U.S. patent application number 11/175224 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for system, method, and apparatus for portable design, deployment, test, and optimization of a communication network.
Invention is credited to Brian T. Gold, Theodore S. Rappaport, Roger R. Skidmore.
Application Number | 20060015814 11/175224 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24519174 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060015814 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rappaport; Theodore S. ; et
al. |
January 19, 2006 |
System, method, and apparatus for portable design, deployment,
test, and optimization of a communication network
Abstract
A system and method which employ one or more portable hand held
computers and one or more servers, allows a field engineer to
complete the entire design, deployment, test, optimization, and
maintenance cycle required to implement successful communications
networks. The portable hand held computer provides the user with a
three-dimensional display of the physical environment in which a
communications network will be deployed or optimized. The engineer
may take the portable hand held computer into the field, and make
alterations to the components, position of the components,
orientation of the components, etc. based on on-site inspection. As
these alterations to the computerized model are made, predictions
for the effects these changes will have on the communications
network are displayed to the engineer. Measurements may also be
made using equipment connected to or contained in the portable hand
held computer, and these measurements may be used to optimize
performance criteria. Information can be transmitted to and from
the portable hand held computer and the server to allow for complex
processing to be performed using portable computer. The system
allows the engineer to remain in the field while deploying the
communications network, making measurements within the network,
receiving optimized predictions on the performance of the network,
re-configuring the communications network and associated
components, and repeating the entire cycle to achieve maximum
possible performance with minimal required time or effort.
Inventors: |
Rappaport; Theodore S.;
(Salem, VA) ; Gold; Brian T.; (Blacksburg, VA)
; Skidmore; Roger R.; (Blacksburg, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WHITHAM, CURTIS & CHRISTOFFERSON, P.C.
11491 SUNSET HILLS ROAD
SUITE 340
RESTON
VA
20190
US
|
Family ID: |
24519174 |
Appl. No.: |
11/175224 |
Filed: |
July 7, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09628506 |
Jul 28, 2000 |
6971063 |
|
|
11175224 |
Jul 7, 2005 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/733 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y04S 40/164 20130101;
Y04S 40/00 20130101; H04W 16/18 20130101; H04L 41/145 20130101;
H04L 41/22 20130101; H04W 16/20 20130101; H04W 24/00 20130101; Y10S
715/964 20130101; H04L 41/147 20130101; H04L 41/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/733 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1-50. (canceled)
51. A method for designing, deploying, optimizing, modifying or
maintaining a communications network, comprising: providing a
computer generated model representing a physical environment in
which said communications network is or will be deployed, said
computer generated model performs at least one of (A) providing a
three-dimensional representation of locations of components within
said physical environment, or (B) providing a representation of
locations of components within said physical environment in either
two dimensions or three dimensions, and wherein said computer
generated model is used for performance prediction of said
communications network based on one or more factors selected from
the group consisting of choice of components to be used within said
physical environment, choice ofr parameters of said components,
choice of locations for said components within said physical
environment, and orientation of said components at said locations;
downloading, uploading or storing data representing at least a
portion of said computer generated model between server computer or
computers and at least one portable computer; measuring, with at
least one measurement device associated with said at least one
portable computer, performance measurements or metrics; and
communicating, from either or both said at least one portable
computer or said measurement device, said performance measurements
or metrics to said server computer or computers.
52. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of
displaying data that represents either or both said three
dimensional representation of (A) or said representation or said
performance prediction results of (B).
53. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of uploading
performance predictions made with said at least one portable
computer to said server computer or computers.
54. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of
connecting or interfacing said at least one measurement device with
said at least one portable computer.
55. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of
downloading performance predictions made with said server computer
or computers to said at least one portable computer.
56. The method of claim 51 further comprising at least one of the
steps of updating, modifying, logging, storing or archiving one or
more of said computer generated model, said representation of said
computer generated model, network component parameters, locations
or orientations, and predicted or measured results.
57. The method of claim 51 wherein said downloading, uploading or
storing step downloads an updated representation of said computer
generated model from said server computer or computers to said at
least one portable computer, or to another computer.
58. The method of claim 51 wherein either or both predicted or
measured performance measurements or metrics are communicated
between said server computer or computers or said at least one
portable computer, or another computer.
59. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of inputting
changes to at least a portion of said computer generated model.
60. The method of claim 59 further comprising the step of editing
or modifying said changes.
61. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of
performing, at said at least one portable computer, at least one of
a) performance predictions, b) autonomous measurements, c) tracking
network changes, and d) analysis of cost data of components or
network infrastructure.
62. The method of claim 51 wherein said downloading, uploading or
storing step uploads an updated representation of said computer
generated model from said at least one portable computer to said
server computer or computers or to another computer.
63. The method of claim 51 wherein said uploading, downloading or
storing step stores changes at either said server computer or
computers or said at least one portable computer or at another
computer.
64. The method of claim 51 wherein downloading and uploading
operate in real time or near real time.
65. The method of claim 51 wherein communication of simulation or
prediction or measurement data occurs through a docking cradle
connection, a wireless connection, a wired connection, or via
electronic media.
66. The method of claim 51 wherein said at least one portable
computer includes a plurality of portable computers, and wherein
either one or more of simulated or predicted or measured
performance measurements or metrics, or network component
information, may be communicated between said server computer or
computers and said plurality of portable computers.
67. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of providing
data from said at least one portable computer to said server
computer or computers and said server computer or computers
processes provided data to provide a modified result.
68. The method of claim 67 where said modified result is
communicated to said at least one portable computer.
69. The method of claim 51 further comprising at least one of the
steps of tracking, sharing, revising, and substituting a cost of a
communication network component in said computer generated model
with either or both said server computer or computers or said at
least one portable computer.
70. The method of claim 51 further comprising at least one of the
steps of tracking, sharing, revising, and substituting a
performance attribute of a communication network component in said
computer generated model with either or both said server computer
or computers or said at least one portable computer.
71. The method of claim 51 further comprising at least one of the
steps of tracking, sharing, revising, and substituting a location
or orientation of a communication network component in said
computer generated model with either or both said server computer
or computers or said at least one portable computer.
72. The method of claim 51 further comprising at least one of the
steps of tracking, sharing, revising, and substituting a
maintenance record in said computer generated model with either or
both said server computer or computers or said at least one
portable computer.
73. The method of claim 51 wherein said three dimensional
representation of said physical environment is represented by one
or more two dimensional representations.
74. The method of claim 51 wherein said computer generated model
provides a two dimensional or three dimensional representation
based upon at least one floor plan of a building.
75. The method of claim 74 wherein said computer generated model
provides two dimensional or three dimensional representations based
upon a plurality of floor plans for one or more floors for one or
more buildings.
76. The method of claim 75 further comprising the step of selecting
one or more floor plans of one or more buildings for displaying
measurements or predictions.
77. The method of claim 51 wherein components represented in said
computer generated model are selected from the group consisting of
base stations, base station controllers, amplifiers, attenuators,
antennas, coaxial cabling, fiber optic cabling, splitters,
repeaters, transducers, converters, couplers, leaky feeder cables,
hubs, switches, routers, firewalls, power distribution lines,
copper wiring, twisted pair cabling and wireless access points.
78. The method of claim 51 wherein said communications network
includes wireless communication devices.
