RSSI-Based Indoor Localization With the Internet of Things

In the era of smart cities, there are a plethora of applications where the localization of indoor environments is important, from monitoring and tracking in smart buildings to proximity marketing and advertising in shopping malls. The success of these applications is based on the development of a cost-efficient and robust real-time system capable of accurately localizing objects. In most outdoor localization systems, global positioning system (GPS) is used due to its ease of implementation and accuracy up to five meters. However, due to the limited space that comes with performing localization of indoor environments and the large number of obstacles found indoors, GPS is not a suitable option. Hence, accurately and efficiently locating objects is a major challenge in indoor environments. Recent advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) along with novel wireless technologies can alleviate the problem. Small-size and cost-efficient IoT devices which use wireless protocols can provide an attractive solution. In this paper, we compare four wireless technologies for indoor localization: Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n-2009 at the 2.4 GHz band), Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, and long-range wide-area network. These technologies are compared in terms of localization accuracy and power consumption when IoT devices are used. The received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values from each modality were used and trilateration was performed for localization. The RSSI data set is available online. The experimental results can be used as an indicator in the selection of a wireless technology for an indoor localization system following application requirements.