Generating wireless network access point models using clustering techniques

Abstract

The technology relates to generating a wireless network access point model for determining locations within an area. In one example, a plurality of scan vectors, each scan vector representing a set of signal strengths for a set of wireless network access point identifiers and being associated with a location within the area at which a mobile device moving through the area measured the set of signal strengths are received. A set of clusters is generated by iterating through a split phase until the number of clusters in the set of clusters equals a maximum number of clusters or there are no bad scan vectors identified. A bad scan vector may include a vector having a vector difference from a center of a cluster to which that vector is assigned is less than a minimum similarity value. The set of cluster is then used to generate the model of the area.