Design and realization of precise indoor localization mechanism for Wi-Fi devices

Despite the abundant literature in the field, there is still the need to find a time-efficient, highly accurate, easy to deploy and robust localization algorithm for real use. The algorithm only involves minimal human intervention. We propose an enhanced Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) based positioning algorithm for Wi-Fi capable devices, called the Dynamic Weighted Evolution for Location Tracking (DWELT). Due to the multiple phenomena affecting the propagation of radio signals, RSSI measurements show fluctuations that hinder the utilization of straightforward positioning mechanisms from widely known propagation loss models. Instead, DWELT uses data processing of raw RSSI values and applies a weighted posterior-probabilistic evolution for quick convergence of localization and tracking. In this paper, we present the first implementation of DWELT, intended for 1D location (applicable to tunnels or corridors), and the first step towards a more generic implementation. Simulations and experiments show an accuracy of 1m in more than 81% of the cases, and less than 2m in the 95%.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Implementation and Evaluation of a Cooperative Vehicle-to-Pedestrian Safety Application

While the development of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) safety applications based on Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) has been extensively undergoing standardization for more than a decade, such applications are extremely missing for Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs). Nonexistence of collaborative systems between VRUs and vehicles was the main reason for this lack of attention. Recent developments in Wi-Fi Direct and DSRC-enabled smartphones are changing this perspective. Leveraging the existing V2V platforms, we propose a new framework using a DSRC-enabled smartphone to extend safety benefits to VRUs. The interoperability of applications between vehicles and portable DSRC enabled devices is achieved through the SAE J2735 Personal Safety Message (PSM). However, considering the fact that VRU movement dynamics, response times, and crash scenarios are fundamentally different from vehicles, a specific framework should be designed for VRU safety applications to study their performance. In this article, we first propose an end-to-end Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) framework to provide situational awareness and hazard detection based on the most common and injury-prone crash scenarios. The details of our VRU safety module, including target classification and collision detection algorithms, are explained next. Furthermore, we propose and evaluate a mitigating solution for congestion and power consumption issues in such systems. Finally, the whole system is implemented and analyzed for realistic crash scenarios

Implementation of improvements of the Wi-Fi network of the RTBF and implementation of a Wi-Fi network for an “intelligent” building

Este Trabajo de Fin de Grado se ha realizado dentro de la Radio Televisión Belga Francófona (RTBF) en Bruselas. El objetivo de este proyecto es el diseño de una red Wi-Fi completamente confiable y de alto rendimiento para una de sus localizaciones. Para empezar, se completaron un estudio teórico y mediciones reales. La comparación entre el estudio teórico y práctico no estaba concluyente por lo que las predicciones teóricas se han modificado para corresponder a la realidad. Finalmente, la RTBF está construyendo un nuevo edificio en 2022 para el cual un estudio predictivo teórico se ha hecho para proporcionar una cantidad de puntos de accesos necesarios para una cobertura completa.This End-of-Grade work have been done inside the Francophone Belgian Radio-Television (RTBF) in Brussels. The goal of this Project is to design a fully reliable and performant Wi-Fi network for one of their localization. To begin with, a theorical study and real-life measurements were completed. The comparasion between the theorical and practical study was not concluding so the theorical predictions have been changed to correspond to reality. Finally, the RTBF is constructing a new building in 2022 for which a theorical predictive study have been done to provide the number of needed access points for a complete coverage.Grado en Ingeniería en Tecnologías de Telecomunicació

A multimodal Fingerprint-based Indoor Positioning System for airports

[EN] Indoor Localization techniques are becoming popular in order to provide a seamless indoor positioning system enhancing the traditional GPS service that is only suitable for outdoor environments. Though there are proprietary and costly approaches targeting high accuracy positioning, Wi-Fi and BLE networks are widely deployed in many public and private buildings (e.g. shopping malls, airports, universities, etc.). These networks are accessible through mobile phones resulting in an effective commercial off-the-self basic infrastructure for an indoor service. The obtained positioning accuracy is still being improved and there is on-going research on algorithms adapted for Wi-Fi and BLE and also for the particularities of indoor environments. This paper focuses not only on indoor positioning techniques, but also on a multimodal approach. Traditional proposals employ only one network technology whereas this paper integrates two different technologies in order to provide improved accuracy. It also sets the basis for combining (merging) additional technologies, if available. The initial results show that the positioning service performs better with a multimodal approach compared to individual (monomodal) approaches and even compared with Google¿s geolocation service in public spaces such as airports.This work was supported in part by the European Commission through the Door to Door Information for Airports and Airlines Project under Grant GA 635885 and in part by the European Commission through the Interoperability of Heterogeneous IoT Platforms Project under Grant 687283.Molina Moreno, B.; Olivares-Gorriti, E.; Palau Salvador, CE.; Esteve Domingo, M. (2018). A multimodal Fingerprint-based Indoor Positioning System for airports. IEEE Access. 6:10092-10106. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2798918S1009210106

