Indoor Localization
Indoor Localization
Indoor Localization
1. Introduction
Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) has become a vital research area, due to their wide ranging
applications including civilian, industrial, agricultural, and military [1, 2, 3]. A sensor network consists
of sensor nodes which are small in size, low in cost, and have short communication range. Usually, a
sensor device consists of four main subsystems (computing, sensing, communication, and power
supply subsystems).
Researchers have focused on different aspects of WSN, such as hardware design, routing,
security, and localization [4, 5, 6]. One of the critical aspects which needs to be taken into
consideration is localizing mobile targets through distributed sensor networks. Node localization is the
problem of finding the geographical location of a mobile target node (the node with unknown
location), based on other beacon nodes (nodes with fixed known locations).
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Target tracking applications using WSNs have received much attention recently. This attention
focuses on the need to achieve high localization accuracy, without incurring a large cost, form factor
and power-consumption per node. There are many localization and tracking systems have been
designed and implemented recently, summarized in [7, 8, 9]. A well known localization approach is the
Received Signal Strength (RSS). RSS-based localization systems are one of the most popular and
cheap techniques and are increasingly accepted as a positioning solution for localizing target nodes in
both indoor and outdoor environments. RSS-based localization systems work by converting the Signal
Strength (SS) to a transmitter-receiver using separate distance measurements. However, RSS values
can be affected by walls and obstacles which may reflect and propagate the signals, therefore offering a
non-linear transformation between the RSS values and the location. Due to the aforementioned
limitations, deploying RSS-based localization systems in indoor environments becomes a complicated
task which is difficult to engineer using classical mathematical models.
The RSS information can be used to estimate the distance between the transmitter and the
receiver in two ways: the first uses the signal propagation model to convert SS to a distance
measurement, using previous knowledge about the beacon nodes locations, and deploys a geometry
method to compute the location of target nodes. This is known as a triangulation localization method
[10]. The second approach is based on the behavior of signal propagation and information about the
geometry of the building to convert RSS values into distance values; this is known as a fingerprinting
localization method.
The complexity of applying a triangulation approach arises from the need to accurately obtain
the distance measurements from the RSS as indoor radio signal propagation is very complicated
because of signal attenuation due to distance, the effect of multipath propagation, and penetration
losses through obstacles.
On the other hand, fingerprinting systems require only the collection of RSS values at several
locations to form a database of location fingerprints. Deployment of the fingerprinting-based
localization system is usually divided into two main phases: 1) Offline phase: this includes measuring
the location of a mobile target in several coordinates and storing the collected RSS values at each point
with the corresponding location in a database file; 2) Online phase: the mobile target collects several
RSS values from different beacon nodes in its range and sends the data to a server which applies a
positioning algorithm to estimate the mobile targets location [11].
There are two main challenges to designing and developing a fingerprinting system. First, there
is the problem of collecting the RSS samples and storing them in a database file; this process requires a
long period of time, particularly when the localization system is deployed in a large area. Second, the
searching procedure through the stored samples is time consuming. In this paper, we propose a
fingerprinting-based localization approach which aims to reduce the total number of reference points
that need to be collected in the offline phase while achieving low localization error of between 1 and
3.5 meters. Moreover, the proposed system assigns a unique feature to each small area in order to
reduce the time needed to carry out the searching procedure.
The main contributions of this paper are as follows: a) unlike the existing approaches which
mainly focus on simulation, a new fingerprinting localization approach is introduced practically using
ZigBee sensor nodes; b) it is demonstrated analytically that the proposed localization approach requires
a lower number of reference points to be gathered than the existing neural network based approaches;
c) through experiments, it is shown that the proposed localization method achieves a low level of
localization error in complex environments.
This paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, the related systems proposed recently are
introduced. In Section 3, a new fingerprinting localization approach is presented, while Section 4
reviews the implementation of the proposed system on real ZigBee-based sensor devices. Section 5
offers the evaluation of the proposed fingerprinting localization system and a discussion is presented in
Section 6. Finally, Section 7 draws conclusions regarding the proposed system and presents
suggestions for future work.
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2. Related Work
Even though WSNs were not designed and developed for the purpose of localization applications,
measuring the RSS values for each transmitted message could offer localization information of mobile
targets. Fingerprinting localization systems are relatively simple and cheap compared to other methods
such as angle-of-arrival (AOA), time-of-arrival (TOA), and time difference of arrival (TDOA) systems,
as these systems require attaching additional sensor device to each beacon node. In this section, the
fingerprinting-based localization approaches are categorized into two categories based on the
localization method used in the estimation phase: database-based and neural network-based methods.
