The work presented herein explores the ability of Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency (UHF RF) devices, specifically (Radio Frequency Identification) RFID passive tags and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to be used as tools to locate items of interest inside a building. Localization Systems based on these technologies are commercially available, but have failed to be widely adopted due to significant drawbacks in the accuracy and reliability of state of the art systems. It is the goal of this work to address that issue by identifying and potentially improving upon localization algorithms. The work presented here breaks the process of localization into distance estimations and trilateration algorithms to use those estimations to determine a 2D location. Distance estimations are the largest error source in trilateration. Several methods are proposed to improve speed and accuracy of measurements using additional information from frequency variations and phase angle information. Adding information from the characteristic signature of multipath signals allowed for a significant reduction in distance estimation error for both BLE and RFID which was quantified using neural network optimization techniques. The resulting error reduction algorithm was generalizable to completely new environments with very different multipath behavior and was a significant contribution of this work. Another significant contribution of this work is the experimental comparison of trilateration algorithms, which tested new and existing methods of trilateration for accuracy in a controlled environment using the same data sets. Several new or improved methods of triangulation are presented as well as traditional methods from the literature in the analysis. The Antenna Pattern Method represents a new way of compensating for the antenna radiation pattern and its potential impact on signal strength, which is also an important contribution of this effort. The performance of each algorithm for multiple types of inputs are compared and the resulting error matrix allows a potential system designer to select the best option given the particular system constraints.

<p>The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has rapidly increased over the last years. This has been possible mainly due to the increased computing power of microcontrollers and computers. An UAV can be used in both civilian and military areas, for example surveillance and intelligence. The UAV concerned in this master's thesis is a prototype and is currently being developed at DST Control AB in Linköping.</p><p>With the use of UAVs, the need for a positioning and navigation system arises. Inertial sensors can often give a good position estimation, however, they need continuous calibration due to error build-up and drift in gyros. An external reference is needed to correct for this drift and other errors. The positioning system investigated in this master's thesis is supposed to work in an area defined by an inverted cone with the height of 25m and a diameter of 10m.</p><p>A comparison of different techniques suitable for position sensing has been performed. These techniques include the following: a radio method based on the Instrument Landing System (ILS), an optical method using a Position Sensing Detector (PSD), an optical method using the Indoor GPS system, a distance measurement method with ultrasound and also a discussion of the Global Positioning System (GPS).</p><p>An evaluation system has been built using the PSD sensor and tests have been performed to evaluate its possibilities for positioning. Accuracy in the order of a few millimetres has been achieved in position estimation with the evaluation system.</p>

<p>Utveckling av en transponder som med befintliga tekniker erbjuder möjlighet att, över stora avstånd, lokalisera gods utom- såväl som inomhus.</p>

Utveckling av en transponder som med befintliga tekniker erbjuder möjlighet att, över stora avstånd, lokalisera gods utom- såväl som inomhus.

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has rapidly increased over the last years. This has been possible mainly due to the increased computing power of microcontrollers and computers. An UAV can be used in both civilian and military areas, for example surveillance and intelligence. The UAV concerned in this master's thesis is a prototype and is currently being developed at DST Control AB in Linköping. With the use of UAVs, the need for a positioning and navigation system arises. Inertial sensors can often give a good position estimation, however, they need continuous calibration due to error build-up and drift in gyros. An external reference is needed to correct for this drift and other errors. The positioning system investigated in this master's thesis is supposed to work in an area defined by an inverted cone with the height of 25m and a diameter of 10m. A comparison of different techniques suitable for position sensing has been performed. These techniques include the following: a radio method based on the Instrument Landing System (ILS), an optical method using a Position Sensing Detector (PSD), an optical method using the Indoor GPS system, a distance measurement method with ultrasound and also a discussion of the Global Positioning System (GPS). An evaluation system has been built using the PSD sensor and tests have been performed to evaluate its possibilities for positioning. Accuracy in the order of a few millimetres has been achieved in position estimation with the evaluation system.

This research proposed the integration of wireless sensor networks, a mobile platform and a fixed station for the development of a test bed system to conduct research on localization, tracking, navigation and network mapping. The overall integrated system acts as a basis for future research on localization of wireless nodes in an indoor environment. The system enables the transfer of information from the sensor node on the platform to a distant computer through wireless communication. In addition, a robotic platform is proposed that uses the developed integrated system as well as other potential applications. The user interface to the system was developed using MATLAB and provides for tracking of the mobile platform. The application also possessed an option to simulate the output of Trilateration when using a setup similar to the one implemented for this research.

