Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS26.1.2017
2635998 is the number of the first European patent that got granted to Fraunhofer Portugal, under the title ‘Mobile Device and Infrastructure System‘. The innovation that is covered by the patent is ULF-MC, a system for Ultra-Low Frequency Magnetic Communication.
ULF-MC was the first step towards the now fully infrastructure free indoor localization solution of Fraunhofer Portugal, the Precise Indoor Location (PIL). With ULF-MC it is possible to create magnetic beacons that communicate via low frequency modulated magnetic fields with magnetic sensors, like Hall-Sensors that can be found in practically any smartphone today. Using ULF-MC, small data packets can be sent to the phone when it is entering the magnetic field, e.g. containing a location ID to identify a room.
The key advantage in comparison to Radio Frequency (RF) beacons, like Bluetooth based beacons is the easy to control dimension of the magnetic field. Thus it is possible to determine very precisely the position of the phone and it can even be used for mobile payment stations, or access control systems.
The request of patent was submitted in Germany in November of 2010 and internationally in November of 2011, both in German language. In 2013, the request was translated to English language and submitted in the United States of America.
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