79. The method of claim 51 wherein said computer generated model
represents an outdoor environment in two dimensions or three
dimensions.
80. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of
identifying a location of said at least one portable computer or
said measurement device.
81. The method of claim 80 wherein said identifying step is
performed automatically.
82. The method of claim 80 wherein said identifying step is
performed on demand.
83. The method of claim 80 wherein said identifying step is
performed using information obtained from a position tracking or
locationing device.
84. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of using
said server computer or computers or said at least one portable
computer to input changes to said computer generated model.
85. The method of claim 84 wherein said changes that are input in
said inputting step with said server computer or computers or said
at least one portable computer modify a representation of a
configuration of said communications network.
86. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of using an
un-manned measurement device for making performance measurements in
said physical environment.
87. The method of claim 51 further comprising the step of altering
a layout of components using said server computer or computers or
said at least one portable computer.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention generally relates to a miniature portable
system for design, deployment, test, and optimization of a
communications system, such as an indoor or campus-wide wireless or
wired communication network. A handheld computing platform is used
for the collection and display of communication signal properties,
the manipulation of communication system components in a
communications network design, and the prediction and optimization
of communication systems during design, deployment, or maintenance
operations.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In recent years the use of wireless communication
technology, such as cellular phone networks, has greatly increased.
Moreover, it has become common to implement wireless communication
systems within buildings or large facilities comprising several
buildings. Examples of typical wireless communication systems are
local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), or cellular
phone networks such as PBX, or local loops. Due to the increasingly
diverse applications of wireless communication systems, system
designs have become increasingly complicated and difficult to
implement.
[0005] Common to all communication system designs, regardless of
technology, size or scale, is the need for measurement data at some
point in the design process. Whether in the initial design stage or
the final verification stage, no communication system is
implemented without the input of measurement data. However,
measurement acquisition within in-building environments is much
more tedious and time consuming than in the macrocellular
environment where measurement acquisition is carried out using
Global Positioning System data to determine the location of the
measurement being taken. Global Positioning System (GPS) data,
which so many RF engineers have come to rely upon for outdoor
measurement acquisition, is not an option for microcell
environments. Therefore, recording real-time measurement data
within a building becomes a laborious, time-consuming task
involving scratched notes and blueprints and manual data entry
which are both expensive and ineffectual in many respects.
[0006] In addition to measuring RF signal properties from emitted
base transceivers there is also a need to measure data throughput
time in computer data networks. Throughput time is the time
required to transfer a record or file of known size from one
computer to another. In order to standardize the measurement of
data throughput time for comparison or verification purposes, files
of a set size (e.g. 100K) are used and transferred in packet sizes
such as 512 bytes. Similar to RF signal attenuation, data
throughput time is also a function of transmission distance and
signal obstruction (e.g. walls, doors, partitions), as well as
multipath propagation and the specific radio modem design.
[0007] Various signal property measurement acquisition tools and
systems have been developed to aid in the design of wireless
communication systems such as PenCat.TM., Walkabout PCS.TM. and
TEMS Light.
[0008] LCC International Inc. offers the PenCat.TM. as a pen-based
collection and analysis tool for wireless communication design that
runs on a small hand-held tablet computer. The PenCat.TM. system
enables a user to roam about a building, take signal property
measurement data at a location in the building using a receiver
linked to the tablet computer, and link the measured data to that
building location on a computer map representing the building by
tapping the appropriate portion of the map on the computer screen
with a stylus pen. The building map can be entered into the
PenCat.TM. system by either scanning blueprints, sketching the
building within the application, or importing from another source.
PenCAT uses two dimensional bit maps to model the building
environment.
[0009] Safco Technologies, Inc. offers the Walkabout PCS.TM. system
as a portable survey coverage system for use in indoor or outdoor
wireless communication system design. Similar to PenCat.TM., the
Walkabout PCS.TM. system utilizes a hand-held computer linked to a
receiver for measuring signal properties at a given location and
linking the measured property data to that location represented on
a stored computer map. Also similar to the Safco Walkabout is the
Agilent 74XX indoor measurement system, which also uses a bitmap
floor plan.
[0010] Ericsson Radio Quality Information Systems offers the TEMS
Light system as a verification tool for wireless communication
indoor coverage. The TEMS Light system utilizes a Windows-based
graphical interface with two dimensional bit map drawings on a
mobile computer linked to a receiver to allow a user to view a
stored building map, make location specific data measurements, and
link the measured data to the represented location on the stored
computer map. Unlike other in-building communication measurement
systems, InFielder.TM. by Wireless Valley Communications, Inc.
merges measurement data with periodic updates of position location
on a three-dimensional model of the physical environment. The
InFielder.TM. product concept is disclosed in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/221,985 filed Dec. 29, 1998, and the
contents of this application are herein incorporated by
reference.
[0011] In addition to the above-discussed wireless communication
systems verification tools, various wireless communication system
prediction tools have also been devised such as Wireless Valley
Communications Incorporated's Predictor.TM. and Ericsson Radio
Quality Information Systems' TEMS. Predictor.TM. allows a wireless
communication system designer to predict the coverage area of a
particular wireless system in a building or across multiple
buildings. Predictor.TM. creates a computer simulation using a
computer stored building or facility database and a defined
transceiver location and type within the database. Based on the
building configuration and building material properties defined in
the database a prediction of the coverage area of the wireless
system is extrapolated by site-specific propagation whereby rays
drawn between the transmitter and receiver and three-dimensional
building information are used for prediction computations. The TEMS
system predicts indoor coverage of a wireless system based on a
stored building map and input base transceiver locations and types
using statistical radio coverage models.
[0012] While the above-mentioned design and verification tools have
aided wireless system designers in creating indoor wireless
communication systems using building drawings and linking data
measurements to building drawings, none of the devices, except for
InFielder.TM. and Predictor.TM., incorporate three-dimensional
building drawings to enhance the design process. Further, the
above-mentioned devices and systems lack the ability to track a
roving user while autonomously or passively measuring or collecting
network performance data while uploading or downloading the data to
a remote monitoring location. These capabilities may be required
for installation and ongoing monitoring and management of wireless
devices for global network access.
[0013] There have been recent innovations in the use of portable
handheld computers as information collection devices for field
maintenance and service. River Run Software has produced the OnSite
software that uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) to display
street maps of a desired location. Using custom designed
information gathering forms, OnSite allows a field operator to go
directly to a location, gather information, and either return with
that information of send the gathered data over a wired or wireless
communications link to another computer. Autodesk, Inc. also
produces a software tool called OnSite that, although independent
of River Run's OnSite, accomplishes a similar task. Autodesk's
OnSite allows a field operator to collect information in a remote
setting using a GIS mapping engine and Oracle database software,
and return with that information for record keeping, etc.
