Trilateration, Fingerprinting, and Centroid: Taking Indoor Positioning with Bluetooth LE to the Wild

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/ReportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Tim Kluge - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Christin Groba - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Thomas Springer - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons raised high expectations when introduced as a cheap, easy to handle indoor positioning solution that is widely supported by smartphones. Experiments soon showed that RSSI values measured by devices vary significantly even when conducted under identical setups. As a result, BLE beacons can be used for what they are designed, i.e., proximity detection. However, setting up indoor positioning systems that cover complete floors and buildings with acceptable accuracy and out of the box is far from being straightforward. This paper evaluates setups for BLE indoor positioning at an inhouse fair to position dedicated smartphones among visitors and exhibition stands. It investigates how established positioning approaches, namely trilateration, fingerprinting, and centroid, respond to the impact of the crowd. Experiments show for the .95 percentile that the weighted centroid technique WCWCL achieves the highest position accuracy of 5.7 meters in the crowded space. Fingerprinting, on the other hand, is heavily impacted by the crowd. While most accurate in an empty/uncrowded space, its accuracy decreases to 11 meters in the crowded space. Further, the paper shows that for a setup with randomly distributed beacons a density of one beacon per 40 square meter is a sweet spot beyond which accuracy does not further increase.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2020 IEEE 21st International Symposium on "A World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks" (WoWMoM)
PublisherWiley-IEEE Press
Pages264-272
Number of pages9
ISBN (print)978-1-7281-7375-7
Publication statusPublished - 3 Sept 2020
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

SeriesIEEE International Symposium on World of Wireless Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM)
ISSN2770-0526

Conference

Title2020 IEEE 21st International Symposium on "A World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks" (WoWMoM)
Duration31 August - 3 September 2020
LocationCork, Ireland

External IDs

Scopus 85087530143
ORCID /0000-0002-1704-3782/work/142252534

Keywords

Keywords

  • Smart phones, Meters, IP networks, Propagation losses, Buildings, Fingerprint recognition, Loss measurement

Library keywords