An experimental investigation of a crossover concept for high accuracy indoor positioning systems
Abstract: To know your whereabouts is important and sometimes exact position is the determinant of success or not. Since the launch of the USA made Global Positioning System (GPS) in the late 1970s, global tracking has been available both for military and civilian use. Today, satellite based systems like the American GPS, European Galileo and the Russian GLONASS are the standard for basically any navigation or location application. However these systems are limited by the fact that they must have connection with multiple satellites in order to work. This means that satellite dependent systems are very limited in indoor environments. Despite this, there is no standard for indoor positioning systems (IPSs) even close to the satellite dependent systems when it regards distribution and accessibility for use where satellite dependent systems are limited or not working. However, this new age of connectivity provides a number of options for positioning indoors. There are some systems available, but very few of them provide good enough accuracy. This Master thesis evaluates different options for indoor positioning using technologies that are available in smart devices and smart phones, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and focuses on indoor positioning systems that can provide high accuracy. The current state of the technologies and the possible future for them, considering rising need and interest in indoor positioning systems are covered in this thesis. A selection of technologies and approaches are explored, tested in conditions designed for this purpose and evaluated to highlight their differences in approach, accuracy and usability. In order to achieve the goals of this thesis, a hybrid method of experimental research design and system development is selected as the main research method. The hybrid method is focused on experimental research, and is used to investigate if the accuracy of the positioning data can be affected and improved by tuning independent variables in an IPS. To be able to do this, an application for smart devices, such as android smartphones, is developed. The application developed is the heart of the conceptual crossover IPS (CCIPS), which is named Locantis, that is being developed and used in the experimental stages of this investigation. It is also used to test the hypothesis that a CCIPS could be a valid contender for replacing the established IPSs. The observations show how the accuracy and precision of the location data is affected by change to independent variables in an IPS and how well a CCIPS can meet real time requirement’s. The main conclusion is that changes to independent variables have greater impact on the precision than the accuracy for location data in an IPS and that a CCIPS in many cases are the sensible choice of IPS.
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