[0014] The River Run and Autodesk products are strictly outdoor
field maintenance tools and only display two dimensional raster
images to the user. These products do not address the complexities
of the three dimensional world of in-building systems, which is
significantly more difficult to model and visualize due to multiple
stories or unique three dimensional features. Furthermore, these
products only allow viewing and retrieval, and do not permit
on-site or remote adjustment and manipulation of modeled
features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] According to the present invention, a system is provided for
allowing a system designer to dynamically model a communications
system electronically in any environment. The method includes the
selection and placement of models of various communications system
hardware components, such as hubs, routers, switches, antennas
(point, omnidirectional, directional, leaky feeder, distributed
etc.), transceivers, amplifiers, cables, splitters, and the like,
and allows the user to visualize, in three-dimensions, the effects
of their placement and movement on overall system performance
throughout the modeled environment. Thus, the placement of
components can be refined and fine-tuned prior to actual
implementation of a system to ensure that all required regions of
the desired service area are blanketed with adequate RF coverage,
data throughput, or system performance. The three-dimensional
visualization of system performance provides system designers with
tremendous insight into the functioning of the modeled
communication system, and represents a marked improvement over
previous visualization techniques. Furthermore, the invention
allows maintenance personnel to retrieve and inspect previous
designs, or to rapidly locate components while in a particular
location.
[0016] To accomplish the above, a 3-D model of the physical
environment is stored as a CAD model in an electronic database. The
physical, electrical, and aesthetic parameters attributed to the
various parts of the environment such as walls, floors, foliage,
buildings, hills, and other obstacles that affect radio waves are
also stored in the database. A representation of the 3-D
environment is displayed on a computer screen for the designer to
view. The designer may view the entire environment in simulated
3-D, zoom in on a particular area of interest, or dynamically alter
the viewing location and perspective to create a "fly-through"
effect. Using a mouse or other input positioning device the
designer may select and view various communication hardware device
models from a series of pull-down menus. A variety of amplifiers,
cables, connectors, and other hardware devices may be selected,
positioned, and interconnected in a similar fashion by the designer
to form representations of complete communication systems.
[0017] A region of any shape or size may be selected anywhere
within the displayed environment, or automatically selected based
upon certain criteria (e.g., selecting an entire building). The
selected region is overlaid with a grid containing vertices of
selectable size, shape, and spacing to form a mesh or blanket. Each
vertex corresponds to a single point within the 3-D environment.
Thereafter, a communication system performance prediction model is
run whereby the computer displays on the screen at each vertex of
the mesh the predicted performance values, for instance, received
signal strength intensity (RSSI), network throughput, packet
latency, packet error rate, distributed power levels, quality of
service, bit error rate, frame error rate, signal-to-interference
ratio (SIR), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), provided by the
communication system just designed. The display is such that the
computer adjusts the elevation and/or coloring including
characteristics such as saturation, hue, brightness, line type and
width, transparency, surface texture, etc., of each vertex relative
to the surrounding vertices to correspond to the calculated
performance values. The coloring and elevation may correspond to
the same calculated performance value or to different calculated
performance values. For example, elevation may correspond to
received signal strength intensity (RSSI), and color may correspond
to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or any other of a variety of
calculated performance parameters. The user is able to specify
boundaries for this display in terms of selecting the range of
elevations, colors, or other aesthetic characteristics from which
the vertices of the mesh are assigned. Alternatively, the system
can automatically select limits and ranges for the heights, colors,
and other aesthetic characteristics. The result is a region of
fluctuating color and elevation representing the changing wireless
system performance throughout different portions of the modeled 3-D
environment. The region may be viewed overlaid with the 3-D
environment.
[0018] An important focus of this invention is the use of
miniature, hand-held (e.g., Palm), portable computers which have
been adapted to provide a technician with a display of all or a
portion of a three dimensional model, allow for on-site
manipulation of the model (e.g., adjustments as to choice of
equipment, placement in the space, and orientation) to obtain
performance prediction and other valuable information. These
hand-held portable client computers also provide a measurement
capability for measuring various communications performance
parameters within the space which measurements can be utilized
either in the hand-held, portable client computers and/or be
transmitted to one or several server computers, which may or may
not be similar hand-held portable computers. During testing, actual
performance values may be measured and entered into the hand-held
computer (or gathered directly if the hand-held computer is
equipped with an appropriate measurement device) and either sent to
one or more of the servers for display, logging, and tuning the
prediction models or for use in the prediction models on board the
hand-held computer. In addition, the hand-held portable client
computers may be equipped with global positioning technology or
other location equipment which allow the technician to locate
himself within a building or campus. Used in conjunction with the
measurement features, the technician can have the portable hand
held computer sample various measurements either overtly or
passively in the background and have them paired to location
information which will assist in modeling the space and making
various optimizing changes in the deployed system. Many other
advantages in deploying, testing, and optimizing communication
networks may be achieved using the hand-held portable client
computers, either alone or in combination with the server
computers. Preferably, the hand-held portable client computers will
allow for the selection of various buildings in a campus
environment and display various floor plan layouts for multi-story
buildings selected by the technician.
[0019] A method for representing sophisticated 3-D vector databases
of buildings and campuses of buildings is described. With this
system, a field technician can carry the hand-held computer into
the field and use the displayed information to select placement of
the components and build the physical communication system. Another
advantage of the system is that field engineers can modify the plan
while building the physical system. Modifications such as removing,
adding, or editing positions or parameters of components can be
entered into the hand-held computer acting as a client and can be
transmitted to the server where an updated environment and
prediction model can be calculated and sent back to the hand-held
computer. Alternatively, calculations can be performed at the hand
held computer, the modifications can be made, and the updated model
can then be uploaded to the server. Thus, this system allows for
bi-directional data flow between the client and server. Other data,
such as measured or predicted network performance parameters,
files, photographs, notes, and general information may be embedded
or sent separately with the model.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will
be better understood from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the
drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portable, hand-held computer;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a visual campus database to be
displayed on the portable, hand-held computer;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a schematic of the system of the present invention
which includes at least one portable computer and at least one
server computer which can exchange data and other information;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing the opening sequence used
when obtaining files for use on the portable computer;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram which illustrates the double
buffering concept which is used to speed up the information
displayed to the technician;
[0026] FIGS. 6a and 6b are display screens presented on the
portable, hand-held computer which show editing of an antenna
configuration in three dimensions;
[0027] FIG. 7 shows the use of a translation handle to move a
component such as a base station to a new location within a floor
plan presented on the screen of the hand-held computer in 3-D;
[0028] FIG. 8 shows the ability to alter the position and layout of
a component such as a cable as it is displayed on a floor plan
presented on the screen of the hand held computer;
[0029] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the communication
links between the portable handle client computer and the server
computer; and
[0030] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the portable hand
held computer equipped with a measurement device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE
INVENTION
[0031] Using the present invention, it is now easier than ever to
design, deploy, test, optimize, and maintain communication networks
in and around multi-floored buildings, campuses of multi-floored
buildings, and environments including outdoor 3-D terrain. The
present method is a significant advance over the prior art in the
breadth of information presented to the user while operating a
portable handheld computer. Using the embodiment presented, an
engineer can cover the complete cycle of design, deployment, test,
and maintenance for a communications network.
[0032] To facilitate navigation within a multi-floored building or
campus of multi-floored buildings or in an outdoor 3-D environment,
the present invention provides for a computer aided design (CAD) or
other similar system to assist in creating graphical drawings
representing the building system. Being able to smoothly navigate
within a physical environment including a building or campus of
buildings is critical for the aforementioned cycle of design,
deployment, test, and maintenance of communication networks. In a
large system with complex network assets, a sophisticated
information management system is especially necessary during the
design and deployment and maintenance stages.
