Indoor localisation based on fusing WLAN and image data

In this paper we address the automatic identification of indoor locations using a combination of WLAN and image sensing. We demonstrate the effectiveness of combining the strengths of these two complementary modalities for very chal- lenging data. We describe a fusion approach that allows localising to a specific office within a building to a high degree of precision or to a location within that office with reasonable precision. As it can be orientated towards the needs and capabilities of a user based on context the method becomes useful for ambient assisted living applications

Improved Indoor Location Systems in a Controlled Environments

The precise localization by using Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) has become a very important issue for indoor location based services such as marketing, patient follow up and so on. Present AP localization systems are working on specially designed Wi-Fi units, and their algorithms using radio signal strength (RSS) exhibit (relatively) high errors, so industry looks more precise and fast adaptable methods. A new model considering/eliminating strong RSS levels in addition to close distance error elimination algorithm (CDEEA) combined with median filters has been proposed in order to increase the performance of conventional RSS based location systems. Collecting local signal strengths by means of an ordinary WiFi units present on any laptop as a receiver is followed by the application of CDEEA to eliminate strong RSS levels. Median filter is then applied to those eliminated values, and AP based path loss model is generated, adaptivelly. Finally, the proposed algorithm predicts locations within a maximum mean error of 2.96m for 90% precision level. This achievement with an ordinary wifi units present on any commercial laptop is comparably at very good level in literature

Enabling Live Data Controlled Manual Assembly Processes by Worker Information System and Nearfield Localization System

AbstractExisting localization solutions cannot be directly integrated into production systems. This article describes a nearfield localization system which can be installed on tools due to its small dimensions. Live data controlled manual assembly processes are enabled. In combination with worker information systems, the manual assembly process can be supported more precisely compared to common systems. The benefits are shown within product-specific assembly scenarios. One benefit is enabling work out of sight (non-visible range) guided through a virtual model on a screen. Error prevention (zero-defect assembly) can be realized by monitoring and matching the actual position to the assembly location. Even without augmented reality devices, comparative 3-D representations of real and virtual world are feasible, supporting employees in mobile workshop with complex repairs. In particular, difficult accessibility can be easily determined when carrying out maintenance work by knowing the complete product structure

MIRAI Architecture for Heterogeneous Network

One of the keywords that describe next-generation wireless communications is "seamless." As part of the e-Japan Plan promoted by the Japanese Government, the Multimedia Integrated Network by Radio Access Innovation project has as its goal the development of new technologies to enable seamless integration of various wireless access systems for practical use by 2005. This article describes a heterogeneous network architecture including a common tool, a common platform, and a common access. In particular, software-defined radio technologies are used to develop a multiservice user terminal to access different wireless networks. The common platform for various wireless networks is based on a wireless-supporting IPv6 network. A basic access network, separated from other wireless access networks, is used as a means for wireless system discovery, signaling, and paging. A proof-of-concept experimental demonstration system is available

Identification and Mitigation of NLOS based on Channel Information Rules for Indoor UWB Localization

Indoor localization is an emerging technology that can be utilized for developing products and services for commercial usage, public safety, military applications and so forth. Commercially it can be applied to track children, people with special needs, help navigate blind people, locate equipment, mobile robots, etc. The objective of this thesis is to enable an indoor mobile vehicle to determine its location and thereby making it capable of autonomous localization under Non-light of sight (NLOS) conditions. The solution developed is based on Ultra Wideband (UWB) based Indoor Positioning System (IPS) in the building. The proposed method increases robustness, scalability, and accuracy of location. The out of the box system of DecaWave TREK1000 provides tag tracking features but has no method to detect and mitigate location inaccuracies due to the multipath effect from physical obstacles found in an indoor environment. This NLOS condition causes ranges to be positively biased, hence the wrong location is reported. Our approach to deal with the NLOS problem is based on the use of Rules Classifier, which is based on channel information. Once better range readings are achieved, approximate location is calculated based on Time of Flight (TOF). Moreover, the proposed rule based IPS can be easily implemented on hardware due to the low complexity. The measurement results, which was obtained using the proposed mitigation algorithm, show considerable improvements in the accuracy of the location estimation which can be used in different IPS applications requiring centimeter level precision. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated experimentally using an indoor positioning platform in a laboratory environment, and is shown to be significantly better than conventional approaches. The maximum positioning error is reduced to 15 cm for NLOS using both an offline and real time tracking algorithm extended from the proposed approach

CAN-based monitoring in refrigerated transports

Perishable food products such as vegetables, fruit, meat or fish require refrígerated transports. Effective cold management is fundamental for maintaining the quality of these products along the supply chain. The use of standardized CAN technology improves monitoring transports ensurlng the inter-operability of the system. A variety of sensors and actuators can be integrated in the CAN. Information provided by sensors is exchanged; alarms are thggered in case of anomaly data. Also devices for fleet management, tachograph and satellite Communications may be a part of complete system. Technologies such as Wireless Sensor Networks or Radio Frequency Identification may be implemented in an on-line monitoring environment in the future. Thus, the challenge is interconnecting these heterogeneous systems and harmonlzation of the different interfaces