Location Fingerprinting With Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons
TL;DR: This work provides a detailed study of BLE fingerprinting using 19 beacons distributed around a ~600 m2 testbed to position a consumer device, and investigates the choice of key parameters in a BLE positioning system, including beacon density, transmit power, and transmit frequency.
Abstract: The complexity of indoor radio propagation has resulted in location-awareness being derived from empirical fingerprinting techniques, where positioning is performed via a previously-constructed radio map, usually of WiFi signals. The recent introduction of the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio protocol provides new opportunities for indoor location. It supports portable battery-powered beacons that can be easily distributed at low cost, giving it distinct advantages over WiFi. However, its differing use of the radio band brings new challenges too. In this work, we provide a detailed study of BLE fingerprinting using 19 beacons distributed around a $\sim\! 600\ \mbox{m}^2$ testbed to position a consumer device. We demonstrate the high susceptibility of BLE to fast fading, show how to mitigate this, and quantify the true power cost of continuous BLE scanning. We further investigate the choice of key parameters in a BLE positioning system, including beacon density, transmit power, and transmit frequency. We also provide quantitative comparison with WiFi fingerprinting. Our results show advantages to the use of BLE beacons for positioning. For one-shot (push-to-fix) positioning we achieve $30\ \mbox{m}^2$ ), compared to $100\ \mbox{m}^2$ ) and < 8.5 m for an established WiFi network in the same area.
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17 Aug 2016
TL;DR: A service model based on the spreading trend of Internet of Things (IoT)-based Online-to-Offline (O2O) services in the commerce industry and the steadfast growth of offline businesses in the exhibition industry is proposed.
Abstract: We proposed a service model based on the spreading trend of Internet of Things (IoT)-based Online-to-Offline (O2O) services in the commerce industry and the steadfast growth of offline businesses in the exhibition industry. We approached the proposed service model from three perspectives. First, we conducted a case analysis of the O2O service to judge the timeliness of service model which we provide, and to find out the possible issues that may occur. Second, we performed a literature review for materials relevant to the proposed service model and explored the feasibility of applying near-field communication (NFC) technology to the service model by comparing NFC with Beacon technology, which is the most commonly used technology in indoor-space. Finally, we designed an NFC-based O2O service model in exhibition-space.
4 citations
Cites methods from "Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..."
...Based on literature reviews, we compared the NFC and Beacon methods that are most commonly considered for IoT-based O2O services in an interior space [5, 8, 15, 16, 20, 30, 31]....
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...However, the BLEbased Beacon solution is much cheaper and easier to implement than the Wi-Fi-based Beacon solution of equivalent level [16]....
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12 Jun 2019
TL;DR: A strategy of using Bluetooth Low Energy beacons for a device-free passive human counting system that detects, tracking, and identifying attendant people without carrying any active device or to actively taking part in a localization process is introduced.
Abstract: The increasing availability of wireless networks inside buildings has opened up numerous opportunities for new innovative smart systems. For a lot of these systems, acquisition of context-sensitive information about attendant people has evolved to a key challenge. Especially the position and distribution of attendants significantly influence the system’s service quality. To meet this challenge, several types of sensor systems have been presented over the last two decades. Most of these systems rely on an active mobile device that has to be carried by the tracked entity. Contrary to the so-called device-based active systems, device-free passive sensing systems are grounded on the idea of detecting, tracking, and identifying attendant people without carrying any active device or to actively taking part in a localization process. In order to obtain information about the position or the distribution of present people, these systems quantify the impact of the physical attendants on radio-frequency signals. Most of device-free systems rely on the existing WiFi infrastructure and device-based active concepts, but here we want to focus on a different approach. In line with our previous research on presence detection with Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, in this paper, we introduce a strategy of using those beacons for a device-free passive human counting system.
4 citations
26 Jun 2018
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve sub-meter localization accuracy by referring to the coded pavement lane lines, and demonstrate that advanced road infrastructure could greatly support intelligent vehicles with low-cost and reliable solutions.
