e.g. AWS, Azure), or it can be also a physical local server constituting a self-hosted, high-security system.

SUMMARY OF SOME EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Tracking is a term for locating objects in such a way that the object's location information will be disposable at another device. An example related to indoor location is locating car keys in a house. The car keys do not require their location, but it is interesting to another entity, namely to the car owner in this example.

Further, in order to locate an object, when it is in the range of another device with position capability, it may still be left open, how a database of object locations could be built automatically.

For example, a warehouse is filled with containers and each has a (radio) tag that may not know their position, but it may be interesting to another entity. Timely and constantly updated information on the container whereabouts in the warehouse without adding further hardware to track the containers are preferred. Most typically such tracking solutions require installation of specific devices, e.g. hubs that receive transmission of the tags in order to determine the position of the tags.

It is thus, inter alia, an object of the invention to provide a solution for a tracking of low-capability devices that does not require cellular or WiFi connectivity and that in particular does not require deployment of an infrastructure.

According to a first exemplary aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed, the method comprising:

receiving one or more pieces of measurement information, wherein each piece of measurement information of the one or more pieces of measurement information at least partially comprises one or more beacon identifiers, and further comprises a device identifier indicative of an information enabling a device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers to be identified; determining or triggering determining a position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers at least partially based on the received one or more pieces of measurement information;

obtaining the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers in case the position is triggered to be determined; and

storing the determined or obtained position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers comprised by the respective piece of measurement information in a memory, wherein the stored position of the device is associated with the device identifier.

This method may for instance be performed and/or controlled by an apparatus, for instance a server. Alternatively, this method may be performed and/or controlled by more than one apparatus, for instance a server cloud, e.g. comprising at least two servers.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, a computer program is disclosed, the computer program when executed by a processor causing an apparatus, for instance a server, to perform and/or control the actions of the method according to the first exemplary aspect.

The computer program may be stored on computer-readable storage medium, in particular a tangible and/or non-transitory medium. The computer readable storage medium could for example be a disk or a memory or the like. The computer program could be stored in the computer readable storage medium in the form of instructions encoding the computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be intended for taking part in the operation of a device, like an internal or external memory, for instance a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or hard disk of a computer, or be intended for distribution of the program, like an optical disc. According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatus is disclosed, configured to perform and/or control or comprising respective means for performing and/or controlling the method according to the first exemplary aspect.

The means of the apparatus can be implemented in hardware and/or software. They may comprise for instance at least one processor for executing computer program code for performing the required functions, at least one memory storing the program code, or both. Alternatively, they could comprise for instance circuitry that is designed to implement the required functions, for instance implemented in a chipset or a chip, like an integrated circuit. In general, the means may comprise for instance one or more processing means or processors.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatus is disclosed, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause an apparatus, for instance the apparatus, at least to perform and/or to control the method according to the first exemplary aspect.

The above-disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may be a module or a component for a device, for example a chip. Alternatively, the disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may be a device, for instance a server or server cloud. The disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may comprise only the disclosed components, for instance means, processor, memory, or may further comprise one or more additional components.

According to a second exemplary aspect of the present invention, a method is disclosed, the method comprising:

receiving one or more pieces of measurement information, wherein each piece of measurement information of the one or more pieces of measurement information at least partially comprises one or more beacon identifiers, and further comprises a device identifier indicative of an information enabling the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers to be identified; and relaying the received one or more pieces of measurement information, wherein the one or more pieces of measurement information are received via a different communication network than a communication network that is used for the relaying.

This method may for instance be performed and/or controlled by an electronic device, e.g. a mobile terminal (e.g. smartphone, tablet, wearable, IoT (Internet-of-Things) device, to name but a few non-limiting examples). For instance, the method may be performed and/or controlled by using at least one processor of the electronic device.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, a computer program is disclosed, the computer program when executed by a processor causing an apparatus, for instance a server, to perform and/or control the actions of the method according to the second exemplary aspect.

The computer program may be stored on computer-readable storage medium, in particular a tangible and/or non-transitory medium. The computer readable storage medium could for example be a disk or a memory or the like. The computer program could be stored in the computer readable storage medium in the form of instructions encoding the computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may be intended for taking part in the operation of a device, like an internal or external memory, for instance a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or hard disk of a computer, or be intended for distribution of the program, like an optical disc.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatus is disclosed, configured to perform and/or control or comprising respective means for performing and/or controlling the method according to the second exemplary aspect. The means of the apparatus can be implemented in hardware and/or software. They may comprise for instance at least one processor for executing computer program code for performing the required functions, at least one memory storing the program code, or both. Alternatively, they could comprise for instance circuitry that is designed to implement the required functions, for instance implemented in a chipset or a chip, like an integrated circuit. In general, the means may comprise for instance one or more processing means or processors.

According to a further exemplary aspect of the invention, an apparatus is disclosed, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause an apparatus, for instance the apparatus, at least to perform and/or to control the method according to the second exemplary aspect.

The above-disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may be a module or a component for a device, for example a chip. Alternatively, the disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may be a device, for instance the electronic device. The disclosed apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may comprise only the disclosed components, for instance means, processor, memory, or may further comprise one or more additional components.

According to a third exemplary aspect of the invention, a system is disclosed, comprising:

at least one first apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention as disclosed above, and at least one second apparatus according to the second exemplary aspect of the present invention as disclosed above.

Further, the system according to the third exemplary aspect may for instance further comprise at least one low-capability device (e.g. a (radio) tag device), wherein the at least one low-capability device is configured to transmit at least one measurement information (e.g. to the at least one second apparatus). In the following, exemplary features and exemplary embodiments of all aspects of the present invention will be described in further detail.

The device identifier may for instance enable a device (e.g. a low-capability device, and/or a (radio) tag device) that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers to be identified.

