Indoor localization of hand-held Shopping Scanners

Abstract: This thesis investigates applicable indoor navigation systems for the next generation of hand-held shopping scanners, on behalf of the company Virtual Stores. The thesis research and review applicable indoor localization methods and ways to combine and evaluate received localization data in order to provide accurate navigation without introducing any other worn equipment for a potential user. Prototype navigation systems was proposed, developed and evaluated using a combination of carefully placed radio transmitters that was used to provide radio based localization methods using Bluetooth or UltraWide Band (UWB) and inertial sensors combined with a particle filter. The Bluetooth solution was deemed incapable of providing any accurate localization method while the prototype using a combination of UWB and inertial sensors proved promising solution with below 1m average error under optimal conditions or 2.0m average localization error in a more realistic environment. However, the system requires the surveyed area to provide 3 or more UWB transmitters in the line of sight of the UWB receiver of the user at every location facing any direction to provide accurate localization. The prototype also requires to be scaled up to provide localization to more than 1 radio transmitters at the time before being introduced to the Fast moving consumer goods market.