Cooperative Localization on Computationally Constrained Devices

Cooperative localization is a useful way for nodes within a network to share location information in order to better arrive at a position estimate. This is handy in GPS contested environments (indoors and urban settings). Most systems exploring cooperative localization rely on special hardware, or extra devices to store the database or do the computations. Research also deals with specific localization techniques such as using Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband signals, or accelerometers independently opposed to fusing multiple sources together. This research brings cooperative localization to the smartphone platform, to take advantage of the multiple sensors that are available. The system is run on Android powered devices, including the wireless hotspot. In order to determine the merit of each sensor, analysis was completed to determine successes and failures. The accelerometer, compass, and received signal strength capability were examined to determine their usefulness in cooperative localization. Experiments at meter intervals show the system detected changes in location at each interval with an average standard deviation of 0.44m. The closest location estimates occurred at 3m, 4m and 6m with average errors of 0.15m, 0.11m, and 0.07m respectively. This indicates that very precise estimates can be achieved with an Android hotspot and mobile nodes

5G-PPP Technology Board:Delivery of 5G Services Indoors - the wireless wire challenge and solutions

The 5G Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) has focused its research and innovation activities mainly on outdoor use cases and supporting the user and its applications while on the move. However, many use cases inherently apply in indoor environments whereas their requirements are not always properly reflected by the requirements eminent for outdoor applications. The best example for indoor applications can be found is the Industry 4.0 vertical, in which most described use cases are occurring in a manufacturing hall. Other environments exhibit similar characteristics such as commercial spaces in offices, shopping malls and commercial buildings. We can find further similar environments in the media & entertainment sector, culture sector with museums and the transportation sector with metro tunnels. Finally in the residential space we can observe a strong trend for wireless connectivity of appliances and devices in the home. Some of these spaces are exhibiting very high requirements among others in terms of device density, high-accuracy localisation, reliability, latency, time sensitivity, coverage and service continuity. The delivery of 5G services to these spaces has to consider the specificities of the indoor environments, in which the radio propagation characteristics are different and in the case of deep indoor scenarios, external radio signals cannot penetrate building construction materials. Furthermore, these spaces are usually “polluted” by existing wireless technologies, causing a multitude of interreference issues with 5G radio technologies. Nevertheless, there exist cases in which the co-existence of 5G new radio and other radio technologies may be sensible, such as for offloading local traffic. In any case the deployment of networks indoors is advised to consider and be planned along existing infrastructure, like powerlines and available shafts for other utilities. Finally indoor environments expose administrative cross-domain issues, and in some cases so called non-public networks, foreseen by 3GPP, could be an attractive deployment model for the owner/tenant of a private space and for the mobile network operators serving the area. Technology-wise there exist a number of solutions for indoor RAN deployment, ranging from small cell architectures, optical wireless/visual light communication, and THz communication utilising reconfigurable intelligent surfaces. For service delivery the concept of multi-access edge computing is well tailored to host virtual network functions needed in the indoor environment, including but not limited to functions supporting localisation, security, load balancing, video optimisation and multi-source streaming. Measurements of key performance indicators in indoor environments indicate that with proper planning and consideration of the environment characteristics, available solutions can deliver on the expectations. Measurements have been conducted regarding throughput and reliability in the mmWave and optical wireless communication cases, electric and magnetic field measurements, round trip latency measurements, as well as high-accuracy positioning in laboratory environment. Overall, the results so far are encouraging and indicate that 5G and beyond networks must advance further in order to meet the demands of future emerging intelligent automation systems in the next 10 years. Highly advanced industrial environments present challenges for 5G specifications, spanning congestion, interference, security and safety concerns, high power consumption, restricted propagation and poor location accuracy within the radio and core backbone communication networks for the massive IoT use cases, especially inside buildings. 6G and beyond 5G deployments for industrial networks will be increasingly denser, heterogeneous and dynamic, posing stricter performance requirements on the network. The large volume of data generated by future connected devices will put a strain on networks. It is therefore fundamental to discriminate the value of information to maximize the utility for the end users with limited network resources