The one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be indicative of enabling one or more beacon devices (e.g. of a venue) to be identified.

Such a beacon device of the one or more beacon devices, e.g. of the venue, may for instance comprise or be connectable to a transceiver, e.g. according to the Bluetooth (BT)-, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-, and/or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)- specification to provide wireless-based communication. Each beacon device of the one or more beacon devices, e.g. of the venue, may for instance use such a transceiver for transmitting and/or broadcasting one or more beacon signals, e.g. comprising one or more information. The one or more information may for instance at least partially comprise a beacon identifier indicative of enabling the beacon device that transmitted the one or more information to be identified (e.g. a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID)).

The venue may for instance be a building, shopping mall, office complex, public accessible location (e.g. station, airport, university or the like), to name but a few non limiting examples.

The one or more beacon signals may for instance be received, e.g. by a low-capability device. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more beacon signals may for instance be measured, e.g. by measuring e.g. a signal strength value of the one or more beacon signals of the one or more beacon devices that transmitted the one or more beacon signals. Such a beacon identifier of the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance enable that one of the one or more beacon devices can be identified. A respective beacon identifier of the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be determined, e.g. at least partially based on received one or more beacon identifiers that are e.g. extracted out of the one or more beacon signals.

The one or more pieces of measurement information comprising the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be transmitted to the at least one first apparatus [e.g. server or a server cloud), so that the at least one first apparatus received the one or more pieces of measurement information. The one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be received via a wire-bound communication

connection, e.g. according to LAN [Local Area Network) specification to name but one non-limiting example. Alternatively, the one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be received via a wireless communication connection, e.g. according to WLAN-specification.

At least partially based on the one or more pieces of measurement information, in particular at least partially based on the one or more beacon identifiers comprised by the one or more pieces of measurement information, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers comprised by the received one or more pieces of measurement information is determined or triggered to be determined. It will be understood that the device whose position is determined or triggered to be determined is not the device that transmitted the one or more pieces of measurement information to the at least one first apparatus, in particular to the server or server cloud. The device whose position is determined or triggered to be determined is the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers prior to receiving the one or more pieces of measurement information by the at least one second apparatus. For instance, a low-capability device obtains the one or more beacon identifiers, and then transmits those one or more beacon identifiers to a mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal then further sends the one or more pieces of measurement information (e.g. measurements/location information) to the server or server cloud. Then, the device whose position is determined is the low-capability device.

The position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be triggered to be determined, wherein the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may then for instance be determined by another entity that is different from the at least one first apparatus, e.g. another server or another server cloud (e.g. a radio map and positioning server). Such a (e.g. radio map and positioning) server or server cloud may for instance provide indoor positioning services. As a result, such a radio map and positioning server may for instance provide the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers. The determined position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be obtained, e.g. by receiving the determined position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers from such a radio map and positioning server.

The determined or obtained position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers is stored in the memory, wherein the memory may for instance comprise a database. The memory may for instance be comprised by or be

connectable to the at least one first apparatus. The database may for instance be configured to store further information and/or configured to associate (e.g. link) the stored position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers to further information, e.g. comprised by the database or by other memories comprising other databases that are different from the memory (e.g. comprising the database).

The storing of the determined or obtained position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be an updating of a position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers that is already stored in the memory. In this case, the determined or obtained position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be more accurate and/or more up-to-date. In this way, it is in particular enabled to track the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers, e.g. keep the position of said device up-to-date. Further, a plurality of positions of such devices (e.g. a plurality of low-capability devices) that respectively obtained one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be determined and stored in the memory, e.g. for providing a respective position of such devices, e.g. as a service.

According to an exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the present invention, each of the one or more pieces of measurement information further comprises at least one received signal strength value indicator determined at least partially based on one or more beacon signals sent by one or more beacon devices, wherein the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers is determined or triggered to be determined further based on the at least one received signal strength value indicator.

The at least one received signal strength value indicator may for instance be represented by a received signal strength value (RSS). Such a received signal strength value may for instance represent the power of a received radio positioning support signal (e.g. at the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers of the one or more beacon devices), wherein such a radio positioning support signal may for instance be sent (e.g. periodically) from each beacon device of the abovementioned one or more beacon devices, e.g. of a venue. An example of a received signal strength value is a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a representation of a physical receiving power level value (e.g. a Rx power level value) in dBm. The one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance at least partially represent one or more of such received signal strength indicators of observable beacon signal strengths of the one or more beacon signals receivable at the location of the measurement.

After determining the at least one received signal strength indicator, the one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be transmitted comprising the at least one received signal strength indicator. Further, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be determined or triggered to be determined at least partially based on the at least one received signal strength value indicator.

The position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers [of the one or more beacon devices) may for instance be determined at least partially based on the at least one received signal strength value indicator by comparing the one or more beacon identifiers and/or the at least one received signal strength value indicator to those of a radio map.

Such a radio map may for instance represent a coverage area of a pre-determined environment (e.g. the venue) within which the one or more beacon signals of the one or more beacon devices are expected to support one or more positions of devices [e.g. low-capability devices) to be estimated. The radio map may for instance represent the (e.g. fixed) installation positions of the one or more beacon devices and (e.g. expected) radio coverages associated with the one or more beacon devices.

The (e.g. expected) radio coverage associated with a respective beacon device of the one or more beacon devices may for instance be understood as the area within which a radio signal (e.g. a respective beacon signal of the one or more beacon signals) is (e.g. expected to be) observable (e.g. receivable with a minimum quality).