First, the database-based approaches are considered. The systems proposed in [12, 13] include a
WLAN-based indoor localization system based on fingerprinting method. The developed approaches
are based on collecting RSS values from several reference points distributed over the tracking area and
storing them in a database file. The mobile target estimates its location by comparing the RSS values
collected from the beacon nodes and the RSS values stored in the database.
RADAR is a well-known tracking system proposed in [14], which operates by recording and
processing information regarding the signal strength at multiple base stations in order to provide
overlapping coverage of the area of interest. The work presented in [15] includes a research and a
development of a fingerprinting-indoor positioning system using the received signal strength, which its
based on two different protocol stacks: BitCloud and OpenMac.
Cortina is a distributed real time location system designed to track people indoors based on
IEEE802.15.4 radio standard and RFID technology. Cortina avoids the need for manual calibration by
adopting a collaborative approach that uses RSS measurements collected by the fixed nodes [16]. A
hybrid localization approach using WLAN, which consists of two main stages: first, a fingerprinting
method, with a fast training phase in order to obtain the location for the mobile target, indicates which
room the mobile target is located in. Second, a triangulation is used to compute the mobile target
location precisely. It was shown that the proposed hybrid system is more accurate than the
triangulation approach. However, the proposed hybrid system offers lower localization accuracy than
the fingerprinting method [17]. In [18], a hybrid localization approach based on WSN was proposed,
that integrates two techniques: RF mapping and cooperative ranging to enhance the localization
accuracy.
In order to reduce the time required for the searching process in the online phase. The work
proposed in [19] includes a new search strategy for radio fingerprint matching method, which
significantly reduces the search operations with a little effect on the localization accuracy.
The second approach is neural network-based. The work presented in [20] includes an indoor
localization system based on a modular multi-layer perceptron, where three neural network modules
were designed in order to cover the absence of signals from access points. The proposed work in [21]
includes a fingerprinting-based localization system with a localization error of 3 meters, where a total
number of 5 reference points were needed for the training process in the offline phase. In [22], the
authors compared the performance of three different families of neural networks for localization
applications using WSN: Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), and Recurrent
Neural Networks (RNN). Through experiments, RBF module was the best choice as it offered high
localization accuracy, and minimal computational and memory requirements.
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}
Table 1:
Name
Beacon node
Reference point
Estimated point
Criteria
Parameter
b
r
e
CAi
Definition
A node with fixed position and known coordinates (x, y)
A point with known RSS values collected previously from beacon
nodes, and identified (x, y) coordinates
A point which needs to be found based on the RSS values
collected from beacon nodes
A set of features distinguishes subarea Ai from other subareas
k
k
k
k
rssb , rssb , rssb ,..., rssb
z
1
2
3
} , where
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subarea where the mobile target settles in. Second, any changes in the environment after the collection
phase can be recovered by recollecting reference points from that subarea. And third, dividing the
search area into smaller subareas drastically reduces the search process and space. Based on the
previous location of a mobile target, only the last known subarea and the immediately surrounding
reference points need to be searched to find the new location of the mobile target.
A labeled training set (including input signals, corresponding output locations, subareas and
features) is stored in the database, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2:
Structure of database
Vector
RSS values
Corresponding
subarea
Feature
Location
A1
CA1
(x1, y1)
A2
CA2
(x2, y2)
Al
CAl
(xs, ys)
S1
S2
Sn
} , where
y
1
2
C A = Rab , Rab ,..., Rab
z
i
1
2
Ai .
i
Rab
k
C A is
i
(1)
rss A : R C A
i
i
However, there are N different subareas and consequently there are N different feature
functions. For instance, assume that R = {r1 , r2 ,, bs } represents reference points in a given subarea Ai .
There is a set of features
where C A
R in
C A that
i
} , and
a subarea
Rab
j
A
i.
A
i
For instance,
Ra
bi
bj
and all
( 62 75) .
are compared to the RSS values for known positions (reference points)
195
stored in the database file. The subarea with the closest RSS values is assumed to be where t is
located.
In the second stage, to be more precise, to locate the mobile target in the subarea, the RSS
values of the mobile node are compared with the features of the beacon nodes within the subarea based
on Equation 2. The Three Nearest Neighbors based on Feature identification function (3NNF) is used
to triangulate the mobile targets position.
e
r
diff rss , rss =
i
j
w
e
r
rss rss
k
k
k =1
(2)
4. Experiments
In order to evaluate the proposed fingerprinting localization approach, several experiments were
conducted on real sensor nodes. In this section, the main features of the proposed system including the
Graphical User Interface (GUI), mobile and beacon nodes modules, and the experimental test-beds,
are illustrated.
4.1. Graphical User Interface (GUI)
In order to facilitate the collection and segmentation processes, the map of the tracking area of interest
is stored on a laptop and a user interface based on Visual Basic.Net, was designed. In this section, the
collection and segmentations processes are discussed in details.
