Smartphone based intelligent indoor positioning using fuzzy logic

Smartphones are indispensable helpers of people in their daily routine, including functions that serve the disabled or aged people finding their outdoor location. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the indoor positioning algorithms based on the signal strength received from the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. We have implemented and compared several positioning algorithms (Proximity Localization, Centroid Localization, Weighted Centroid Localization, Weight-Compensated Weighted Centroid Localization Based on RSSI, Fingerprinting and Trilateration Localization). We also proposed and implemented a fuzzy logic based scheme to select the most fitting algorithm depending upon the size of the room, the number of beacons available and the strength of the signal. We have evaluated our scheme in real-world conditions (office building). The experimental results show that the algorithm of fingerprinting localization is the most suitable one. Finally, we propose a fuzzy logic system for the selection of an indoor localization algorithm based on the size of the room, the number of available beacons, and the strength of RSSI signal.