O crescimento na utilização de redes de sensores sem fio possibilitou desenvolver melhorias para atender as necessidades da indústria de comunicação de dispositivos em função de diversas vantagens relacionadas a baixo custo, baixo consumo de energia, mobilidade, instalação e configuração de novos dispositivos, além disso, criar funcionalidades adicionais, como por exemplo, localização de engenheiros de campo e ativos em ambientes industriais. O protocolo WirelessHART é um padrão aberto de comunicação sem fio que busca atender a estes requisitos. Neste trabalho é apresentado o estudo e desenvolvimento de uma aplicação de localização de um objeto alvo através da rede WirelessHART. São analisados diferentes métodos para estimar a distância entre o objeto alvo e os outros elementos fixos da rede de sensores sem fio, algoritmos para computar dados e determinar a localização em um plano de coordenadas. O funcionamento do sistema proposto e o método de localização utilizado foram avaliados por meio de simulações e de testes práticos. Para as condições utilizadas de instalação dos dispositivos, foi possível obter um alcance na comunicação via rádio de mais de 100 m, o que permitiu determinar uma área de monitoração do sistema de cerca de 100 m x 100 m. Os resultados obtidos do erro de localização atingiram entre um 72% e 80% de estimativas de localização menores que a 5 metros. O trabalho abordou a criação e avaliação de critérios de escolha para obter conjuntos de três transmissores com probabilidade de erros menores do que 5 metros. A avaliação dos critérios é feita através da construção de uma tabela de probabilidade conjunta obtida a partir da aplicação da regra de Bayes em dados experimentais com erro de posicionamento conhecido. / The growth in the use of wireless sensor networks has made possible the development of improvements that meet the needs of the communication industry, including several devices with to low cost, low power consumption, mobility and ease of integration, installation and configuration advantages. Not only that but they also create additional functionalities, such as showing the location of field engineers who are assets in industrial environments. The WirelessHART protocol is an open standard for wireless communication that seeks to meet these qualities. This study presents a development of an application for the localization of a mobile device via the WirelessHART network. Different methods are analyzed to estimate the distance between the mobile node and the other fixed elements of the wireless sensor network, such as deployment topologies and algorithms, which are used to compute the data and determine the location in a coordinate plane. The operation of the proposed system and the location method were evaluated by means of simulations and practical tests. Due to the conditions used for the installation of the devices, it was possible to obtain a range of radio transmission over 100 m, which allowed to determine an area of monitoring system of about 100 m x 100 m. The results obtained from the error location reached between a 72% and 80% of the estimated localization that was less than 5 meters. The study addressed the establishment and evaluation of selection criteria for sets of three transmitters with probability of less than 5 meters errors. The evaluation criteria is done by constructing a joint probability table obtained from the application of Bayes rule in experimental data with known positioning error.

In the modern society, almost everyone has a smartphone. These devices tend to almost always use WiFi-networking. For the device to identify nearby WiFi access points it has to send out WiFi probing broadcasts. Nearby access points respond to these broadcasts in order to let the device know that they are within reach. This technique is called active scanning. This paper aims to answer if it is possible to use the signal strength of these broadcasts to localize the device transmitting them. We are interested in the possibility of creating this kind of system and the accuracy that it would be able to provide. This is a quantitative study where we produce our results based on experiments, measurements and observations. The experiments are set in a large square shaped area. A sensor was placed at each corner of the area that the smartphone will be tracked within. The smartphone will be sending WiFi probing broadcasts that will be monitored and measured by the sensors. The strength of the broadcast signal will be converted into the relative distance between the devices position and the sensors. These four distances, collected from each of the sensors, will further be converted into a position within the area by using trilateration. To measure the accuracy of the system, the true position of the device will be compared against the calculated position from the system using only the signal strength. Further, a deviation in the distance between the two locations will be calculated. The experiments resulted in a positioning system that was able to estimate positions within an 80 x 80m area. Fourteen location positions were taken which resulted in a mean deviation of 16.6 meters from the true location and a root mean squared error of 19.5 meters. We concluded that more readings within the same position gave a significant increase in accuracy, to the expense of time. Using single measurements would be more practical, but would not produce reliable positions. Keywords: WiFi, Probe Broadcast, Local Positioning System, Trilateration, RSSI.