4.1.1. Collection Process
In the first phase, the user has to distribute the beacon nodes over the tracking area of interest, and then
collect the RSS readings at several reference points. This can be achieved by a single click on the
displayed map which selects the reference point on the map and then stores the collected RSS values
from each beacon node. A total number of 70 and 60 measurement points are identified and collected
from distinct physical locations on test-beds 1 and 2 respectively. The graphical user interface of the
proposed system is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Graphical user interface for the proposed system
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The proposed system was implemented through ZigBee network standard. ZigBee standard
offers 3 main roles: coordinator, router and end-device nodes. In our experiments, the mobile target
and beacon nodes were considered as router devices, while the sink node implemented the coordinator
of the ZigBee network, which was responsible for collecting localization information from mobile
target and transferring it to a laptop via a serial cable.
4.3. Experimental Test-beds
The proposed approach was tested in two different experimental test-beds in order to test its efficiency
and accuracy. The experimental Test-bed 1 was located in the 1st floor of the Holywell Park building at
Loughborough University. Its layout has dimensions of (41.5 11.3 m), as shown in Figure 4. Testbed 1 includes obstacles and walls, which might affect the localization accuracy. The experimental
Test-bed 2, depicted in Figure 5, is located in the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall at Loughborough
University; it has dimensions of (30.5 11.3 m). For both test-beds, the origin of the coordinate
system (0, 0) was placed at the left bottom corner.
197
198
10
y-axis
8
6
4
2
0
0
10
15
20
x-axis
25
30
35
40
45
Second, the localization accuracy is evaluated based on the localization method used in the
estimation phase. Figure 6 shows the localization error for the proposed fingerprinting localization
method when 3NNF was used. The localization error was between 1 and 3 meters. However, the
localization error was between 1.5 and 4 meters when the RBF method was used in the estimation
phase, as depicted in Figure 7. In both figures, the number of reference points ( r ), test points ( t ), and
estimated points ( e ) are depicted.
Figure 7: The localization error using the RBF method in Test-bed 1
12
10
y-axis
6
4
2
0
0
10
15
20x-axis 25
30
35
40
45
199
rn
1
rn
3
rn
2
rn
3
6. Discussion
Obliviously, the need for more reference points and measurements indicates that the offline stage is a
critical task in terms of time and labor. Neural networks have been used in several fingerprinting
localization approaches [20, 21, 22] in order to reduce the total number of the collected reference
points, and therefore trim down the time needed to complete the offline phase. Conversely, through
experiments, it has been shown that neural network-based approaches (such as RBF) performs well in
the area on which it has been trained, and consequently, neural network modules need to be trained at
each grid point in order to offer reasonable localization accuracy. This procedure adds time and power
consumption to the whole WSN.
The approach presented in this paper does not require the collection of a large number of
reference points as it's based on identifying a unique feature for each subarea. Consequently, the
searching procedure can be processed in a short time period compared to [20, 21, 22].
An efficient WSN-based fingerprinting localization approach was implemented in [22]. The
implementation of this approach was limited in scale as it was implemented in a small area (300 300
cm). Conversely, the approach proposed in this paper was deployed in two applicable areas (Test-bed 1
and Test-bed 2) with sizes of (41.5 11.3 m) and (30.5 11.3 m) respectively.
A significant localization system was proposed in [14] which offers good localization accuracy.
However, it is based on the nearest neighbor method in order to compute the targets coordinates. This
includes finding out the two nearest points to the estimated reference point based on the collected RSS
values. However, the 3NNF first identifies the subarea where the target node is located in, and then
triangulate its location using the nearest neighbor reference points. Figure 10 shows the localization
error for both the 2 nearest neighbors and 3NNF methods.
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The proposed system includes dividing the whole area into subareas based on unique features
which uniquely distinguish each subarea. For most previous fingerprinting systems, any changes to the
environments, which alter the collected and stored features at the scenes, require recollecting the
predefined data. However, the approach proposed in this paper does not require reference points to be
recollected from the whole tracking area in the case of changes. It only requires data to be recollected
from the subarea which has been changed. Table 3 compares the existing fingerprinting localization
systems.
Table 3:
Localization method
Approach [12]
Approach [13]
RADAR [14]
Approach [17]
Approach [18]
Approach [19]
Approach [22]
RBF approach
3NNF approach
25.5
0.3
41.5
41.5
24.5
0.3
11.3
11.3
Number of collected
reference points
132
441
70
>100
300
200
121
70
70
201
should be added to research in the future is to improve the autonomous segmentation process by
adopting Artificial Intelligence, in addition to increasing localization accuracy by adopting other
localization methods.
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