INTEGRATION OF BLUETOOTH FUNCTIONALITY WITH A GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

摘要

A method for localizing a moving object using a satellite based potioning system such as a global position system (GPS) (47) and a short range wireless system (74) such as a system that conforms to the Bluetooth specifications. Localization of a moving object is accomplished using GPS when sufficient satellites are visible. GPS correlation computations are performed either on-line with an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) (42) or off-line with a digital signal processor (DSP). If insufficient satellites are visible, the locations of one or more nearby Bluetooth base stations are used to supplement or replace the GPS computation results to enable more accurate cellular phone localization. A cellular phone with a location detector function which integrates GPS and Bluetooth technology can be used for emergency localization in both outdoor and indoor settings. Bluetooth functionality is integrated in the cellular phone with a GPS system through the addition of a Bluetooth antenna (60), a Bluetooth RF radio (70), and a Bluetooth ASIC (72), all of which optionally are combined with components of prior art cellular phones. Integration of Bluetooth-GPS can also be used to improve navigational systems.