Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation

A special issue of ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (ISSN 2220-9964).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2013) | Viewed by 67208

Special Issue Editor

Geodesy and Geoinformatics, HafenCity University, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
Interests: indoor navigation; hydrography; mobile mapping systems; autonomous survey systems; 5G networks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The positioning and navigation are taken for granted by the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GNSS services and applications grow through the renewal and expansion of different systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, COMPASS).

Whether traveling by car or as a pedestrian with a smartphone, low-cost, ubiquitous Positioning and Navigation are available by positioning services of GNSS and radio cells. The applications are myriad, ranging from land, air and maritime navigation; military and security-related operations; agriculture, mining and construction; geodesy, surveying and mapping; machine automation and robotics; transportation; emergency response and disaster management; personal location-based services; and others. The service is available almost anywhere and at any time. Problems occur however, if less than four satellites are visible. This is usually the case in buildings and urban canyons.

For these areas different technology are under development for Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation. Currently, there is no designated indoor system that met expectations as GNSS in outdoor. There are a number of systems which are used alone or in combination. These technologies work e.g. using radio waves, acoustic, optical, infrared or radar signals, signal strength, magnetic sensors, inertial sensors, etc. The increasing capabilities of current mobile phones have turned them into portable information, communication and navigation devices, thereby putting the vast information available on the internet into a local context. Location-based services, delivering the locally relevant information to the phone just in time, are a growing part of the web-service industry.

Prof. Dr. Harald Sternberg
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • high sensitive GNSS, GNSS indoor, pseudolites
  • hybrid IMU pedestrian navigation & foot mounted navigation
  • TOF, TDOA based localization, signal strength based methods, fingerprinting (WLAN, ZigBee)
  • passive & Active RFID, optical systems, ultra sound systems, magnetic localization, radar systems
  • frameworks for hybrid positioning
  • applications of location awareness & context detection
  • industrial metrology & geodetic systems, iGPS
  • smart phone navigation and LBS technologies
  • emerging sensor technologies for positioning