Abstract: Self-localization is a key technology for intelligent vehicles. This paper demonstrates a practical and easy solution to vehicle self-localization by simply coding pavement lane lines. Especially, the coding of pavement lane lines makes it possible to distinguish unique pavement marking within certain ranges, which is crucial for vehicle localization. Based on the coded pavement lane lines, we proposed a multi-scale strategy for accurate vehicle localization. The localization method consists of coarse localization with Real-time Locating Systems (RTLS), marking-level localization with marking matching, and metric localization by matching distinctive visual feature points around the marking area. The proposed method has been tested by using the actual data collected in the field, where we encoded the pavement lane lines with two different colors (i.e., white and yellow). The results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve sub-meter localization accuracy by referring to the coded pavement lane lines. The results also demonstrate that advanced road infrastructure could greatly support intelligent vehicles with low-cost and reliable solutions.
4 citations
Cites methods from "Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..."
...These methods may utilize WiFi [3], Ultra-Wideband (UWB) [4], Blue Tooth [5], etc., for real-time positioning....
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...These methods may utilize WiFi [3], Ultra-Wideband (UWB) [4], Blue Tooth [5], etc....
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01 Sep 2017
TL;DR: The developed localization algorithm is based on the use of fuzzy path loss models and particle swarm optimization and shows very high accuracy of localization for a low-cost localization system.
Abstract: In this paper a new approach to indoor localization with Bluetooth beacons is presented. The developed localization algorithm is based on the use of fuzzy path loss models and particle swarm optimization which is the main novelty of this paper. The fuzzy path loss model of each beacon is obtained with a supervised, hierarchical clustering algorithm (SUHICLUST) which accurately describes collected measurements of signal strengths. These are obtained in a very simple way by walking around the area and using the proposed relative localization system, which is based on visual odometry and inertial navigation system. The particle swarm optimization enables computational efficiency of the developed localization algorithm, which is essential for real-time processing and low energy consumption on a smartphone. The results of the testing of the localization algorithm show very high accuracy of localization for a low-cost localization system.
3 citations
Cites background or methods from "Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..."
...models of signal strengths (and use trilateration) [24] and methods based on the principle of “fingerprints” [21]....
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...Therefore, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network [20] has been established, which has many advantages over WiFi [13], [21]: lower energy consumption of receivers (smartphones) as well as transmitters (a coin battery can supply transmitters for several months or even years), low price of transmitters, the greater robustness (signals contain less noise), smaller dimensions of integrated circuits, a Bluetooth receiver can refresh the parameters of the network at a higher frequency (up to 50 Hz)....
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23 Nov 2020
TL;DR: In this article, a discrete-state hidden Markov model is applied to the received signal strength data from Bluetooth low energy beacons and Gaussian assumptions, which leads to a significant improvement of error statistics.
Abstract: Self-positioning of smartphones in indoor environments offers a wide variety of applications. Anyway, in harsh environments, the achievable accuracies using received signal strength indicator measurement data are comparably low. However, restrictions due to geometry allow more accurate estimates of smartphone positions and trajectories. Based on received signal strength data from Bluetooth low energy beacons and Gaussian assumptions, an application of a discrete-state hidden Markov model – taking the geometry into account – in combination with dynamic model parameter estimation, leads to a significant improvement of error statistics.
3 citations
References
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01 Nov 2007
TL;DR: Comprehensive performance comparisons including accuracy, precision, complexity, scalability, robustness, and cost are presented.
Abstract: Wireless indoor positioning systems have become very popular in recent years. These systems have been successfully used in many applications such as asset tracking and inventory management. This paper provides an overview of the existing wireless indoor positioning solutions and attempts to classify different techniques and systems. Three typical location estimation schemes of triangulation, scene analysis, and proximity are analyzed. We also discuss location fingerprinting in detail since it is used in most current system or solutions. We then examine a set of properties by which location systems are evaluated, and apply this evaluation method to survey a number of existing systems. Comprehensive performance comparisons including accuracy, precision, complexity, scalability, robustness, and cost are presented.
4,123 citations
"Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..." refers background in this paper
...Indoor positioning is a mature research field, with many proposed technologies and techniques—comprehensive overviews can be found in [2], [18], [19]....
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06 Jun 2005
TL;DR: The Horus system identifies different causes for the wireless channel variations and addresses them and uses location-clustering techniques to reduce the computational requirements of the algorithm and the lightweight Horus algorithm helps in supporting a larger number of users by running the algorithm at the clients.
