RSS-Based Fusion of UWB and WiFi-Based Ranging for Indoor Positioning

Abstract

WiFi positioning with estimated ranges using Round Trip Time (RTT) measurements based on IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) has become well known since Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) protocol has been characterized. However, the multipath effect is one of the barriers to accurate time-based range measurement. On the other hand, Ultra Wide Band (UWB)-based range measurement has fair resistance to multipath effects but its accuracy is highly dependant on the orientation of the antennas in the transmitter and the receiver and its transmit power is also limited due to the applied regulations. This paper utilizes a Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based fusion of both UWB and WiFi-based range measurements to increase the indoor positioning accuracy. The proposed method takes the advantage of WiFi FTM protocol as well as Two-Way Ranging (TWR) for UWB devices. The empirical range measurement campaign is done at the University of Helsinki premises. Test points with known positions are considered as the ground truth to evaluate the results. The outcome proves that fusing UWB and WiFi ranges for indoor positioning, improves the accuracy in comparison with using the UWB or WiFi alone.