Localization of bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices using angle of arrival data

定位或定位在许多不同的应用程序中都很重要。机器人在危险区域的位置、购物者在商店的位置、包裹在仓库的位置以及医生在医院的位置都是有价值的信息，基于这些信息可以构建基于室内位置的服务（LBS）。EKOOR为使用低功耗蓝牙（BLE）协议进行通信的太阳能供电节点制造硬件和软件。这些节点可以与智能手机通信，帮助智能手机定位。该项目将包括设计一个廉价、精确的室内定位系统，该系统使用现成的硬件和移动电话平台。这样的定位系统将使EKOOR能够扩展其现有的室内LBS平台，为商场、零售商、机场、竞技场和博物馆的人员和设备提供更好的室内定位和跟踪。

Positioning or localization is important in many different applications. A robot's location on a dangerous zone, a shopper's location in a store, a package's location in a warehouse and a doctor's location in a hospital are all valuable pieces of information based on which indoor location based services (LBS) can be built. EKOOR makes hardware and software for solar-powered nodes that communicate using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. These nodes can communicate with smartphones and help the smartphone to be positioned. This project will involve designing an inexpensive, accurate indoor positioning system that uses off-the-shelf hardware and mobile phone platforms. Such a positioning system will enable EKOOR to extend its current indoor LBS platform to provide better indoor positioning and tracking for people and devices in shopping malls, retailers, airports, arenas and museums. Indoor positioning systems have existed for several years. Most existing systems estimate distances between nodes from signal strengths of received messages. Other techniques need specialized hardware. Existing systems typically provide positioning errors over 1 meter. This project will investigate the use of angles of arrival (AoA) of messages to improve positioning accuracy and reduce the error to less than 1 meter in indoor environments. My lab has developed accurate positioning algorithms that make use of estimated distances between nodes. Although our past work has not utilized AoA information, the framework developed in our algorithms will allow for this information to be handled easily. A lot of BLE hardware has entered the market in the last two years because of its anticipated importance in commercial applications. This project is relevant and important in extending the utility of this new technology in indoor positioning.