[0033] An exemplary embodiment of the invention runs on a portable
handheld computer. The current embodiment uses the Palm IIIC
portable handheld computing device, as shown in FIG. 1, from Palm
Computing Inc, of Santa Clara, Calif. One skilled in the art will
see that many other portable handheld computers could be used as
hardware platforms while staying within the spirit of the present
invention. Some examples for other potential hardware platforms
would be cellular phones, other personal digital assistants (PDAs)
running the PalmOS operating system (OS) from Palm Computing, Inc.
of Santa Clara, Calif., Pocket PC s running the Windows CE OS from
Microsoft, Inc. of Redmond, Wash., and in some cases larger pen
tablet computers running a member of the Windows operating system
family or another powerful OS such as Linux or Be.
[0034] The hand-held computer 10 is programmed to provide on the
display 12 two-dimensional layouts and three-dimensional images of
a building or campus in which a communications network is or will
be deployed. As an example of the type of software which could be
used in the practice of this invention, Wireless Valley
Communications, Inc. of Blacksburg, Va. markets a software product
named SitePlanner.RTM. which is a tool suite that has computer
aided design (CAD) facilities that can provide the layout of
buildings and 3-D terrain, insert morphological objects such as
trees, shrubbery, or human populations, and place network
components. In a preferred embodiment, a 3-D environmental database
is created in SitePlanner.RTM. to model the physical environment
under study, as disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No.
09/218,841, filed on May 26, 1999, the complete contents of which
is herein incorporated by reference. The resulting definition
utilizes a specially formatted vector database comprising lines and
polygons that represent physical objects within the environment.
The arrangement of lines and polygons in the database corresponds
to physical objects in the environment. For example, a line or
other shape in the database could represent a wall, a door, a tree,
a building wall, or some other physical object in the modeled
environment.
[0035] SitePlanner.RTM. has been designed as a wireless
communications planning, design, test, and optimization tool suite.
The powerful CAD facilities that SitePlanner uses to model
buildings are not unlike the capabilities of most common CAD tools.
As such, one skilled in the art could easily see how other CAD
packages could be used to generate similar 3-D representations of
multi-floored buildings and campuses of multi-floored
buildings.
[0036] The current invention presents a method for compactly
representing the database of physical objects within the
environment. One novel aspect of the invention is the use of a 3-D
environment database designed for a portable handheld computer.
Current portable handheld computers lack the vast amounts of hard
disk storage, random access memory (RAM), or processor speed common
to desktop Personal Computers (PCs). The present invention provides
a method for representing sophisticated 3-D vector databases of
buildings and campuses of buildings in a compact space suited for a
portable handheld computer system.
[0037] The term vector format is used here to mean a representation
for a point in some logical space. In dealing with 3-D vector
systems, three spatial coordinate axes, X, Y, and Z, are typically
used to represent a point in space. The vector database specifies
the boundaries of the vector space used, often giving a
transformation matrix to convert points in the database vector
space with a physical units system such as inches or meters. To
represent lines, circles, or other compound shapes, a vector
database uses sequences of vector points. For instance, a line in
3-D is usually specified with a starting point and ending point.
Polygons are typically specified as a set of 3-D vector points.
[0038] A raster format is drastically different from the vector
format described above. In a raster database, every point in the
specified space must be identified with a value. For instance, the
most common type of raster database is the bitmap image, where the
value of every point, or pixel, in the image is given. A raster
representation is typically far less compact than a vector
representation, and additionally is usually not easily scaled to
show finer resolution details. Thus a vector database is preferable
when dealing with a portable handheld computer with limited storage
facilities.
[0039] SitePlanner.RTM. preferably uses the .dwg vector database
format of Autocad, a product of Autodesk, Inc. of San Rafael,
Calif. The .dwg file format was not designed for use in a computer
with limited storage or display capabilities, and so the present
embodiment uses a file format termed Wireless Valley Communications
Portable Database, or "WPD". A "WPD" file is a file that is simply
constructed so that storage space, bandwidth, and processor power
need not be excessive. In a .dwg file, large floating-point numbers
are used to specify coordinates in the vector space; however, a WPD
file uses a simpler integer representation to specify the same
coordinates. While the .dwg file does give more precision that than
would, given the limited display facilities of a portable handheld
computer, the remarkable precision of .dwg is not required.
[0040] To compactly represent shapes such as lines, circles, and
even text or contour surfaces, the WPD specification uses
instruction commands known as opcodes, and associated instruction
parameters termed operands. There are unique opcodes that tell the
software reading the WPD file where to draw a line, what color to
use when drawing the line, how thick the line should be drawn, etc.
Each of these opcodes uses different operands to inform the
software reading the WPD file how or where to draw the object. For
instance, along with the opcode for drawing a line, the operands
specify the beginning and ending vector points for the line. When
an application is reading a WPD file, the opcodes are parsed
sequentially. That is, the opcodes come in a chronological order
according to how objects should be displayed on the screen or
commands should be executed.
[0041] When storing opcodes and operands in a WPD formatted file,
binary-only data is written. The present invention differs from
some prior art that allows ASCII strings to represent instructions
or opcodes. By using a binary representation, the WPD files will be
significantly smaller. On top of the compact binary representation,
the WPD file may be compressed using the LZ77 compression
technique. The LZ77 compression algorithm is a standard mechanism
for exploiting redundancy in data streams. More information on the
LZ77 compression algorithm can be found in Ziv J., Lempel A., A
Universal Algorithm for Sequential Data Compression, IEEE
Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp.
337-343.
[0042] The WPD specification, in terms of its use of binary opcodes
and operands to compactly store data, is not a new concept.
Significant prior art can be exhibited: the Windows Metafile (WMF)
specification from Microsoft, Inc. of Redmond, Wash.; the Drawing
eXchange Format (DXF) from Autodesk, Inc. of San Rafael, Calif.,
the Drawing Web Format (DWF) also from Autodesk, Inc. of San
Rafael, Calif., and many others, some of which even apply
compression techniques such as LZ77 and others. However, none of
the prior art contemplates use on a portable handheld computer nor
does previous art provide a measure for display of a three
dimensional environment that includes integration of networking
components, and communication system performance when providing
remote monitoring through a server.
[0043] The present embodiment preferably exists in part as a module
within the SitePlanner.RTM. tool suite. This module within
SitePlanner.RTM. provides functionality so that a user can export a
.dwg database of a 3-D environment into a compact WPD file which
conserves memory and bandwidth when compared with .dwg and other
drawing formats. To export a .dwg file, each building, tree, floor,
plant, wall, elevator, etc. must be translated from the
representation in a SitePlanner.RTM..dwg file into the
corresponding representation within the WPD file. Such a
translation is preferably done using a look-up table (LUT) where
representations in the .dwg format have a corresponding
representation using WPD opcodes and operands. In the current
embodiment, each building is exported into a unique WPD file. The
exported file is ready to be packaged for use on a portable
handheld computer.
[0044] In addition to fully supporting a vector format for
representing a physical 3-D environment, the current embodiment
supports users who only have raster images of the environment or
building. To construct a 3D representation of a multi-floored
building, a user may use a collection of 2-D raster images stacked
together. While consuming considerably more memory, it has been
found that many users do not have access to electronic CAD drawings
of a building, and are forced to use scanned blueprints or other
raster images.