For instance, based on such a radio map, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may be determined by the understanding that at any position within the coverage area of the one or more beacon devices at least a pre determined number, and/or pre-determined one or more beacon identifiers, and/or pre-determined at least one received signal strength indicator is (e.g. expected to be) observable. Then, at least partially based on a comparison of e.g. those one or more beacon identifiers and/or at least one received signal strength indicator comprised by the one or more pieces of measurement information with those of such a radio map, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be determined. For instance, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be determined, e.g. by estimating the position of the radio map associated with those one or more beacon identifiers and/or at least one received signal strength indicator matching closest those comprised by the one or more pieces of measurement information.

According to an exemplary embodiment of all aspects of the present invention, the method further comprises:

receiving one or more requests, wherein each request of the one or more requests is indicative of requesting a position of at least one device to be provided, wherein each request of the one or more requests at least comprises a device identifier enabling the device whose position is requested to be provided to be identified; and

providing the position of at least one device at least partially based on the device identifier, wherein the position is retrieved from the memory.

The determining of the position may for instance be triggered as a service, e.g.

provided by the at least one first apparatus. Optionally, such a positioning service may for instance be provided e.g. by an entity that is different from the at least one first apparatus, e.g. a radio map and positioning server, as described above. In this case, the received one or more requests may for instance be relayed from the at least one first apparatus to such a radio map and positioning server.

Each request of the one or more requests may for instance at least comprises a device identifier, or alternatively may for instance be accompanied by such a device identifier of the device whose position is requested to be determined. The device identifier of the originator may for instance be comprised by the received request, or in case such a device identifier is not comprised by the received request, the device identifier may for instance be received subsequently to receiving such a request. The device identifier may for instance be indicative of enabling a respective device whose position is requested to be provided to be identified. The device identifier may for instance be a Media Access Control (MAC) address, or a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), or another identifier enabling the device to be identified, to name but a few non-limiting examples.

The position of at least one device may for instance be provided by outputting the corresponding position. The position may for instance be output to a device from that the respective request of the one or more requests was received, e.g. to the at least one first apparatus. Alternatively, the position is output to another entity that transfers (e.g. relays) the position, e.g. to the device from that the respective request of the one or more requests was received.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the database is stored in the memory, and the stored position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers is part of the database.

The database may for instance be comprised (e.g. stored) by the memory. The database may for instance be configured according to a look-up table. For instance, based on a device identifier, the corresponding position of the device according to the device identifier may be determined. Then, the determined position of the device may for instance be provided, as disclosed above.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the method further comprises:

receiving a plurality of pieces of measurement information; and

harvesting one or more positions of the plurality of devices that obtained respective one or more beacon identifiers comprised by each of the plurality of pieces of measurement information enabling a database to be generated or updated by the harvested one or more positions of the plurality of devices. The database may for instance comprise a plurality of entries, wherein each entry of the plurality of entries may for instance represent a position of a device (e.g. low- capability device) associated with a corresponding device identifier. The respective position of the device is determined or triggered to be determined prior to generating the database, e.g. by storing the determined or triggered to be determined position of the device in the database. In this way, a plurality of positions of such devices can be harvested and kept up to date.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, a timestamp information indicative of the latest update time of a respective position of one device of the plurality of devices is associated with the respective position stored in the database.

In this way, the database may for instance comprise or refer to a latest update time by a corresponding association to the timestamp information of a respective position (e.g. location) for each device individually of the plurality of device individually. This timestamp information may for instance enable assessing the reliability of the position of a respective device of the plurality of devices stored in the database. For instance, the timestamp information may represent whether the stored position of the device was recently updated and is thus reliable, or, in case of an old timestamp information, is unreliable. In the latter case, the device may for instance have moved away at high probability.

Such timestamp information may for instance be crucial in this type of systems, since they may be based on opportunistic detection. For instance, it cannot be ensured that the position stored in the database is updated e.g. every hour, but sometimes the timestamp information may be e.g. up to one day old.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the timestamp information is generated upon storing the respective position of one device of the plurality of devices in the database. According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the device identifier that is associated with the stored position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers comprised by each of the one or more pieces of measurement information is part of the database.

The database may for instance be configured to store device identifier that is associated with the stored position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers, e.g. as further information. By storing the device identifier in the database so that the device identifier is part of the database, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers may for instance be associated (e.g.

linked) to the corresponding and stored position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers.

According to an exemplary embodiment of all exemplary aspects of the present invention, the at least one first apparatus is a server or a server cloud.

The server cloud may for instance comprise at least two servers. The server or the server cloud may for instance provide a service, e.g. of determining or triggering determining of a position of a device at least partially based on one or more pieces of measurement information, and storing the determined or triggered to be determined position of said device. The server cloud may for instance comprise the at least two servers that provide such service at least partially jointly.

Further, the server or the server cloud may for instance be configured to provide one or more radio maps, and/or indoor positioning and/or floor detection services. The server or the server cloud may for instance be comprised by or be a part of a radio map and positioning server.

The at least one first apparatus may for instance be one of the at least two devices taking part in a communication. The other device of the at least two devices taking part in such a communication in the venue may for instance be another entity, e.g. a radio map and positioning server, or the at least one second apparatus. The radio map and positioning server, and/or the at least one second apparatus may for instance comprise or be connectable to a transceiver, e.g. according to the BT-, BLE, and/or WLAN-specification to provide wireless-based communication.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the one or more pieces of measurement information received via the cellular or WiFi communication network are received via the internet.

The at least one first apparatus may for instance comprise at least one communication interface. The at least one communication interface may for instance comprise a wireless interface, e.g. a cellular radio communication interface and/or a WLAN interface) and/or a wire-bound interface, e.g. an IP-based interface, for instance to communicate with entities via the Internet. The communication interface may enable the at least one first apparatus to communicate with other entities.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the all aspects of the present invention, the device that transmitted the one or more pieces of measurement information is or is part of a low-capability device, in particular a tag device.

