Algorithms for estimating the location of remote nodes using smartphones (original) (raw)

Localization of Static Remote Devices Using Smartphones

2018 IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), 2018

Vehicles need to locate other vehicles and network infrastructure elements on unmanned autonomous vehicle (UAV) systems. Human passengers also need to locate and be located by the vehicles, preferentially using a portable device, such as a smartphone. This paper analyses the accuracy of several localization algorithms in the remote location of entities running WiFi access points, using measurements collected in moving vehicles using a new application developed by us. The algorithms analysed include closed form estimators and one based on second order cone programming (SOCP) relaxation, which exhibits the best accuracy and is capable of estimating the path loss exponent and the transmission power. Although, due its lower complexity, the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm was better suited for the stand-alone Android prototype application. The results show that real-time accurate positioning of static/slow moving remote entities is possible, even though the accuracy degrades when the measuring vehicle's speed increases.

On Location Estimation Methods for Mobile Wireless Sensor Nodes

This study presents an energy-efficient location estimation method aimed for mobile nodes in wireless sensor networks. The proposed method is a combination of two operations. Trilateration method is combined with a vector based incremental updates which is implemented by using a digital compass and a speedometer to estimate the location of the mobile node. This combined operation decreases the power consumed from the mobile node trying to locate itself. The proposed method has been implemented on an arduino-based mobile robot with wireless communication peripherals. The implementation shows that the location estimation accuracy is between 0.69-1.97 m from the actual location of the mobile node. The average location estimation error is comparable to other proposed methods for locating mobile sensor nodes. Based on the actual measurement of the test system, the energy consumption of the proposed method is 20% less than the trilateration method alone.

Wireless Positioning Techniques: a Developer\u27s Update

2007

This paper describes the current efforts to develop an open source, privacy sensitive, location determination software component for mobile devices. Currently in mobile computing, the ability of a mobile device to determine its own location is becoming increasingly desirable as the usefulness of such a feature enhances many commercial applications. There have been numerous attempts to achieve this from both the network positioning perspective and also from the wireless beacon angle not to mention the integration of GPS into mobile devices. There are two important aspects to consider when using such a system which are privacy and cost. This paper describes the development of a software component that is sensitive to these issues. The ICiNG Location Client (ILC) is based on some pioneering work carried out by the Place Lab Project at Intel. (Hightower et al., 2006) The ILC advances this research to make it available on mobile devices and attempts to integrate GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth and ...

Enhanced Position Estimation via Node Cooperation

2010 IEEE International Conference on Communications, 2010

Two-way time-of-arrival (TW-ToA) is a widely used ranging protocol that can provide the distance between tow devices without time synchronization. One drawback of the TW-ToA is poor positioning accuracy in the absence of a sufficient number of reference ranging devices. Also, for a self-positioning system with a limited battery life, it might be necessary to limit the number of transmissions while satisfying accuracy constraints. In this paper, a cooperative positioning protocol [1] is studied, which can improve positioning accuracy compared to the conventional TW-ToA based positioning systems and also facilitate positioning with fewer packet transmissions; hence, it can prolong battery life on average. The maximum likelihood estimator is obtained for the cooperative technique and the limits on the positioning accuracy are quantified in terms of the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB). Simulation results are provided in order to show performance improvements.

A Practical Solution for Location Estimation in Manually Deployed Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Network, 2011

This paper addresses the existing research and adds another aspect of functionality by incorporating pertinent sensor nodes to provide a dynamic location discovery and estimation. The software used provides an easy graphical user interface to visualize a particular location in accordance with geographical latitude and longitude. A simple real time location estimation technique is worked out for wireless sensor networks based on manual deployment of sensors. The proposed scheme finds more efficient solutions with less quantity of sensors as compared to existing deployment schemes. The set up is evaluated exclusively in real environments using IRIS sensor nodes supported by a global positioning system module to provide visualization of an outdoor location. The results are offered by Google Earth application.

Localization of Nodes: A New Challenge for Wireless Sensor Networks

International Journal of Computer Applications, 2013

With the widespread involvement of low cost, small sized sensor nodes in the wireless sensor networks (WISENETs) technology to support variety of collaborative applications such as monitoring and surveillance for civilian as well as military purposes; location aware computing for such nodes is really becoming an important challenge. Localization also plays a vital role in ubiquitous environments with computing potentials in targeting nodes for their security as well as navigation. Since inclusion of GPS receiver in a sensor node becomes too expensive, hence for locating sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks a small number of sink nodes are used that know their location whereas other nodes estimate their location based on the transmission and receiving energy of the message which they send to the sink node. This paper provides an overview of the existing localization solutions with their comprehensive performance metrics in wireless sensor networks and attempt to classify them broadly in terms of their usage area which can be indoor or outdoor or both.

An open source approach to wireless positioning techniques

2007

There are several problems encountered when trying to determine the location of a mobile phone, including whether you are in an urban or rural environment. Also, it is well known that some positioning technologies work better than others depending on the environment they are in. For example, GPS works well in rural areas but not as well in urban areas, GSM positioning accuracy can be acceptable in urban areas with the right triangulation technology, but is less accurate in rural areas. Positioning with other technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and Semacode all have their own advantages and disadvantages as well, depending on the overall environment in which they are used. One research task of the ICiNG project is to address these issues and introduce the next logical step for freely available mobile positioning, advancing the pioneering work done by Place Lab at Intel. The EU-FP6 ICiNG project component that initiates this advance is called the ILC (ICiNG Location Client). The ILC integrates all the above location finding technologies into one positioning module. This paper outlines the technique we developed to combine these technologies and the architecture used to deploy them on a mobile phone. With all these technologies finally available on one device, it is now possible to employ a personal positioning system that can work effectively in any environment. Another important advantage of the ILC is its ability to do this without any direct communication with outside sources, so users need not worry about "big brother" tracking their every movement. The ILC only "listens" for, and makes use of, radio signals that are freely available in the current environment, and does not actively connect to any external network or other services to triangulate its position.

Cooperative Localization in Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, 2008

The need for highly accurate position information is of great importance in many commercial, public safety, and military applications. With the integration of GPS into cell phones, in conjunction with WiFi localization, we are entering a new era of ubiquitous location-awareness. In the coming years, we will see the emergence of high-definition location-awareness applications: localization systems that operate in the harsh communication environments where GPS does not operate, such as inside buildings and in caves, still providing submeter localization accuracy which is not currently feasible with GPS.