Bluetooth low energy plate and PDR hybrid for indoor navigation

Abstract

Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) is becoming the most preferred technology for indoor positioning solutions as it provides a low cost, reasonably accurate, and zero infrastructure solution, and is supported by most mobile devices as well. BLE can maintain relatively stable signal strength and has a higher sample rate, which is important for accurate distance determination. On the other hand, RSSI values are not always accurate due to fluctuating signal strength for many reasons, so a designated process and algorithm are used to determine the actual location of the mobile device. In this paper, we propose a BLE plate and Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) combined algorithm that provides a wide range of accuracy and can be applied to indoor positioning for large scale space. The system tested in this study kept positioning errors to within 2.2 m in real environment, and is applicable as an indoor navigation system for very large spaces such as airports and arenas.