Such a tag-device may for instance comprise or be connectable to a transmitter, e.g. according to WLAN, to BT or to BLE communication standard. Such a tag-device may for instance broadcast (e.g. standard) beacon signals in order to advertise their presence. In some cases, they may advertise in this way availability to electronic devices (e.g. the at least one second apparatus) seeking a connection, e.g. via broadcasting such beacon signals. The signals may convey information (e.g. the one or more pieces of measurement information) that may for instance be received by the at least one second apparatus, e.g. in the form of packets of pre-defined format. The one or more pieces of measurement information that may for instance be received by the at least one second apparatus may include at least a device identifier of the tag-device. The tag-device may be visible to any electronic device with suitable radio interface, regardless of whether or not they are known to the electronic device. The broadcasted signals (e.g. the one or more pieces of measurement information) are equally referred to as broadcasted information. Such a tag-device may for instance be of low capability (also referred to as low-capability device), e.g. not comprising or being connectable to a user input device (e.g. keypad, touchpad, or the like to name but a few non-limiting examples), and/or a display, e.g. for displaying information, e.g. to a user.

The one or more pieces of measurement information received by the at least one second apparatus may for instance be the same one or more pieces of measurement information that are received by the at least one first apparatus. After receiving the one or more pieces of measurement information by the at least one second apparatus, the one or more pieces of measurement information are relayed (e.g. transmitted) by the at least one second apparatus. Those relayed one or more pieces of measurement information may then for instance be received by the at least one first apparatus.

For instance, the one or more pieces of measurement information that are relayed may for instance be relayed via a communication network that is different from the communication network that is used for receiving the one or more pieces of measurement information by the at least one second apparatus. Thus, the at least one second apparatus may for instance be configured to receive the one or more pieces of measurement information via a different communication network than the

communication network that is used for the relaying. The at least one second apparatus may for instance comprise a communication interface configured to perform and/or control the receiving of the one or more pieces of measurement information via a different communication network than the relaying. The

communication interface may for instance comprise at least two different

transceivers, e.g. one transceiver for receiving the one or more pieces of measurement information and one transceiver for relaying the one or more pieces of measurement information. According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the one or more pieces of measurement information are relayed via a cellular or WiFi communication network.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the one or more pieces of measurement information are received via a Bluetooth communication network.

Further, for receiving the one or more pieces of measurement information, and/or for relaying the one or more pieces of measurement information, e.g. a corresponding communication connection may for instance be established to enable the receiving via a Bluetooth communication network and/or to enable the relaying of the one or more pieces of measurement information via a cellular or WiFi communication network (e.g. the internet]

According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the at least one second apparatus is configured to transmit and/or receive according to a Bluetooth and WLAN and/or cellular communication standard.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the received one or more pieces of measurement information are carried by one or more data packets, in particular by one or more Bluetooth advertisement packets.

The device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers, and from that the one or more pieces of measurement information are received (e.g. a low-capability device) by the at least one second apparatus, respectively a transceiver (e.g. transmitter) represented by or connectable to such a low-capability device may for instance be configured to broadcast the one or more pieces of measurement information by one or more advertising packets using a pre-determined or determined according to pre defined rules format. Such a pre-determined or determined according to pre-defined rules format may for instance be an advertisement packet, e.g. a BT- or BLE

advertisement packet.

The BT advertisement packet may for instance be according to BT-, or BLE- specification. Further, the BT- or BLE advertisement packet may for instance be according to a BT-, or BLE-communication standard of a certain version, e.g. according to BT v4.2, or BT v5.0 to name but a few non-limiting examples.

The BT-, or BLE-specification or the BT-, or BLE communication standard may for instance define such a BT advertisement packet. It may for instance be defined e.g. the size of an header part and/or a payload information part of such an advertisement packet (e.g. BT-, or BLE-advertisement packet).

The one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be received in the form of a radio signal, in particular a Bluetooth radio signal. For example, the one or more pieces of measurement information may be received via a broadcast enabled by a Bluetooth wireless communication.

The Bluetooth wireless communication may for instance be according to a WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) communication enabling such a wireless communication connection in a broadcasting manner. Thus, the one or more pieces of measurement information transmitted e.g. by a low-capability device via one or more broadcasts, may for instance be receivable by other devices that are different from the at least one second apparatus as well. The one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be broadcasted by the low-capability device regardless whether or not another device than the at least one second apparatus may be able to receive the transmitted one or more pieces of measurement information.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the one or more pieces of measurement information further comprises at least one received signal strength value indicator determined at least partially based on one or more beacon signals sent by one or more beacon devices, wherein the one or more pieces of measurement information comprising the at least one received signal strength value indicator is relayed.

In case a received piece of measurement information of the one or more pieces of measurement information comprises at least one received signal strength value indicator, such a received signal strength value indicator may for instance be relayed as well. For instance, the at least one received signal strength value indicator may be relayed simply by relaying the corresponding received piece of measurement information of the one or more pieces of measurement information.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the method further comprises:

transmitting a request indicative of requesting a position of at least one device to be provided, wherein the request at least comprises information enabling the device whose position is requested to be provided to be identified; and receiving the position of the at least one device.

The determining of the position of the at least one device (e.g. low-capability device) may for instance be triggered as a service, e.g. provided by the at least one first apparatus, or by another entity that is different from the at least one first apparatus (e.g. another server or server cloud). The triggering of the service to determine the position of the at least one device may for instance be performed and/or controlled by transmitting the request.Such a request at least comprises a device identifier of the at least one device (e.g. low-capability device), or alternatively may for instance be accompanied by such a device identifier of the at least one device (e.g. low-capability device). The request may for instance be accompanied by the device identifier, e.g. by the device identifier being received (e.g. directly) subsequently or prior to the request.

The device identifier may for instance be indicative of enabling the at least one device (e.g. low-capability device), whose position is requested to be determined, to be identified. The device identifier may for instance be a Media Access Control (MAC) address, or a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), to name but a few non-limiting examples.