[0045] The present invention preferably employs a novel management
feature termed the "visual campus database" to assist in organizing
a campus of multi-floored buildings. Using the previously defined
WPD format, a 2D pictorial representation, either vector or raster,
can be used to display a campus of multi-floored buildings from a
top-down view, as shown in FIG. 2. When entering a building, the
user views the display of the hand-held computer and taps or
selects the pictorial representation of the desired building 14. In
the present embodiment, a building hyperlink opcode is used to
instruct the software in the hand-held computer where to find the
WPD file associated with the selected building. Using a building
hyperlink reduces memory usage and improves drawing time, two
critical features for operation on a portable handheld
computer.
[0046] In the current embodiment where a Palm IIIC portable
handheld computer is used, a Palm DataBase (PDB) header structure
must be placed at the top of each WPD file when it is first
created. The PDB header tells the PalmOS what the name of the
database is, the type of database, the application associated with
the database, among other management utilities. In the case of the
current embodiment, each WPD file is assigned a database type
referred to as "WPDB" indicating Wireless Valley Communications
Portable DataBase. The creator ID, that is the application
associated with the WPD file, is given an alphanumeric tag
indicating it will be employed on the hand held computer. In the
preferred embodiment, a four letter tag is used for implementation
on a Palm IIIC.
[0047] In the present embodiment, a WPD database, having had the
PDB header structure inserted, is given the extension .pdb. The
.pdb file is then ready to be transferred from the desktop PC to
the portable handheld computer and stored on the portable hand held
computer. In the current embodiment, the transfer from desktop PC
to portable handheld computer uses the hotsync docking cradle
accessory supplied with the Palm IIIC.
[0048] Referring now to FIG. 3, the docking cradle 16 connects to
the serial port of the PC 18, allowing for a transfer of Palm OS
applications (.prc files) and databases (.pdb files) through the
serial link 20. With the Palm IIIC secured in the docking cradle, a
program supplied by Palm Computing, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. is
used to transfer the .pdb database. The use of the transferal
program is transparent to the end-user, masked by a background
application call from within SitePlanner.RTM.. The user then
removes the portable handheld computer 10 from the docking cradle
16 and is ready to begin operating the hand held computer 10. Of
course, it will be understood by those of skill in the art, that
information can be transmitted between the hand-held computer 10
and the PC 18 by means other than a serial link 20 (e.g., other
wired or optical connections, wireless connections, etc.). In the
present invention, the hand-held computer 10 serves as a "client"
to the PC 18 which serves as "server". In the invention, there may
be one or a plurality of clients and one or a plurality of servers.
In addition, the clients and servers can transfer, store, and
display information to and amongst each other by a variety of
methodologies including electrical or optical link or wireless
communication.
[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, when the software is started at 22, the
system checks to see if there are any present visual campus
databases at decision block 24. If there are no campus databases
present, a list of single building databases is given at block 26.
If a visual campus database was found and selected at block 28
(such as that shown in FIG. 2), the user then graphically picks
which building is to be entered at block 30. The selected building
database is then opened for reading at block 32. By default the
first floor of the building is drawn on screen at block 34. Note
the user may use the visual campus database to represent any large
outdoor environment, such as a city or a coverage area typically
served by macrocellular wireless systems.
[0050] In the present embodiment, only one floor of each building
may be displayed at a time. However, it will be understood by those
of skill in the art that 3-D visualizations could be used to
provide more information to the user. A list of floors in the
current building is preferably provided to the user in the
Graphical User Interface (GUI) on the portable handheld computer.
As the user moves from one floor to another, the current floor may
be selected from the list of floors.
[0051] The hand held computer and software can employ a method for
drawing and storing the current floor known as double buffering, as
shown in FIG. 5. Double buffering involves drawing the current
floor into an off-screen buffer in memory 36. In the present
embodiment, the off-screen buffer may be larger than the primary
display 12 size. Thus, the current view, or viewport 38, occupies a
smaller rectangle within the off-screen buffer 36. The viewport 38
always has the same or smaller resolution size as the primary
display 12. Using double buffering reduces flicker and apparent
drawing times. To draw the active viewport 38 on the actual display
screen 12, the Palm OS software development kit is used to copy the
data within the off-screen buffer into the display screen's
buffer.
[0052] In the current embodiment, to pan around in a building
floor, the user selects the pan button on the graphical user
interface (GUI). Tapping on the screen and dragging the stylus
around will cause the viewport 38 window location to change within
the off-screen buffer 36. As the viewport coordinates change, the
screen is updated by recopying the visible area onto the display.
Zooming in and out of a drawing is implemented in a similar
fashion. When the user selects a zoom tool button (either zoom in
or zoom out) on the GUI and taps on the screen, the viewport window
size is changed accordingly, and the screen is redrawn using the
tapped location as the new center for the drawing. The maximum zoom
level occurs when the viewport window is scaled such that the
number of pixels in the display window matches the number of
coordinate points in the WPD file contained within the active
viewport window. User interface buttons 40 can be used to do the
navigation described above. Alternatively, soft keys could be
displayed on the screen of the portable computer 10 which would
allow zoom and movement of the viewport 38.
[0053] The technique described above, as well as other comparable
techniques, allows one to easily navigate within a complex system
of multi-floored buildings.
[0054] Building material properties such as wall densities and
material types, glass thickness, etc. or material manufacturer
names and sources can be also embedded within the WPD file. When a
building floor is viewed in the present embodiment, the user may
select a building object and view the object's properties directly
on the portable handheld computer 10. In the current embodiment, to
view the object's properties, the user preferably taps or clicks on
the object and selects "Properties" from the Edit menu displayed
hand-held computer 10. A new window, or "form" in Palm OS
terminology, would then be displayed showing the embedded material
properties, manufacturer information, etc. Clearly, alternative
methods could be used to identify and indicate the materials
property on the display screen of the hand held computer. The
important feature is that in the system contemplated by this
invention, the technician charged with deploying or optimizing the
communications network is provided with a hand-held computer from
which he can view the components contemplated for the system, and
can, within his or her discretion select alternative components for
use in the system and be provided with information showing the
effects different materials selections will have on the system
being deployed or optimized.
[0055] This system can also have embedded information specific to a
communications network. For instance, attenuation properties of
building objects can be stored within the database. In the present
embodiment, a means for embedding communication network components
within the WPD file has been specified. Components such as base
stations, antennas, coaxial cable, twisted pair cable, fiber optic
cable, telephone wiring, couplers, amplifiers, equalizers, hubs,
switches, routers, firewalls, power distribution components, and
more can all be specified within SitePlanner.RTM., and be exported
in a WPD file as disclosed herein, and viewed using the hand held
computer 10.
[0056] Preferably, the user can manage all network specific assets
using a bill of materials from SitePlanner.RTM. as specified in
pending application 09/318,842 filed May 26, 1999, the complete
contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. In addition,
asset management data such as physical condition, installation
cost, component cost, depreciation, maintenance schedules, and
important facilities management information may be stored and
displayed. To view bill of materials information on the portable
handheld computer 10, the embedded network components and their
physical locations within the environment are extracted from the
WPD file and linked into a list of assets. In the present
embodiment, the user may view the list of assets by selecting View
BOM within the "Tools" menu item on the hand held computer 10. A
list of all the network components is displayed along with part
information such as price, manufacturer, and performance
characteristics. Simultaneously, the user may view the location of
all such components within a 2-D or 3-D representation of the
environment.
