A survey of deep learning approaches for WiFi-based indoor positioning

One of the most popular approaches for indoor positioning is WiFi fingerprinting, which has been intrinsically tackled as a traditional machine learning problem since the beginning, to achieve a few metres of accuracy on average. In recent years, deep learning has emerged as an alternative approach, with a large number of publications reporting sub-metre positioning accuracy. Therefore, this survey presents a timely, comprehensive review of the most interesting deep learning methods being used for WiFi fingerprinting. In doing so, we aim to identify the most efficient neural networks, under a variety of positioning evaluation metrics for different readers. We will demonstrate that despite the new emerging WiFi signal measures (i.e. CSI and RTT), RSS produces competitive performances under deep learning. We will also show that simple neural networks outperform more complex ones in certain environments

Five Facets of 6G: Research Challenges and Opportunities

Whilst the fifth-generation (5G) systems are being rolled out across the globe, researchers have turned their attention to the exploration of radical next-generation solutions. At this early evolutionary stage we survey five main research facets of this field, namely {\em Facet~1: next-generation architectures, spectrum and services, Facet~2: next-generation networking, Facet~3: Internet of Things (IoT), Facet~4: wireless positioning and sensing, as well as Facet~5: applications of deep learning in 6G networks.} In this paper, we have provided a critical appraisal of the literature of promising techniques ranging from the associated architectures, networking, applications as well as designs. We have portrayed a plethora of heterogeneous architectures relying on cooperative hybrid networks supported by diverse access and transmission mechanisms. The vulnerabilities of these techniques are also addressed and carefully considered for highlighting the most of promising future research directions. Additionally, we have listed a rich suite of learning-driven optimization techniques. We conclude by observing the evolutionary paradigm-shift that has taken place from pure single-component bandwidth-efficiency, power-efficiency or delay-optimization towards multi-component designs, as exemplified by the twin-component ultra-reliable low-latency mode of the 5G system. We advocate a further evolutionary step towards multi-component Pareto optimization, which requires the exploration of the entire Pareto front of all optiomal solutions, where none of the components of the objective function may be improved without degrading at least one of the other components

A Review of Indoor Millimeter Wave Device-based Localization and Device-free Sensing Technologies and Applications

The commercial availability of low-cost millimeter wave (mmWave) communication and radar devices is starting to improve the penetration of such technologies in consumer markets, paving the way for large-scale and dense deployments in fifth-generation (5G)-and-beyond as well as 6G networks. At the same time, pervasive mmWave access will enable device localization and device-free sensing with unprecedented accuracy, especially with respect to sub-6 GHz commercial-grade devices. This paper surveys the state of the art in device-based localization and device-free sensing using mmWave communication and radar devices, with a focus on indoor deployments. We first overview key concepts about mmWave signal propagation and system design. Then, we provide a detailed account of approaches and algorithms for localization and sensing enabled by mmWaves. We consider several dimensions in our analysis, including the main objectives, techniques, and performance of each work, whether each research reached some degree of implementation, and which hardware platforms were used for this purpose. We conclude by discussing that better algorithms for consumer-grade devices, data fusion methods for dense deployments, as well as an educated application of machine learning methods are promising, relevant and timely research directions.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures. Accepted in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials (IEEE COMST

Smart Monitoring and Control in the Future Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) and related technologies have the promise of realizing pervasive and smart applications which, in turn, have the potential of improving the quality of life of people living in a connected world. According to the IoT vision, all things can cooperate amongst themselves and be managed from anywhere via the Internet, allowing tight integration between the physical and cyber worlds and thus improving efficiency, promoting usability, and opening up new application opportunities. Nowadays, IoT technologies have successfully been exploited in several domains, providing both social and economic benefits. The realization of the full potential of the next generation of the Internet of Things still needs further research efforts concerning, for instance, the identification of new architectures, methodologies, and infrastructures dealing with distributed and decentralized IoT systems; the integration of IoT with cognitive and social capabilities; the enhancement of the sensing–analysis–control cycle; the integration of consciousness and awareness in IoT environments; and the design of new algorithms and techniques for managing IoT big data. This Special Issue is devoted to advancements in technologies, methodologies, and applications for IoT, together with emerging standards and research topics which would lead to realization of the future Internet of Things

Indoor positioning model based on people effect and ray tracing propagation

WLAN-fingerprinting has been highlighted as the preferred technology in an Indoor Positioning System (IPS) due to its accurate positioning results and minimal infrastructure cost. However, the accuracy of IPS fingerprinting is highly influenced by the fluctuation in signal strength as a result of encountering obstacles. Many researchers have modelled static obstacles such as walls and ceilings, but hardly any have modelled the effect of people presence as an obstacle although the human body significantly impacts signal strength. Hence, the people presence effect must be considered to obtain highly accurate positioning results. Previous research proposed a model that only considered the direct path between the transmitter and the receiver. However, for indoor propagation, multipath effects such as reflection can also have a significant influence, but were not considered in past work. Therefore, this research proposes an accurate indoor positioning model that considers people presence using a ray tracing (AIRY) model in a dynamic environment which relies on existing infrastructure. Three solutions were proposed to construct AIRY: an automatic radio map using ray tracing (ARM-RT), a new human model in ray tracing (HUMORY), and a people effect constant for received signal strength indicator (RSSI) adaptation. At the offline stage, 30 RSSIs were recorded at each point using a smartphone to create a radio map database (523 points). The real-time RSSI was then compared to the radio map database at the online stage using MATLAB software to determine the user position (65 test points). The proposed model was tested at Level 3 of Razak Tower, UTM Kuala Lumpur (80 × 16 m). To test the influence of people presence, the number, position, and distance of the people around the mobile device (MD) were varied. The results showed that the closer the people were to the MD in both the Line of Sight (LOS) and Non-LOS position, the greater the decrease in RSSI, in which the increment number of people will increase the amount of reflection signals to be blocked. The signal strength reduction started from 0.5 dBm with two people and reached 0.9 dBm with seven people. In addition, the ray tracing model produced smaller errors on RSSI prediction than the multi-wall model when considering the effect of people presence. The k-nearest neighbour (KNN) algorithm was used to define the position. The initial accuracy was improved from 2.04 m to 0.57 m after people presence and multipath effects were considered. In conclusion, the proposed model successfully increased indoor positioning accuracy in a dynamic environment by overcoming the people presence effect

Location-Enabled IoT (LE-IoT): A Survey of Positioning Techniques, Error Sources, and Mitigation

The Internet of Things (IoT) has started to empower the future of many industrial and mass-market applications. Localization techniques are becoming key to add location context to IoT data without human perception and intervention. Meanwhile, the newly-emerged Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technologies have advantages such as long-range, low power consumption, low cost, massive connections, and the capability for communication in both indoor and outdoor areas. These features make LPWAN signals strong candidates for mass-market localization applications. However, there are various error sources that have limited localization performance by using such IoT signals. This paper reviews the IoT localization system through the following sequence: IoT localization system review -- localization data sources -- localization algorithms -- localization error sources and mitigation -- localization performance evaluation. Compared to the related surveys, this paper has a more comprehensive and state-of-the-art review on IoT localization methods, an original review on IoT localization error sources and mitigation, an original review on IoT localization performance evaluation, and a more comprehensive review of IoT localization applications, opportunities, and challenges. Thus, this survey provides comprehensive guidance for peers who are interested in enabling localization ability in the existing IoT systems, using IoT systems for localization, or integrating IoT signals with the existing localization sensors