Patent attributes
A method is provided for one or more network devices to determine the location of user equipment (UE) in a radio access network (RAN). The method includes collecting UE location indications and corresponding received signal strength measurements for wireless access stations concurrently visible to cooperating UE devices at the indicated locations. Each UE location indication and corresponding received signal strength measurements provide a data point. The method also includes assigning signature areas based on groupings having the same combination of the concurrently visible wireless access stations, identifying multiple clusters of data points within the signature areas, and calculating an estimated location for each cluster based on the UE location indications from the data points. After the designating, the method includes receiving, from a UE device, a listing of concurrently visible wireless access stations and corresponding received signal strength measurements by the other UE device, and generating a location estimate for the other UE device by correlating the concurrently visible wireless access stations and the corresponding received signal strength measurements in the listing to one of the clusters within one of the signature areas.
