Non-audible acoustic communication and its application in indoor location-based services

Location-Based services are gaining momentum as an important advancement in context aware services. That is, empowering users to identify potential services in their current space, and the prospect for services that are able to target local users, are pushing interest in research and industry alike. This paper explores the use of non-audible sound as a communication medium to tag and access location based services and gain access to their pertinent information. We propose and demonstrate the indoor implementation of a prototype of a location-based service-enabling system for hand-held devices. The system allows users to use their hand-held devices to search and interact with available services in their surroundings. A beacon placed in the service location broadcasts a service code mappable to the services particular to that location, and encoded via an ultrasound signal. The hand-held device can then identify that signal and prompt the user with the available services. We detail the novel system design and the ensuing architecture, and demonstrate the viability of the system which is tested over a variety of environments and scenarios. We conclude with an overview of the wide range of applications of this system, and note how it can enhance the way clients access location based services.