The position of the at least one device may for instance be provided to the at least one second apparatus by outputting the corresponding position of the at least one device, wherein this outputted position of the at least one device is received. The position of the at least one device may for instance be received directly, or indirectly from another entity that transfers (e.g. relays) the position of the at least one device, e.g. to the at least one second apparatus.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, the request is transmitted to at least one first apparatus, wherein the at least one first apparatus is a server or a server cloud.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, the at least one second apparatus is or is part of an electronic device, in particular a smartphone, tablet, or IoT device.

The at least one second apparatus may for instance be an electronic device, e.g. a smartphone, tablet, wearable to name but a few non-limiting examples. The electronic device may for instance be portable (e.g. weigh less than 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 kg). The electronic device may for instance comprise or be connectable to a display for displaying e.g. a position of a low-capability device that may guide/navigate a user to the low-capability device. The electronic device may for instance comprise or be connectable to one or more sensors for determining the electronic devices position, such as a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, e.g. in the form of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

For instance, the one or more pieces of measurement information may be received by a communication connection (e.g. via a BT, or BLE communication connection, to name but a few non-limiting examples) that may be established to enable the receiving of the one or more pieces of measurement information.

Further, the at least one first apparatus may for instance be configured to receive such one or more pieces of measurement information from a plurality of low-capability devices (e.g. tag devices, IoT devices, to name but a few non-limiting examples). Such low-capability devices may thus not be configured to transmit data (e.g. one or more pieces of measurement information) via a cellular or WiFi communication network. For instance, such low-capability devices may not comprise a transmitter and/or a receiver (e.g. embodied as a transceiver) enabling a communication connection according to cellular and/or WiFi specification. The one or more pieces of

measurement information in particular may be relayed from the at least one second apparatus to e.g. at least one first apparatus (e.g. server or server cloud).

The features and example embodiments of the invention described above may equally pertain to the different aspects according to the present invention.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the at least one second apparatus (e.g. electronic device) may for instance relay (e.g. transmit) one or more pieces of measurement information to the at least one first apparatus (e.g. server). The server receives the one or more pieces of measurement information. The server may then for instance determine a position of another device (e.g. low-capability device) at least partially based on the received one or more pieces of measurement information. The determined position of the low-capability device may for instance be stored in a database. Optionally, the determined position of the low-capability device is returned to the electronic device. Further, the server may for instance receive a request indicative of requesting a position of a low-capability device (may also be the position of the low-capability device). The server determined the requested position out of a memory, e.g. a database. The database comprises one or more entries representing one or more positions of one or more of such low-capability devices. The determined position may then for instance be returned (e.g. transmitted) to the device (e.g. an electronic device, and/or the electronic device) that requested the position of the low- capability device.

It is to be understood that the presentation of the invention in this section is merely by way of examples and non-limiting.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale and that they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures show:

Fig. 1 a schematic block diagram of a system according to the third exemplary aspect of the present invention;

Fig. 2 a flowchart showing an example embodiment of a method according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention, for instance performed by server 110 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a flowchart showing an example embodiment of a method according to the second exemplary aspect of the present invention, for instance performed by mobile device 130 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 a schematic block diagram of a first apparatus configured to perform the method according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention; and Fig. 5 a schematic block diagram of a second apparatus configured to perform the method according to the second exemplary aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description serves to deepen the understanding of the present invention and shall be understood to complement and be read together with the description as provided in the above summary section of this specification.

Fig. 1 is a schematic high-level block diagram of a system 100 according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention. Such a system 100 may for instance represent a generic system architecture as used by one or more exemplary

embodiments according to all exemplary aspects of the present invention.

System 100 comprises a server 110-1 and a server 110-2, a database 120, one or more mobile devices, at hand a mobile devices 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 (e.g. a smartphone, tablet, portable navigation device, IoT (Internet of Things) device to name but a few non-limiting examples), one or more beacon devices 140, e.g. radio nodes 140-1 to 140-5, which are embodied as beacons at hand, one or more tag-devices, at hand tag- devices 150a, 150b and 150c, and at least two communication networks 160, at hand the three communication networks 160a, 160b, and 160c. One or more of the aforementioned entities of the system 100 may for instance be comprised (e.g.

installed and/or located) in a venue.

The server 110-1 and/or the server 110-2 may alternatively be embodied as a server cloud (e.g. a plurality of servers connected, e.g. via the Internet (e.g. one of the communication networks 160a to 160c) and providing services at least partially jointly). The server 110-1, which may for instance be embodied as a monitoring respectively management server for the beacon devices 140, may for instance be further configured to provide radio maps and positioning services (e.g. indoor positioning and/or floor detection services), e.g. to one or more mobile devices, e.g. one of the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3. Alternatively, the server 110-2 is configured to provide radio maps and positioning services (e.g. indoor positioning and/or floor detection services) as a separate entity than server 110-1. Further, the one or more beacon devices 140-1 to 140-5 may for instance be embodied as one or more IoT devices. The server 110-1 may be connected to the mobile device 130-1 to 130-3 e.g. via the internet (e.g. one of the communication networks 160a to 160b) or via a wirebound or wireless communication connection (e.g. according to the WiFi, BT, and/or BLE communication standard)..

The database 120 may for instance be optional. The database 120 may for instance be comprised by or connectable to the server 110-1, or server 110-2. The database 120 may for instance comprise a memory, e.g. for storing one or more radio maps, and/or one or more positions (e.g. in the form of coordinates) of the beacon devices 140 associated with one or more beacon identifiers of the beacon devices 140. For instance, based on a beacon identifier of a beacon device 140 (e.g. a SSID, or a MAC address of a respective beacon device 140, e.g. beacon device 140-1), the position (e.g. in the form of coordinates, e.g. in the venue) of the respective beacon device 140 may for instance be obtainable from the database 120.