[0057] In addition to being able to display and manage a
communication system's components, the present invention allows
field engineers to modify a system's configuration while operating
within the building or campus of buildings. Modifications such as
removing, adding, or editing locations, positions or parameters of
components are supported in the present embodiment. To remove a
network component, the user simply taps or clicks once to select
the object, and then specifies Remove Object from the Edit menu. To
add a component, the user selects the Add Object from the Edit
menu. A series of window dialogs, or forms, guides the user through
the selection of a network component. The first few forms specify
the general class of object such as wireless equipment, wired
telephony component, optical fiber asset, etc. Later forms, based
on the general class of component selected, vary such that specific
information can be entered. For instance, in a wireless
communications system, a base station may be placed within the
active floor. In the same system, an antenna or cabling system can
be placed to connect with the base station. Once components have
been added to the building system, or if components already exist,
the user may edit the configuration, layout, and properties of an
object. To edit the network component properties, the user may tap
or click on the object twice in succession, or, having tapped or
clicked on the object once, choose the Properties command within
the Edit menu. A list of the current objects' properties is
displayed.
[0058] Where possible, the user may edit the object's configuration
or properties. For instance, an antenna system may have a certain
rotation in three dimensions. A preferred embodiment allows the
user to specify a new rotation and orientation by choosing rotation
angles from each of the three primary spatial axes, all while
displaying the antenna system in a wireframe 3-D view, as shown in
FIGS. 6a and 6b. Specifically, FIG. 6a shows a three dimensional
view where soft keys "x", "y" and "z" are used to edit the antenna
configuration, and FIG. 6b shows two 2D views with the soft keys
"x", "y" and "z" being used to edit the antenna's
configuration.
[0059] Other components may also be edited or moved throughout the
displayed environment depending on the changeable parameters
available for the selected object. The technique for making these
edits will depend on the software being used on the portable
computer 10. An important feature of this invention is that the
technician is permitted to make changes in parameters, components,
locations, and orientations of components, on the fly at the site
of installation for the communications network, while having the
ability to communicate with a server with a wireless or wired link
for updates to the environmental model. The portable handheld
computer also stores and displays the updated environment model and
the changed network configuration. Preferably, the technician will
be provided with immediate information at the hand held computer
based on prediction models being loaded thereon that will predict
the effects of the modifications imposed or suggested by the
technician. Alternatively, this computation could be performed at
the server wherein the hand held computer uploads the information,
computations are performed, and the server downloads the results to
the client computer. The modifications can be uploaded to one or
more server computers, or they may be transmitted to other
portable, hand-held client computers (one might have a plurality of
hand-held client computers in the system, for example, if several
engineers are working at optimizing and/or deploying the
communications network at the same site.
[0060] Nearly all objects may be moved while viewing the building
floor in the present embodiment. Referring now to FIG. 7, there is
shown a communications component 42 positioned at a location on a
floor of a building, with the floor plan shown generally as 44. To
move the component 42, the user selects the desired object by
tapping or clicking on the object's drawn location. Depending on
the type of component 42, a set of modification or translation
handles are presented. All objects will have translation handles
used to move the component within the drawing while keeping the
current orientation and layout. For instance, when a base station
(component 42) is selected, a box 46 with an X inside can be
displayed next to the base station. The user may click or tap on
the box 46 and drag the pointing device around to specify a new
location for the base station. Other components work in an
identical fashion for merely translating the object.
[0061] Some components may be re-oriented on the display screen.
For example, a cable system may be altered in the manner it is
routed within a building. As shown in FIG. 8, the user can be shown
a solid box 48 at each vertex of the cable system 50. Tapping or
clicking on the solid box and dragging the pointing device around
causes the vertex location to change. For illustrative purposes,
FIG. 8 shows the translation handle 52 connected to vertex 54 of
the cable which will allow this vertex to be moved from the wall
56. The end of the cable 50 is connected to component 58 which can
also be moved as described above in connection with FIG. 7. In a
preferred embodiment, the user may additionally select a Force Size
constraints option with the Options menu to force any changes to a
cable system to use the existing lengths of cable. Other techniques
may also be used for addressing the movement and/or repositioning
of cables and the like. An important feature of this invention is
that the cable position, or "proposed" cable position, is
identified to the technician on his or her portable hand held
computer, and he or she may re-position the cable into alternative
positions based on his or her on-site assessment of the building or
other structure or geographical area in which the cable will be
located. As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 7, and FIGS. 6a and
6b, this invention allows both the location and orientation to be
altered on-site in a similar fashion, and still further, the
invention allows for the selection of diverse components (e.g.,
selection of a particular type of antenna from a schedule of
several different antennas) for installation at the site, with all
of these selections being made possible at the site by the
technician, and the technician is provided with immediate feedback
on how these changes will affect the overall communications system.
Examples of the types of components which are used in practice and
which might be modeled within the practice of this invention
include base stations, base station controllers, amplifiers,
attenuators, antennas, coaxial cabling, fiber optic cabling,
connectors, splitters, repeaters, couplers, leaky feeder cables,
hubs, switches, routers, firewalls, power distribution lines,
copper wiring, twisted pair cabling, and wireless access points. In
addition, transducers and converters such as devices that convert
optical signals to RF or baseband signals might be modeled. The
portable computer/server combination may also track the cost and
performance criteria (i.e., a bill of materials) for various
components selected by or substituted by the engineer using the
hand held computer, such that a complete listing and display of
charges and performance can be obtained during the design,
deployment or optimization processes.
[0062] Existing software systems may allow a user to view
communications network systems. However, prior to this invention,
no prior art system allowed the management described above to occur
on a portable hand-held computer. This invention is the first to
recognize that portable hand held computer systems can be used to
store and present three dimensional representations of buildings,
campus areas, topography of geographic terrain, etc., and to allow
these displayed systems to be modified on the fly, with immediate
computational feedback from downloaded models, thereby permitting
the fast and efficient deployment and optimization of
communications networks.
[0063] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4-8, it can be seen that the
present invention contemplates that multiple floor plans may be
stored either on the portable computer or server (in which case the
portable computer can retrieve these plans from the server), and
that these floor plans can be displayed on the portable computer
(either in 2-D or 3-D). The engineer will be able to select among
one or more buildings (as shown in FIG. 2), and then be able to
display the floor plan for specific floors in a multi-story
building selected (or the floor plan for a single story building)
on the display of the portable computer. As shown in FIG. 5, the
engineer can then selectively display different portions of the
floor plan by moving the view port. It should be understood that
these techniques can be used in any physical environment which is
modeled in a three-dimensional model (e.g., topographical terrain,
etc.).
[0064] The WPD file format contemplated herein is capable of
representing the complete building and network database
information. In the present embodiment, when a user adds, removes,
or modifies a network component configuration and uploads this
information to a computer running SitePlanner.RTM., the
SitePlanner.RTM. software can completely reconstruct and store a
.dwg file with all the necessary data such that the user may use
the SitePlanner.RTM. tools to further a design on the desktop PC.
To reconstruct the .dwg file within SitePlanner.RTM. the process
for exporting the WPD file is reversed. That is, the look-up table
(LUT) described previously is reversed, and opcodes and operands
contained in the WPD files are translated into the .dwg
representations.