O crescimento na utilização de redes de sensores sem fio possibilitou desenvolver melhorias para atender as necessidades da indústria de comunicação de dispositivos em função de diversas vantagens relacionadas a baixo custo, baixo consumo de energia, mobilidade, instalação e configuração de novos dispositivos, além disso, criar funcionalidades adicionais, como por exemplo, localização de engenheiros de campo e ativos em ambientes industriais. O protocolo WirelessHART é um padrão aberto de comunicação sem fio que busca atender a estes requisitos. Neste trabalho é apresentado o estudo e desenvolvimento de uma aplicação de localização de um objeto alvo através da rede WirelessHART. São analisados diferentes métodos para estimar a distância entre o objeto alvo e os outros elementos fixos da rede de sensores sem fio, algoritmos para computar dados e determinar a localização em um plano de coordenadas. O funcionamento do sistema proposto e o método de localização utilizado foram avaliados por meio de simulações e de testes práticos. Para as condições utilizadas de instalação dos dispositivos, foi possível obter um alcance na comunicação via rádio de mais de 100 m, o que permitiu determinar uma área de monitoração do sistema de cerca de 100 m x 100 m. Os resultados obtidos do erro de localização atingiram entre um 72% e 80% de estimativas de localização menores que a 5 metros. O trabalho abordou a criação e avaliação de critérios de escolha para obter conjuntos de três transmissores com probabilidade de erros menores do que 5 metros. A avaliação dos critérios é feita através da construção de uma tabela de probabilidade conjunta obtida a partir da aplicação da regra de Bayes em dados experimentais com erro de posicionamento conhecido. / The growth in the use of wireless sensor networks has made possible the development of improvements that meet the needs of the communication industry, including several devices with to low cost, low power consumption, mobility and ease of integration, installation and configuration advantages. Not only that but they also create additional functionalities, such as showing the location of field engineers who are assets in industrial environments. The WirelessHART protocol is an open standard for wireless communication that seeks to meet these qualities. This study presents a development of an application for the localization of a mobile device via the WirelessHART network. Different methods are analyzed to estimate the distance between the mobile node and the other fixed elements of the wireless sensor network, such as deployment topologies and algorithms, which are used to compute the data and determine the location in a coordinate plane. The operation of the proposed system and the location method were evaluated by means of simulations and practical tests. Due to the conditions used for the installation of the devices, it was possible to obtain a range of radio transmission over 100 m, which allowed to determine an area of monitoring system of about 100 m x 100 m. The results obtained from the error location reached between a 72% and 80% of the estimated localization that was less than 5 meters. The study addressed the establishment and evaluation of selection criteria for sets of three transmitters with probability of less than 5 meters errors. The evaluation criteria is done by constructing a joint probability table obtained from the application of Bayes rule in experimental data with known positioning error.

O crescimento na utilização de redes de sensores sem fio possibilitou desenvolver melhorias para atender as necessidades da indústria de comunicação de dispositivos em função de diversas vantagens relacionadas a baixo custo, baixo consumo de energia, mobilidade, instalação e configuração de novos dispositivos, além disso, criar funcionalidades adicionais, como por exemplo, localização de engenheiros de campo e ativos em ambientes industriais. O protocolo WirelessHART é um padrão aberto de comunicação sem fio que busca atender a estes requisitos. Neste trabalho é apresentado o estudo e desenvolvimento de uma aplicação de localização de um objeto alvo através da rede WirelessHART. São analisados diferentes métodos para estimar a distância entre o objeto alvo e os outros elementos fixos da rede de sensores sem fio, algoritmos para computar dados e determinar a localização em um plano de coordenadas. O funcionamento do sistema proposto e o método de localização utilizado foram avaliados por meio de simulações e de testes práticos. Para as condições utilizadas de instalação dos dispositivos, foi possível obter um alcance na comunicação via rádio de mais de 100 m, o que permitiu determinar uma área de monitoração do sistema de cerca de 100 m x 100 m. Os resultados obtidos do erro de localização atingiram entre um 72% e 80% de estimativas de localização menores que a 5 metros. O trabalho abordou a criação e avaliação de critérios de escolha para obter conjuntos de três transmissores com probabilidade de erros menores do que 5 metros. A avaliação dos critérios é feita através da construção de uma tabela de probabilidade conjunta obtida a partir da aplicação da regra de Bayes em dados experimentais com erro de posicionamento conhecido. / The growth in the use of wireless sensor networks has made possible the development of improvements that meet the needs of the communication industry, including several devices with to low cost, low power consumption, mobility and ease of integration, installation and configuration advantages. Not only that but they also create additional functionalities, such as showing the location of field engineers who are assets in industrial environments. The WirelessHART protocol is an open standard for wireless communication that seeks to meet these qualities. This study presents a development of an application for the localization of a mobile device via the WirelessHART network. Different methods are analyzed to estimate the distance between the mobile node and the other fixed elements of the wireless sensor network, such as deployment topologies and algorithms, which are used to compute the data and determine the location in a coordinate plane. The operation of the proposed system and the location method were evaluated by means of simulations and practical tests. Due to the conditions used for the installation of the devices, it was possible to obtain a range of radio transmission over 100 m, which allowed to determine an area of monitoring system of about 100 m x 100 m. The results obtained from the error location reached between a 72% and 80% of the estimated localization that was less than 5 meters. The study addressed the establishment and evaluation of selection criteria for sets of three transmitters with probability of less than 5 meters errors. The evaluation criteria is done by constructing a joint probability table obtained from the application of Bayes rule in experimental data with known positioning error.