The communication network 160c may for instance be used for transmitting information comprising or representing one or more pieces of measurement information, e.g. transmitted by one or more of the tag devices 150a to 150c (see step 301 of Fig. 3) between the tag-devices 150a to 150c and the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3. For instance, the one or more pieces of measurement information may be transmitted by a Bluetooth communication channel provided by a BT communication network (e.g. communication network 160c). Further, the communication between entities of the system 100 may for instance be pre-defined by the corresponding communication standard, e.g. the BT- or BLE-communication standard for the communication between the beacon devices 140-1 to 140-5 and the tag devices 150a to 150c, and/or between the tag devices 150a to 150c and the mobile device 130-1 to 130-3. The cellular and/or WLAN communication standard may for instance be used for the communication between the mobile device 130-1 to 130-3 and the servers 110-1 and 110-2, e.g. communication network 160a and/or 160b.

The communication network 160a may for instance be configured according to LAN or WLAN communication standard. The communication network 160b may for instance be a cellular communication network, e.g. according to cellular radio network specification (e.g. according to 2G, GPRS, 3G, LTE, 5G standard to name but a few non- limiting examples). The communication network 160a and/or 160b may for instance be used for transmitting information (e.g. one or more pieces of measurement information, one or more requests, one or more positions of the one or more tag devices 150a to 150c) between the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3 and the server 110- 1. Further, the communication network 160a and/or 160b may for instance further be used for a communication between server 110-1 and 110-2.

The server 110-1 may for instance be configured to perform and/or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention. Further, the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3 may for instance be configured to perform and/or control the method according to the second exemplary aspect of the present invention.

According to embodiments of the present invention, one or more pieces of

measurement information may for instance be transmitted (e.g. broadcast) by one or more of the tag devices 150a to 150c, wherein each of the one or more pieces of measurement information at least comprises one or more beacon identifiers of the beacon device 140-1 to 140-5 that are receivable at the position of the respective tag device 150a to 150c. Then, the one or more pieces of measurement information are received by one or more of the mobile device 130-1 to 130-3, e.g. via a Bluetooth communication network 160c. The one or more pieces of measurement information may for instance be carried by one or more BT advertisement packets. After the receiving of the one or more pieces of measurement information, the respective mobile device of the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3 relays the one or more pieces of measurement information to the server 110-1, e.g. via a WLAN and/or cellular communication network 160a and/or 160b. The server 110-1 may then determine the position of the respective tag device of the tag devices 150a to 150c. Alternatively, the server 110-1 triggers the position of the respective tag device of the tag devices 150a to 150c to be determined, e.g. from the server 110-2. The server 110-1 may obtain the determined position of the respective tag device of the tag devices 150a to 150b from the server 110-2. Finally, the server 110-1 stores the determined or obtained position of the respective tag device of the tag devices 150a to 150c, e.g. in the database 120.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart 200 showing an example embodiment of a method according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention. This flowchart 200 may for instance be performed by a server (e.g. server 110-1 of Fig. 1).

In a first step 201, the one or more pieces of measurement information are received, e.g. from the mobile device 130-1, 130-2, and/or 130-3 of Fig. 1.

In a second step 202, the position of the device that obtained the one or more beacon identifiers comprised by the received one or more pieces of measurement information is determined or triggered to be determined. In case the position of the device is triggered to be determined, the position of the device may for instance be determined by the radio map and positioning server 110-2 of Fig. 1. The server 110-1 of Fig. 1 may for instance transmit the one or more pieces of measurement information to server 110-2 of Fig. 1, so that server 110-2 of Fig. 1 may then determine the position of the tag device 150a, 150b, and/or 150c that obtained one or more beacon identifiers comprised by the one or more pieces of measurement information at least partially based on those one or more pieces of measurement information. The determined position of the tag device 150a, 150b, and/or 150c may then be transmitted from the server 110-2 of Fig. 1 back to the server 110-1 of Fig. 1. In a third step 203, the position of the device is obtained (e.g. received) in case the position is triggered to be determined. The position of the device is received, e.g. from the radio map and positioning server 110-2 of Fig. 1.

In a fourth step 204, the determined (step 202) or obtained (step 203) position of the device is stored in a memory. The memory may for instance comprise the database 120 of Fig. 1. The database 120 of Fig. 1 may for instance be comprised by (e.g. a part of) server 110-1 of Fig.l, or may be connectable to server 110-1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart 300 showing an example embodiment of a method according to the second exemplary aspect of the present invention. This flowchart 300 may for instance be performed by a mobile device (e.g. mobile device 130-1, 130-2, and/or 130-3 of Fig. 1).

In a first step 301, one or more pieces of measurement information are received. The one or more pieces of measurement information are received, e.g. from the low- capability device (tag device) 150a, 150b, and/or 150c of Fig. 1.

In a second step 302, the received one or more pieces of measurement information are relayed (e.g. transmitted). The received one or more pieces of measurement information are relayed e.g. to server 110-1 of Fig. 1. Upon receiving the relayed one or more pieces of measurement information (see step 201 of Fig. 2), the server 110-1 may then perform and/or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 400 according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, which may for instance represent the server 110-1 of Fig. 1. Apparatus 400 comprises a processor 410, working memory 420, program memory 430, data memory 440, communication interface(s) 450, an optional user interface 460 and an optional sensor(s) 470.

Apparatus 400 may for instance be configured to perform and/or control or comprise respective means (at least one of 410 to 470] for performing and/or controlling the method according to the first exemplary aspect. Apparatus 400 may as well constitute an apparatus comprising at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause an apparatus, e.g. apparatus 400 at least to perform and/or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect of the invention.

