Abstract
In this paper, we present a robust, decentralized approach to RF-based location tracking. Our system, called MoteTrack, is based on low-power radio transceivers coupled with a modest amount of computation and storage capabilities. MoteTrack does not rely upon any back-end server or network infrastructure: the location of each mobile node is computed using a received radio signal strength signature from numerous beacon nodes to a database of signatures that is replicated across the beacon nodes themselves. This design allows the system to function despite significant failures of the radio beacon infrastructure. In our deployment of MoteTrack, consisting of 23 beacon nodes distributed across our Computer Science building, we achieve a 50th percentile and 80th percentile location-tracking accuracy of 0.9 and 1.6 m respectively. In addition, MoteTrack can tolerate the failure of up to 60% of the beacon nodes without severely degrading accuracy, making the system suitable for deployment in highly volatile conditions. We present a detailed analysis of MoteTrack’s performance under a wide range of conditions, including variance in the number of obstructions, beacon node failure, radio signature perturbations, receiver sensitivity, and beacon node density.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bahl P, Padmanabhan VN (2000) RADAR: an in-building RF-based user location and tracking system. In: INFOCOM, pp 775–784
Youssef M, Agrawala A, Shankar AU (2003) WLAN location determination via clustering and probability distributions. In: IEEE PerCom 2003
Slack G (2003) Smart helmets could bring firefighters back alive. FOREFRONT (2003) Engineering Public Affairs Office, Berkeley
McKinsey & Company: Increasing fdny’s preparedness. http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/mck_report/index.shtml (2002)
Myllymaki P, Roos T, Tirri H, Misikangas P, Sievanen J (2001) A probabilistic approach to WLAN user location estimation. In: Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Workshop on Wireless LANs
Smailagic A, Small J, Siewiorek DP (2000) Determining user location for context aware computing through the use of a wireless LAN infrastructure
Ray S, Starobinski D, Trachtenberg A, Ungrangsi R (2004) Robust location detection with sensor networks. IEEE JSAC 22
Krumm J, Williams L, Smith G (2002) SmartMoveX on a graph—an inexpensive Active Badge Tracker. In: UbiComp 2002
Bahl P, Balachandran A, Padmanabhan V (2000) Enhancements to the RADAR user location and tracking system. Technical Report 2000-12, MSR
Castro P, Chiu P, Kremenek T, Muntz RR (2001) A probabilistic room location service for wireless networked environments. In: UbiComp
Pandya D, Jain R, Lupu E (2003) Indoor location estimation using multiple wireless technologies. In: IEEE PIMRC
Christ T, Godwin P (1993) A prison guard duress alarm location system. In: IEEE ICCST
Hightower J, Want R, Borriello G (2000) SpotON: an indoor 3D location sensing technology based on RF signal strength. Technical Report UW CSE 00-02-02, University of Washington
Priyantha NB, Chakraborty A, Balakrishnan H (2000) The cricket location-support system. In: MobiCom
Priyantha NB, Miu A, Balakrishnan H, Teller S (2001) The cricket compass for context-aware mobile applications. In: Proceedings of the 7th ACM MobiCom
Ward A, Jones A, Hopper A (1997) A new location technique for the active office. IEEE Personal Commun 4
Want R, Hopper A, Falcao V, Gibbons J (1992) The Active Badge location system. Technical Report 92.1, Olivetti Research Ltd. (ORL)
Lorincz K, Welsh M (2004) A robust, decentralized approach to RF-based location tracking. Technical Report TR-19-04, Harvard University
Hill J, Szewczyk R, Woo A, Hollar S, Culler DE, Pister KSJ (2000) System architecture directions for networked sensors. In: ASPLOS 2000, pp 93–104
Lorincz K, Welsh M (2005) MoteTrack: a robust, decentralized approach to RF-based location tracking. In: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Location- and Context-Awareness (LoCA 2005) at Pervasive 2005, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Krumm J, Platt J (2003) Minimizing calibration effort for an indoor 802.11 device location measurement system. Technical Report MSR-TR-2003-82, Microsoft Research
WAAS: what is WAAS? (2005) http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html
Lorincz K, Malan DJ, Fulford-Jones TRF, Nawoj A, Clavel A, Shnayder V, Mainland G, Moulton S, Welsh M (2004) Sensor networks for emergency response: challenges and opportunities. IEEE Pervasive Comput
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lorincz, K., Welsh, M. MoteTrack: a robust, decentralized approach to RF-based location tracking. Pers Ubiquit Comput 11, 489–503 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-006-0095-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-006-0095-2