[0065] In one embodiment, to upload WPD database files from the
portable handheld computer onto a server which could be a desktop
PC, the user places the portable handheld computer into the docking
cradle attached to the desktop PC. Extensions made to the
SitePlanner tool suite guide the user through the import process.
The WPD database files contained on the portable handheld computer
are queried, that is, the desktop PC software requests a list of
database files marked as type WPDB as discussed previously. The
list returned is presented to the user for selection. In the
current embodiment, the databases selected by the user are
transferred from the portable handheld computer onto the desktop PC
via the serial port interface. Using the aforementioned translation
process, .dwg files are reconstructed for each WPD file
transferred.
[0066] In addition to being able to transfer, display and store
data between the portable hand-held client and other client or
server computers via a serial port interface (the serial port 60
being shown in FIG. 1), the present invention also contemplates a
novel method for transferring, storing and displaying data in the
field over a wired or wireless network medium, as shown in FIG. 9.
Using such a method, the field engineer may communicate design
changes back to a desktop PC 100 running SitePlanner.RTM. or some
other capable software for other engineers to examine in real-time
or off-line. To minimize the quantity of transferred data, a method
of tracking revision changes could be employed. Preferably, the WPD
file format employs change-tracking opcodes, such that only the
data marked as changed needs to be sent over the communication
link. When the user opens a communication link to a desktop PC 100
running SitePlanner.RTM. or some other capable software, a copy of
the WPD file is stored locally to the desktop PC 100 such that any
changes made using the portable handheld computer 102 will be
merged into the copy stored locally on the desktop PC 100. Other
users may not modify the database files on the desktop PC while the
communication link remains open, preventing multiple users from
making changes to the file at once.
[0067] It is also possible, and preferable to have the facility of
allowing a mobile user to communicate site-specific information
back to a central server or repository. Autodesk, Inc. has
developed the OnSite technology that allows a field technician to
carry a portable handheld computer into the field and visualize a
Geographic Information System (GIS) database of street maps. The
field technician may then place survey information within the
database and transmit the information to a server over a wired or
wireless link. The present embodiment extends this concept
significantly in that the current invention allows for 3-D physical
environment information to be sent into the field, and also allows
for complex communications network information and measured and
predicted performance data to be viewed, manipulated, stored and
transmitted back to another computer over a wired to wireless link.
In the preferred embodiment, a position-tracking device may be
attached to or incorporated in the portable handheld computer 102
so that a user's movements within the environment may be tracked
and displayed. Using such a system, a field technician will know
precise location information while navigating through an
environment. Some examples of position-tracking devices include
Global Positioning System (GPS) antennas, laser range finder
scanners, tilt sensor based dead-reckoning systems, or some other
positioning device known now or in the future. Interface boxes 104
and 106 allow this information, as well as other data, to be
transmitted between the portable hand held computer 102 and the
server computer 100. For example, after the technician makes
changes on the portable hand held computer 102, this information
could be used to update the computerized model of the
communications network on the server 100. Alternatively, files of
building information, equipment information, etc., might be
retrieved from the server 100 by the portable hand held computer
102 on an as needed basis.
[0068] There are many computer aided design (CAD) products on the
market that can be used to design a computerized model of a
communications network. Some of the major prediction and simulation
tools available are: WiSE from Lucent Technology, Inc., SignalPro
from EDX, PLAnet by Mobile Systems International, Inc., TEMS from
Ericsson, Virtutech Simics, CACI Products Co.'s COMNET Predictor,
Scientific and Engineering Software, Inc.'s SES/Strategizer, and
Make System, Inc.'s NetMaker XA. In a preferred embodiment,
SitePlanner.RTM. from Wireless Valley Communications, Inc. is used
as a CAD tool to predict performance of a communications network
system; however it should be understood that other design tools may
also be used in the practice of this invention.
[0069] With advancements in portable handheld computing power,
enhanced prediction and simulation capabilities may be possible on
a portable handheld computer. The desktop PC running
SitePlanner.RTM. or some other prediction software could
additionally be a collection of computers used in parallel to
improve calculation speed. In the present embodiment, the software
on the portable handheld computer can send environmental
information contained in a WPD database to multiple computers
running SitePlanner.RTM. in parallel. Using a simulation or
prediction tool such as SitePlanner to model the communications
environment, the present invention allows simulation or prediction
data to be communicated from a desktop PC or server PCs to the
field engineer a portable handheld computer. In the present
embodiment, the communication of simulation or prediction data may
occur through the docking cradle connection, or over the
aforementioned wired or wireless network connection. The prediction
or simulation data is embedded directly within the WPD database
files, and then stored and displayed on the portable handheld
computer, as discussed in the WPD specification.
[0070] Using the present invention, a user may view simulation or
prediction data within the building database map on the portable
handheld computer. Simulation or prediction data may be represented
as signal strength, network throughput, bit error rate, packet
error rate, packet latency, power consumption, or some other
measurement metric known now or in the future. Simulation or
prediction data may be viewed either as an overlaid grid of data
points, as a set of contours identifying equal performance, as an
instant point where a simulated user is tracked within the building
to indicate communications performance, or some other display
method known now or in the future. Examples of several network
performance visualization methods are covered in pending
application Ser. No. 09/352,678 filed Jul. 14, 1999, the complete
contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.
[0071] Regardless of communication system complexity or scale,
measurement data is generally required to validate the
communication system design and operation, and to verify proper
performance over time. Many tools exist on the market today for
validating the performance of communications networks. Hardware and
software products for verifying wireless communications include,
but are certainly not limited to, TEMS Light from Ericsson, the
Agilent Technologies, Inc. Indoor Wireless Measurement System, the
Wireless Valley Communications, Inc. InFielder.TM. component within
SitePlanner.RTM., the SAFCO Walkabout.RTM., and the Qualcomm
Retriever. Countless tools for monitoring wired network performance
exist. Examples include the NetSys Performance Tool, IBM's NetView,
HP's OpenView, the Fluke OneTouch Network Assistant, and many more.
None of the above-mentioned products, except for InFielder.TM.,
have the ability to remotely monitor network performance while
merging performance data with exact physical locations and
electrical specifications of the components that make up the
network under test. While InFielder.TM. can be used to measure
network performance between a client and a server, InFielder.TM.
does not provide a means for transferring collected measurement
data to another computer in a real-time or store-and-forward
manner. In hand-held devices, where display capabilities and memory
size may be severely limited, it is vital to have a real-time or
near real-time transfer mechanism that allows measured data from
the hand held client to be off-loaded to a server before the memory
of the hand held device is filled. At the server, the received data
may be archived, displayed, used for remote engineering monitoring
of system health, or used for analysis. The received data may also
be stored and displayed at the originating hand held device
provided there is sufficient memory.