Processor 410 may for instance comprise a position determiner 411 as a functional and/or structural unit. Position information determiner 411 may for instance be configured to determine a position of a device, e.g. one of the one or more low- capability devices 150a to 150c of Fig. 1, at least partially based on one or more pieces of measurement information that are received by the apparatus 400 (see step 201 of Fig. 2). Processor 410 may for instance comprise a position obtainer 412 as a functional and/or structural unit. Position obtainer 412 may for instance be configured to obtain a position of a device, e.g. one of the one or more low-capability devices 150a to 150c, at least partially based on one or more pieces of measurement information that are received by the apparatus 400 (see step 203 of Fig. 2). Processor 410 may for instance further control the memories 420 to 440, the communication interface(s) 450, the optional user interface 460 and the optional sensor(s) 470.

Processor 410 may for instance execute computer program code stored in program memory 430, which may for instance represent a computer readable storage medium comprising program code that, when executed by processor 410, causes the processor 410 to perform the method according to the first exemplary aspect. Processor 410 (and also any other processor mentioned in this specification) may be a processor of any suitable type. Processor 410 may comprise but is not limited to one or more microprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) with accompanying one or more digital signal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more special-purpose computer chips, one or more field-programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), one or more controller(s), one or more application-specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), or one or more computer(s). The relevant structure/hardware has been programmed in such a way to carry out the described function. Processor 410 may for instance be an application processor that runs an operating system.

Program memory 430 may also be included into processor 410. This memory may for instance be fixedly connected to processor 410, or be at least partially removable from processor 410, for instance in the form of a memory card or stick. Program memory 430 may for instance be non-volatile memory. It may for instance be a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM memory (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof), to name but a few examples. Program memory 430 may also comprise an operating system for processor 410. Program memory 430 may also comprise a firmware for apparatus 400.

Apparatus 400 comprises a working memory 420, for instance in the form of a volatile memory. It may for instance be a Random Access Memory (RAM) or Dynamic RAM (DRAM), to give but a few non-limiting examples. It may for instance be used by processor 410 when executing an operating system and/or computer program.

Data memory 440 may for instance be a non-volatile memory. It may for instance be a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM memory (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof), to name but a few examples. Communication interface(s) 450 enable apparatus 400 to communicate with other entities, e.g. with one or more of the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3 of Fig. 1. The communication interface(s) 450 may for instance comprise a wireless interface, e.g. a cellular radio communication interface and/or a WLAN interface and/or wire-bound interface, e.g. an IP-based interface, for instance to communicate with entities via the Internet.

User interface 460 is optional and may comprise a display for displaying information to a user and/or an input device (e.g. a keyboard, keypad, touchpad, mouse, etc.) for receiving information from a user.

Further sensor(s) 470 are optional.

Some or all of the components of the apparatus 400 may for instance be connected via a bus. Some or all of the components of the apparatus 400 may for instance be combined into one or more modules.

Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 500 according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, which may for instance represent one of the mobile devices 130-1 to 130-3 of Fig. 1.

Apparatus 500 comprises a processor 510, working memory 520, program memory 530, data memory 540, communication interface(s) 550, an optional user interface 560 and an optional sensor(s) 570.

Apparatus 500 may for instance be configured to perform and/or control or comprise respective means (at least one of 510 to 570) for performing and/or controlling the method according to the second exemplary aspect. Apparatus 500 may as well constitute an apparatus comprising at least one processor (510) and at least one memory (520) including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause an apparatus, e.g. apparatus 500 at least to perform and/or control the method according to the second exemplary aspect of the invention.

Processor 510 may for instance comprise a measurement information relayer 511 as a functional and/or structural unit. Measurement information 511 may for instance be configured to relay one or more pieces of measurement information (see step 302 of Fig. 3] that are received prior to the relaying. Processor 510 may for instance further control the memories 520 to 540, the communication interface(s) 550, the optional user interface 560 and the optional sensor(s) 570.

Processor 510 may for instance execute computer program code stored in program memory 530, which may for instance represent a computer readable storage medium comprising program code that, when executed by processor 510, causes the processor 510 to perform the method according to the second exemplary aspect.

Processor 510 (and also any other processor mentioned in this specification) may be a processor of any suitable type. Processor 510 may comprise but is not limited to one or more microprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) with accompanying one or more digital signal processor(s), one or more processor(s) without accompanying digital signal processor(s), one or more special-purpose computer chips, one or more field-programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), one or more controller(s), one or more application-specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), or one or more computer(s). The relevant structure/hardware has been programmed in such a way to carry out the described function. Processor 510 may for instance be an application processor that runs an operating system.

Program memory 530 may also be included into processor 510. This memory may for instance be fixedly connected to processor 510, or be at least partially removable from processor 510, for instance in the form of a memory card or stick. Program memory 530 may for instance be non-volatile memory. It may for instance be a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM memory (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof), to name but a few examples. Program memory 530 may also comprise an operating system for processor 510. Program memory 530 may also comprise a firmware for apparatus 500.

Apparatus 500 comprises a working memory 520, for instance in the form of a volatile memory. It may for instance be a Random Access Memory (RAM) or Dynamic RAM (DRAM), to give but a few non-limiting examples. It may for instance be used by processor 510 when executing an operating system and/or computer program.

Data memory 540 may for instance be a non-volatile memory. It may for instance be a FLASH memory (or a part thereof), any of a ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM memory (or a part thereof) or a hard disc (or a part thereof), to name but a few examples.