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

1052 KiB  
Article
Low Power 24 GHz ad hoc Networking System Based on TDOA for Indoor Localization
by Melanie Jung, Georg Fischer, Robert Weigel and Thomas Ussmueller
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(4), 1122-1135; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2041122 - 03 Dec 2013
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 8521
Abstract
This paper introduces the key elements of a novel low-power, high precision localization system based on Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) distance measurements. The combination of multiple localizable sensor nodes, leads to an ad hoc network. Besides the localization functionality this ad hoc network has the [...] Read more.
This paper introduces the key elements of a novel low-power, high precision localization system based on Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) distance measurements. The combination of multiple localizable sensor nodes, leads to an ad hoc network. Besides the localization functionality this ad hoc network has the additional advantage of a communication interface. Due to this a flexible positioning of the master station for information collection and the detection of static and mobile nodes is possible. These sensor nodes work in the 24 GHz ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medical) frequency range and address several use cases and are able to improve various processes for production scheduling, logistics, quality management, medical applications and collection of geo information. The whole system design is explained briefly. Its core component is the frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) synthesizer suitable for high performance indoor localization. This research work focuses on power and size reduction of this crucial system component. The comparison of the first and second generation of the system shows a significant size and power reduction as well as an increased precision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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2223 KiB  
Article
Forecast-Driven Enhancement of Received Signal Strength (RSS)-Based Localization Systems
by Paolo Barsocchi, Stefano Chessa, Alessio Micheli and Claudio Gallicchio
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(4), 978-995; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2040978 - 16 Oct 2013
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6339
Abstract
Real-time user localization in indoor environments is an important issue in ambient assisted living (AAL). In this context, localization based on received signal strength (RSS) has received considerable interest in the recent literature, due to its low cost and energy consumption and to [...] Read more.
Real-time user localization in indoor environments is an important issue in ambient assisted living (AAL). In this context, localization based on received signal strength (RSS) has received considerable interest in the recent literature, due to its low cost and energy consumption and to its availability on all wireless communication hardware. On the other hand, the RSS-based localization is characterized by a greater error with respect to other technologies. Restricting the problem to localization of AAL users in indoor environments, we demonstrate that forecasting with a little user movement advance (for example, when the user is about to leave a room) provides significant benefits to the accuracy of RSS-based localization systems. Specifically, we exploit echo state networks (ESNs) fed with RSS measurements and trained to recognize patterns of user’s movements to feed back to the RSS-based localization system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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4967 KiB  
Article
Simplified Occupancy Grid Indoor Mapping Optimized for Low-Cost Robots
by David Gonzalez-Arjona, Alberto Sanchez, Fernando López-Colino, Angel De Castro and Javier Garrido
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(4), 959-977; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2040959 - 14 Oct 2013
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 9484
Abstract
This paper presents a mapping system that is suitable for small mobile robots. An ad hoc algorithm for mapping based on the Occupancy Grid method has been developed. The algorithm includes some simplifications in order to be used with low-cost hardware resources. The [...] Read more.
This paper presents a mapping system that is suitable for small mobile robots. An ad hoc algorithm for mapping based on the Occupancy Grid method has been developed. The algorithm includes some simplifications in order to be used with low-cost hardware resources. The proposed mapping system has been built in order to be completely autonomous and unassisted. The proposal has been tested with a mobile robot that uses infrared sensors to measure distances to obstacles and uses an ultrasonic beacon system for localization, besides wheel encoders. Finally, experimental results are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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1729 KiB  
Article
A Self-Contained and Self-Checking LPS with High Accuracy
by Christian Walter, Mohammad Syafrudin and Herbert Schweinzer
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(4), 908-934; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2040908 - 27 Sep 2013
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6528
Abstract
There are many situations in which it is desirable to use a Local Positioning System (LPS), which constitutes a complete and independent unit, offers high accuracy and in addition is economical to realize. This paper describes the LPS LOSNUS (Localization of Sensor Nodes [...] Read more.
There are many situations in which it is desirable to use a Local Positioning System (LPS), which constitutes a complete and independent unit, offers high accuracy and in addition is economical to realize. This paper describes the LPS LOSNUS (Localization of Sensor Nodes by Ultra Sound). LOSNUS is a complete and independent LPS where the same system can be used for localization and calibration. Primarily designed for locating numerous quasi-static devices, special care of system construction has taken on costly factors, especially in the construction of the infrastructure and of sensor nodes where locating can be realized with minimal additional hardware costs. LOSNUS enables a calibration process without the need of additional expensive tools and/or laborious time in order to get accurate positions of transmitters. As a result, LOSNUS delivers high locating accuracy at medium update rates, and in case of sufficient number of transmitters can also tolerate single failures in the Time of Arrival (ToA) measurement, allowing arbitrary failure modes. In this article, the system is presented starting from design, realization and algorithms of localization and calibration. Finally, new measurement results are showing the high accuracy of localization based on a discussion of the applied uncertainty description. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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672 KiB  
Article
An Improved Neural Network Training Algorithm for Wi-Fi Fingerprinting Positioning
by Esmond Mok and Bernard K.S. Cheung
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(3), 854-868; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2030854 - 03 Sep 2013
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 7739
Abstract
Ubiquitous positioning provides continuous positional information in both indoor and outdoor environments for a wide spectrum of location based service (LBS) applications. With the rapid development of the low-cost and high speed data communication, Wi-Fi networks in many metropolitan cities, strength of signals [...] Read more.
Ubiquitous positioning provides continuous positional information in both indoor and outdoor environments for a wide spectrum of location based service (LBS) applications. With the rapid development of the low-cost and high speed data communication, Wi-Fi networks in many metropolitan cities, strength of signals propagated from the Wi-Fi access points (APs) namely received signal strength (RSS) have been cleverly adopted for indoor positioning. In this paper, a Wi-Fi positioning algorithm based on neural network modeling of Wi-Fi signal patterns is proposed. This algorithm is based on the correlation between the initial parameter setting for neural network training and output of the mean square error to obtain better modeling of the nonlinear highly complex Wi-Fi signal power propagation surface. The test results show that this neural network based data processing algorithm can significantly improve the neural network training surface to achieve the highest possible accuracy of the Wi-Fi fingerprinting positioning method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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1705 KiB  
Article
HCTNav: A Path Planning Algorithm for Low-Cost Autonomous Robot Navigation in Indoor Environments
by Marco Pala, Nafiseh Osati Eraghi, Fernando López-Colino, Alberto Sanchez, Angel De Castro and Javier Garrido
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(3), 729-748; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2030729 - 09 Aug 2013
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 9206
Abstract
Low-cost robots are characterized by low computational resources and limited energy supply. Path planning algorithms aim to find the optimal path between two points so the robot consumes as little energy as possible. However, these algorithms were not developed considering computational limitations ( [...] Read more.
Low-cost robots are characterized by low computational resources and limited energy supply. Path planning algorithms aim to find the optimal path between two points so the robot consumes as little energy as possible. However, these algorithms were not developed considering computational limitations (i.e., processing and memory capacity). This paper presents the HCTNav path-planning algorithm (HCTLab research group’s navigation algorithm). This algorithm was designed to be run in low-cost robots for indoor navigation. The results of the comparison between HCTNav and the Dijkstra’s algorithms show that HCTNav’s memory peak is nine times lower than Dijkstra’s in maps with more than 150,000 cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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943 KiB  
Article
Indoor Positioning for Smartphones Using Asynchronous Ultrasound Trilateration
by Viacheslav Filonenko, Charlie Cullen and James D. Carswell
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(3), 598-620; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi2030598 - 27 Jun 2013
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 18632
Abstract
Modern smartphones are a great platform for Location Based Services (LBS). While outdoor LBS for smartphones has proven to be very successful, indoor LBS for smartphones has not yet fully developed due to the lack of an accurate positioning technology. In this paper [...] Read more.
Modern smartphones are a great platform for Location Based Services (LBS). While outdoor LBS for smartphones has proven to be very successful, indoor LBS for smartphones has not yet fully developed due to the lack of an accurate positioning technology. In this paper we present an accurate indoor positioning approach for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphones that uses the innate ability of mobile phones to produce ultrasound, combined with Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) asynchronous trilateration. We evaluate our indoor positioning approach by describing its strengths and weaknesses, and determine its absolute accuracy. This is accomplished through a range of experiments that involve variables such as position of control point microphones, position of phone within the room, direction speaker is facing and presence of user in the signal path. Test results show that our Lok8 (locate) mobile positioning system can achieve accuracies better than 10 cm in a real-world environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation)
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