Abstract: We present the design and implementation of the Horus WLAN location determination system. The design of the Horus system aims at satisfying two goals: high accuracy and low computational requirements. The Horus system identifies different causes for the wireless channel variations and addresses them to achieve its high accuracy. It uses location-clustering techniques to reduce the computational requirements of the algorithm. The lightweight Horus algorithm helps in supporting a larger number of users by running the algorithm at the clients.We discuss the different components of the Horus system and its implementation under two different operating systems and evaluate the performance of the Horus system on two testbeds. Our results show that the Horus system achieves its goal. It has an error of less than 0.6 meter on the average and its computational requirements are more than an order of magnitude better than other WLAN location determination systems. Moreover, the techniques developed in the context of the Horus system are general and can be applied to other WLAN location determination systems to enhance their accuracy. We also report lessons learned from experimenting with the Horus system and provide directions for future work.
1,631 citations
"Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..." refers background in this paper
...Here the focus is on radio positioning, specifically using the empirical fingerprinting techniques [3], [15], [17], [22] that avoid the need to model the complex radio propagation environment indoors by patternmatching to a previously surveyed map of radio signal strengths....
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TL;DR: It is concluded that PDR techniques alone can offer good short- to medium- term tracking under certain circumstances, but that regular absolute position fixes from partner systems will be needed to ensure long-term operation and to cope with unexpected behaviours.
Abstract: With the continual miniaturisation of sensors and processing nodes, Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) systems are becoming feasible options for indoor tracking. These use inertial and other sensors, often combined with domain-specific knowledge about walking, to track user movements. There is currently a wealth of relevant literature spread across different research communities. In this survey, a taxonomy of modern PDRs is developed and used to contextualise the contributions from different areas. Techniques for step detection, characterisation, inertial navigation and step-and-heading-based dead-reckoning are reviewed and compared. Techniques that incorporate building maps through particle filters are analysed, along with hybrid systems that use absolute position fixes to correct dead-reckoning output. In addition, consideration is given to the possibility of using smartphones as PDR sensing devices. The survey concludes that PDR techniques alone can offer good short- to medium- term tracking under certain circumstances, but that regular absolute position fixes from partner systems will be needed to ensure long-term operation and to cope with unexpected behaviours. It concludes by identifying a detailed list of challenges for PDR researchers.
749 citations
"Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..." refers background in this paper
...fingerprints with other sources to form hybrid systems, many of which are based on the idea of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) [10], [16] being applied to pedestrian dead reckoning [13]....
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01 Feb 2000
TL;DR: This paper analyzes shortcomings of the basic system, develops and evaluates solutions to address these shortcomings, and describes several new enhancements, including a novel access point-based environmental profiling scheme, and a Viterbi-like algorithm for continuous user tracking and disambiguation of candidate user locations.
Abstract: We address the problem of locating users inside buildings using a radio-frequency (RF) wireless LAN. A previous paper presented the basic design and a limited evaluation of a user-location system we have developed. In this paper, we analyze shortcomings of the basic system, and develop and evaluate solutions to address these shortcomings. Additionally, we describe several new enhancements, including a novel access point-based environmental profiling scheme, and a Viterbi-like algorithm for continuous user tracking and disambiguation of candidate user locations. Using extensive data collected from our deployment, we evaluate our system’s performance over multiple wireless LAN technologies and in different buildings on our campus. We also discuss significant practical issues that arise in implementing such a system. Our techniques are implemented purely in software and are easily deployable over a standard wireless LAN.
608 citations
01 Jun 2010
TL;DR: NTP version 4 (NTPv4), which is backwards compatible with NTP version 3 (N TPv3), described in RFC 1305, as well as previous versions of the protocol, are described.
Abstract: The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is widely used to synchronize computer
clocks in the Internet. This document describes NTP version 4 (NTPv4),
which is backwards compatible with NTP version 3 (NTPv3), described in
RFC 1305, as well as previous versions of the protocol. NTPv4 includes
a modified protocol header to accommodate the Internet Protocol
version 6 address family. NTPv4 includes fundamental improvements in
the mitigation and discipline algorithms that extend the potential
accuracy to the tens of microseconds with modern workstations and fast
LANs. It includes a dynamic server discovery scheme, so that in many
cases, specific server configuration is not required. It corrects
certain errors in the NTPv3 design and implementation and includes an
optional extension mechanism. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
605 citations
"Location Fingerprinting With Blueto..." refers methods in this paper
...Before each experiment, each clock was manually synchronized using a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server [20]....
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