Communication interface(s) 550 enable apparatus 500 to communicate with other entities, e.g. with server 110-1 of Fig. 1. The communication interface(s) 550 may for instance comprise a wireless interface, e.g. a cellular radio communication interface and/or a WLAN interface and/or wire-bound interface, e.g. an IP-based interface, for instance to communicate with entities (e.g. server 110-1 of Fig. 1) via the Internet. Further, communication interface(s) 550 enable apparatus 500 to communicate with other entities, e.g. with tag devices 150a to 150c. The communication interface(s) 550 may for instance comprise a wireless interface, e.g. a BT or BLE communication interface, for instance to communicate with those entities via a BT or BLE

communication network. The communication with the tag devices (e.g. tag devices 150a to 150c of Fig. 1) may for instance be unidirectional, e.g. apparatus 500 may be enabled to receive e.g. one or more pieces of measurement information (e.g. carried by one or more data packets, in particular BT advertisement packets) from the tag devices. User interface 560 is optional and may comprise a display for displaying information to a user and/or an input device (e.g. a keyboard, keypad, touchpad, mouse, etc.) for receiving information from a user.

Sensor(s) 570 are optional.

Some or all of the components of the apparatus 500 may for instance be connected via a bus. Some or all of the components of the apparatus 500 may for instance be combined into one or more modules.

The following embodiments shall also be considered to be disclosed:

A method to use crowd-sourcing to create a database of tag locations is disclosed. To exemplify, imagine that the workers in a warehouse carry Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices (tablet, phone). It is then possible to use the mobile devices as "virtual hubs" that move around the warehouse and opportunistically harvest the advertisement packets sent by the tags. By combining the measurements from all the devices allow creating a database of the tag locations that is updated near-real-time.

Generalizing, the key idea is to have multiple devices that harvest the Bluetooth advertisement packages containing the measurements made by the tags on the Bluetooth environment. The multiple devices can send such measurements forwards to the cloud whenever such a packet is captured. This way the tag locations are known all the time in the cloud resulting in crowd-sourced tag location database, which is continuously kept up-to-date:

A method for at least two first devices to capture and relay forwards measurements broadcast by at least two second devices wherein broadcasts are Bluetooth

advertisement packages containing Bluetooth beacon measurements made by the second devices; Sending, by the first devices, the measurements to a server (e.g. a Object Tracking Cloud); Determining, by the server (e.g. the Object Tracking Cloud), the locations of the second devices; keeping up-to-date a database of the locations of the seconds devices.

Note that this solves the problem of needing to install extra hardware to support carrying the tag locations to the cloud. The only required steps are:

setup Bluetooth beacons to support indoor positioning

Radiomap the building to create the radiomap support indoor positioning Have an app running in the mobile devices that relays Advertisement packages to the Cloud

Fig. 1 shows the generic system architecture. The key ideas are:

The radio environment (e.g. system 100 of Fig. 1) to support indoor positioning is provided by the Bluetooth beacons (e.g. Bluetooth beacons 140-1 to 140-5 of Fig. 1)

The object to be located (keys, wallet, jacket, e.g. keys 150a of Fig. 1) has a simple radio tag that measures Bluetooth beacon signals (their Beacon IDs and signal strengths)

The tag sends the measurements in the Bluetooth advertisement package to the second devices (e.g. mobile device 130-1 to 130-3 of Fig. 1)

The second devices (mobile devices in this example) capture the advertisement package and provide the measurements over e.g. cellular network or WiFi to the Object Location Cloud (OLC), e.g. server 110-1 of Fig. 1)

The OLC queries the Positioning server (e.g. server 110-2 of Fig. 1) for the tag location (in: Bluetooth measurements, out: indoor location estimate)

OLC keeps an up-to-date database of the tag locations.

In this way, a simple crowd-sourced approach is enabled to have a near-real-time understanding of the tag locations in the cloud without installation of extra

monitoring hardware (hubs). Solely, a simple client app in the mobile device that captures and relays measurement to the cloud component is needed. In the present specification, any presented connection in the described embodiments is to be understood in a way that the involved components are operationally coupled. Thus, the connections can be direct or indirect with any number or combination of intervening elements, and there may be merely a functional relationship between the components.

Moreover, any of the methods, processes and actions described or illustrated herein may be implemented using executable instructions in a general-purpose or special- purpose processor and stored on a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., disk, memory, or the like) to be executed by such a processor. References to a 'computer- readable storage medium' should be understood to encompass specialized circuits such as FPGAs, ASICs, signal processing devices, and other devices.

The expression "A and/or B" is considered to comprise any one of the following three scenarios: (i) A, (n) B, (iii) A and B. Furthermore, the article“a" is not to be understood as "one”, i.e. use of the expression "an element” does not preclude that also further elements are present. The term "comprising" is to be understood in an open sense, i.e. in a way that an object that "comprises an element A" may also comprise further elements in addition to element A.

It will be understood that all presented embodiments are only exemplary, and that any feature presented for a particular example embodiment may be used with any aspect of the invention on its own or in combination with any feature presented for the same or another particular example embodiment and/or in combination with any other feature not mentioned. In particular, the example embodiments presented in this specification shall also be understood to be disclosed in all possible combinations with each other, as far as it is technically reasonable and the example embodiments are not alternatives with respect to each other. It will further be understood that any feature presented for an example embodiment in a particular category

(method/apparatus/computer program/system) may also be used in a corresponding manner in an example embodiment of any other category. It should also be understood that presence of a feature in the presented example embodiments shall not necessarily mean that this feature forms an essential feature of the invention and cannot be omitted or substituted. The statement of a feature comprises at least one of the subsequently enumerated features is not mandatory in the way that the feature comprises all subsequently enumerated features, or at least one feature of the plurality of the subsequently enumerated features. Also, a selection of the enumerated features in any combination or a selection of only one of the enumerated features is possible. The specific combination of all subsequently enumerated features may as well be considered. Also, a plurality of only one of the enumerated features may be possible.

The sequence of all method steps presented above is not mandatory, also alternative sequences may be possible. Nevertheless, the specific sequence of method steps exemplarily shown in the figures shall be considered as one possible sequence of method steps for the respective embodiment described by the respective figure.

The invention has been described above by means of example embodiments. It should be noted that there are alternative ways and variations which are obvious to a skilled person in the art and can be implemented without deviating from the scope of the appended claims.