[0072] Some communication devices such as wired or wireless modems,
wired or wireless LAN adapters, cellular telephones, and others can
be used to gain insight into the performance of a network. For
instance, some existing wireless LAN adapters can report connection
quality to the user via a software interface. Most cellular
telephones are capable of indicating signal strength, and some can
report base station ID, bit error rate, and other statistics to
indicate performance of the network. The present invention
preferably uses capabilities of such devices for passively or
autonomously reporting communication network performance to one or
more servers or clients. That is, as users roam an environment with
the hand held computer 102 and a communication device such as those
mentioned above, the software logs connection quality,
characteristics, and statistics where available. Using the
bandwidth-efficient WPD file format, the system utilizes the wired
or wireless communications link to send the logged data to other
mobile users or to servers, such as desktop PCs, for analysis. Such
a system can be used without having location information, simply
reporting the general communications network performance and status
from a roaming user. Furthermore, the hand held clients may be left
unattended for ongoing, periodic data collection, storage, or
transferral. By sending many users into the field with the present
invention, a multitude of performance measurement samples
indicating network performance such as throughput, latency, delay,
error rate, power consumption, signal level, interference,
distortion, quality of service, and others, can be gathered
periodically, intermittently, or continuously to monitor the state
of the network.
[0073] The present embodiment also allows for a field engineer or
technician to enter a site and actively report their location while
collecting data. Referring now to FIG. 10, in the present
invention, a user operating a portable hand-held computer 300 may
attach a communication system measurement device, such as a wired
or wireless network transceiver, a cable integrity tester, a signal
quality measurement device, a bit error rate or data throughput
detector, or some other measurement tool 302 known now or in the
future. In the present embodiment, specific examples of measurement
devices that may be attached include, but are not limited to, the
ZK-Celltest SAM with cellular phone, the Wireless Valley
Communications, Inc. WaveSpy radio scanner, the Anritsu SiteMaster
MS2711 handheld spectrum analyzer, a Berkeley Varitronics Systems,
Inc. Fox radio receiver, and a wireless Palm Modem. The measurement
tool may be connected by an interface cable 304 to the interface
port 60, or by other suitable wired or wireless connection.
[0074] Having connected a communication measurement device 302 to a
portable handheld computer 300, the preferred embodiment will guide
the engineer through a series of steps before beginning measurement
collection with the communications device. The user should input
specific device parameters so that the measurement device may be
set up properly. Some measurement equipment devices have real-time
interfaces, where the portable handheld computer can interface
directly to the measurement device and potentially directly select
options and parameters for the measurement equipment. Other
measurement devices require the user to select options manually
with an interface on the device itself. If a real-time interface is
present on the measurement device 302, the options and parameters
pertaining to the selected measurement device may be transmitted
over the communications link between the portable handheld computer
and the measurement device. In another embodiment, as is shown in
FIG. 10, an RS-232 serial interface cable 304 is used to connect
the portable handheld computer 300 with the measurement device 302;
however, one skilled in the art would observe that other
communications links could be used such as USB serial, FireWire, a
BlueTooth wireless system, or some other communications link known
now or in the future could also be employed. In the embodiment
shown in FIG. 10, RS-232 serial communications are preferably
managed using the Palm OS's New Serial Manager specified as part of
the Palm OS Programmers Companion. The New Serial Manager handles
low-level implementation details for communications between the
software running on the portable computer 300 and the serial port
on the portable handheld computer 300. The Palm OS software
development kit implements function calls to send data over the
serial port using the New Serial Manager. Further details on the
Palm OS New Serial Manager and how PalmFielder uses the serial
connection are detailed as part of the Palm OS software development
kit reference document. Once a measurement device has been
connected to the portable handheld computer and the user has
specified the desired options and parameters for the device, data
collection and remote monitoring by another server or client may
begin. When using a measurement device equipped with a real-time
interface, data collection can be performed in the background while
the user navigates within the building or places the measurement
device in a fixed location. With some measurement devices, data
will be stored in the WPD file at all times using a time or
position code to indicate when or where the data was collected. The
WPD specification indicates how measurement data is stored in a WPD
file.
[0075] As disclosed in the co-pending application Ser. No.
09/221,985, the complete contents of which has been incorporated by
reference, the user may input the current location into the
portable hand-held computer 300 using several methods. In a marker
mode, the user taps or clicks at the current location and a single
measurement is made using the attached testing device. In a track
mode, the user indicates the current position by clicking or
tapping on the display, then walking in a straight line at constant
velocity, and then clicking or tapping to indicate the stopping
position. The data collected during the traveling period may then
be averaged according to user specified options and stored within
the database at evenly distributed points along the path either by
using a set time interval or unit distance.
[0076] In an "Auto" mode, the user attaches a position-tracking
device such as a GPS antenna, a laser range finder, a tilt sensor
based dead-reckoning system, or some other tracking device that can
detect position or change in position or motion known now or in the
future. As the field user moves around in the environment,
measurements collected from a receiver are correlated with position
information collected from the attached tracking device. Such a
system can be used to record large amounts of data with minimal
user interaction needed. As a user of the hand held client collects
measurement data within the environment, the collected data may be
transmitted in real-time or near real-time to a remote server
computer or another client, and the measured data is then displayed
on a 3D model of the environment at the remote computer. The data
is also logged and processed at the remote computer for archiving
and analysis.
[0077] Measurement data stored in the WPD file can be displayed
directly on the building map by using a colored or patterned marker
such as a circle, rectangle, asterisk, or some other shape at the
position the data was recorded. In the case where prediction or
simulation data is also available for the building, the user
preferably may choose to display the prediction or simulation data
along side actual measurements. The current embodiment also allows
the user to show markers and statistics directly on the building
drawing indicating differences between predicted or simulated data
and actual measurement data.
[0078] An important component of the SitePlanner.RTM. tool suite is
the Optimatic.RTM. module, where measurement data is used to
optimize both the prediction model and the prediction model
parameters. The portable system contemplated by this invention can
be adapted to be used to optimize the prediction model and
prediction model parameters on-site on the fly at the discretion of
the engineer. FIG. 9 shows a system for transferring measurement
data over a wired or wireless communications medium. Using the
communication link mentioned previously, where a desktop PC server
running SitePlanner.RTM. or other capable software is connected via
a wired or wireless communications medium, the collected
measurement data may be sent to the desktop PC for optimization of
the prediction or simulation model or model parameters. Once the
desktop PC has optimized the prediction or simulation model or
model parameters, updated predictions are made, and the new
predictions are sent back to the portable handheld computer over
the aforementioned communications link. Given more processing power
on the portable handheld computer, optimizations could take place
directly on the portable handheld computer.
[0079] The system of this invention preferably allows for
management of a measurement campaign within a given environment. If
several field technicians collect measurement data using the
present invention system, each user may exchange the data collected
with other users in the field. Alternatively, unmanned operation of
the present invention could be employed. Such a system facilitates
the management of an ongoing measurement campaign by effectively
allowing measurement collection to operate in parallel. To upload
measurement data collected in the field, the aforementioned wired
or wireless link is used to send data from the portable handheld
computer to other portable handheld computers in the field or to
desktop PCs elsewhere.
[0080] Using the present invention, a field engineer is capable of
completing the entire design, deployment, test, optimization, and
maintenance cycle required to implement successful communications
networks. Representing a significant advance over the prior art, an
exemplary embodiment allows the engineer to remain in the field
while deploying the communications network, making measurements
within the network, receiving optimized predictions on the
performance of the network, re-configuring the communications
network and associated components, and repeating the entire cycle
to achieve maximum possible performance with minimal required time
or effort.
[0081] While the invention has been described in terms of its
preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that
the invention can be practiced with considerable variation within
the scope of the appended claims.
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