Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Doubling the Accuracy of Indoor Location: Frequency Diversity

Version 1 : Received: 6 January 2020 / Approved: 8 January 2020 / Online: 8 January 2020 (04:18:02 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Horn, B.K. Doubling the Accuracy of Indoor Positioning: Frequency Diversity. Sensors 2020, 20, 1489. Horn, B.K. Doubling the Accuracy of Indoor Positioning: Frequency Diversity. Sensors 2020, 20, 1489.

Abstract

Determination of indoor location based on fine time measurement (FTM) of the round trip time (RTT) of a signal between an initiator (smartphone) and a responder (Wi-Fi access point) enables a number of applications. However, the accuracy currently attainable — standard deviations of 1–2 meter in distance measurement under favorable circumstances — limits the range of possible application. A first responder, for example, may not be able to unequivocally determine on which floor someone in need of help is in a multi-story building. The error in location depends on several factors, including the bandwidth of the RF signal, delay of the signal due to the high relative permittivity of construction materials, and the geometry-dependent “noise gain” of location determination. Errors in distance measurements have unusual properties that are exposed here for the first time. Improvements in accuracy depend on understanding all of these error sources. This paper introduces “frequency diversity,” a method for doubling the accuracy of indoor location determination using weighted averages of measurements with uncorrelated errors obtained in different channels. The properties of this method are verified experimentally with a range of responders. Finally, different ways of using the distance measurements to determine indoor location are discussed and the Bayesian grid update method shown to be more useful than others, given the non- Gaussian nature of the measurement errors.

Keywords

indoor location; fine time measurement; round trip time; FTM; RTT; IEEE 802.11mc; IEEE 802.11-2016; time diversity; spatial diversity; bandwidth diversity; frequency diversity; Bayesian grid; observation model; transition model

Subject

Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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