The Effectiveness of UWB-Based Indoor Positioning Systems for the Navigation of Visually Impaired Individuals
Source abstract
Abstract
UWB has been in existence for several years, but it was only a few years ago that it transitioned from a specialized niche to more mainstream applications. Recent market data indicate a rapid increase in the popularity of UWB in consumer products, such as smartphones and smart home devices, as well as automotive and industrial real-time location systems. The challenge of achieving accurate positioning in indoor environments arises from various factors such as distance, location, beacon density, dynamic surroundings, and the density and type of obstacles. This research used MFi-certified UWB beacon chipsets and integrated them with a mobile application dedicated to iOS by implementing the near interaction accessory protocol. The analysis covers both static and dynamic cases. Thanks to the acquisition of measurements, two main candidates for indoor localization infrastructure were analyzed and compared in terms of accuracy, namely UWB and LIDAR, with the latter used as a reference system. The problem of achieving accurate positioning in various applications and environments was analyzed, and future solutions were proposed. The results show that the achieved accuracy is sufficient for tracking individuals and may serve as guidelines for achievable accuracy or may provide a basis for further research into a complex sensor fusion-based navigation system. This research provides several findings. Firstly, in dynamic conditions, LIDAR measurements showed higher accuracy than UWB beacons. Secondly, integrating data from multiple sensors could enhance localization accuracy in non-line-of-sight scenarios. Lastly, advancements in UWB technology may expand the availability of competitive hardware, facilitating a thorough evaluation of its accuracy and effectiveness in practical systems. These insights may be particularly useful in designing navigation systems for blind individuals in buildings.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Indoor and Outdoor Localization Technologies · Tactile and Sensory Interactions · Smart Parking Systems Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Distributed Systems and Informatic Devices, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Funding
Silesian University of Technology
References (93)
Show source-provided references
1. Does the Current Global Health Agenda Lack Vision?10.9745/GHSP-D-22-00091 ↗
2. Impact of Sensory Impairments on Functional Disability in Adults with Arthritis10.1016/j.amepre.2015.07.014 ↗
3. Sensory loss enhances multisensory integration performance10.1016/j.cortex.2019.06.003 ↗
4. Lu, C.-L., Liu, Z.-Y., Huang, J.-T., Huang, C.-I., Wang, B.-H., Chen, Y., Wu, N.-H., Wang, H.-C., Giarré, L., and Kuo, P.-Y. (2021). Assistive Navigation Using Deep Reinforcement Learning Guiding Robot With UWB/Voice Beacons and Semantic Feedbacks for Blind and Visually Impaired People. Front. Robot. AI, 8.10.3389/frobt.2021.654132 ↗
5. Wearable obstacle avoidance electronic travel aids for blind: A survey10.1109/TSMCC.2009.2021255 ↗
6. Review of sensor-driven assistive device technologies for enhancing navigation for the visually impaired10.1007/s11042-023-17552-7 ↗
7. The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems 1 year on: Progress on a global imperative10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30485-1 ↗
8. (2024, June 26). The Technology of Electronic Travel Aids—Electronic Travel AIDS: New Directions for Research—NCBI Bookshelf, Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218025/.
9. Challenges and opportunities of occupant-centric building controls in real-world implementation: A critical review10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.113958 ↗
10. Messaoudi, M.D., Menelas, B.-A.J., and Mcheick, H. (2022). Review of Navigation Assistive Tools and Technologies for the Visually Impaired. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22207888 ↗
11. Top 10 technologies for indoor positioning on construction sites10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103309 ↗
12. Su, H.-K., Liao, Z.-X., Lin, C.-H., and Lin, T.-M. (2015, January 14–17). A hybrid indoor-position mechanism based on bluetooth and WiFi communications for smart mobile devices. Proceedings of the 2015 International Symposium on Bioelectronics and Bioinformatics (ISBB), Beijing, China.10.1109/ISBB.2015.7344955 ↗
13. Indoor Positioning System: A Review
14. Elsanhoury, M., Siemuri, A., Nieminen, J., Välisuo, P., Koljonen, J., Kuusniemi, H., and Elmusrati, M.S. (2023, January 11–15). Emerging Wireless Technologies for Reliable Indoor Navigation in Industrial Environments. Proceedings of the 36th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2023), Denver, CO, USA.10.33012/2023.19225 ↗
15. (2024, May 19). FiRA Annual Report 2022. Available online: https://www.firaconsortium.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fira-annual-report-2022.pdf.
16. (2024, May 19). Smartphone High Accuracy Real-Time Location to Drive UWB-Enabled Devices to 1.3 Billion Shipments by 2026. Available online: https://www.abiresearch.com/press/smartphone-high-accuracy-real-time-location-drive-uwb-enabled-devices-13-billion-shipments-2026/.
17. (2024, May 18). Unleashing the Potential of UWB: Regulatory Considerations. Available online: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/uploads/articles/UWBWP.pdf.
18. (2024, May 18). Annual Report 2021. Available online: https://www.firaconsortium.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/FiRa-Annual-Report-2021.pdf.
19. (2024, May 18). Ultra-Wideband UWB: Omlox. Available online: https://omlox.com/omlox-explained/ultra-wideband-uwb.
20. Alhadhrami, S., Alnafessah, A., Al-Ammar, M., Alarifi, A., Al-Khalifa, H., and Alsaleh, M. (2015, January 11–13). UWB Indoor Tracking System for Visually Impaired People. Proceedings of the MoMM 2015: The 13th International Conference on Advances in Mobile Computing and Multimedia, MoMM 2015—Proceedings, Brussels, Belgium.10.1145/2837126.2837141 ↗
21. 2D mapping using omni-directional mobile robot equipped with LiDAR
22. A survey of active and passive indoor localisation systems10.1016/j.comcom.2012.06.004 ↗
23. A Survey of Indoor Location Technologies, Techniques and Applications in Industry10.1016/j.iot.2022.100608 ↗
24. UWB LOS/NLOS identification in multiple indoor environments using deep learning methods10.1016/j.phycom.2022.101695 ↗
25. Arai, T., Yoshizawa, T., Aoki, T., Zempo, K., and Okada, Y. (2019, January 11–13). Evaluation of Indoor Positioning System based on Attachable Infrared Beacons in Metal Shelf Environment. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), Las Vegas, NV, USA.10.1109/ICCE.2019.8662007 ↗
26. Non-Line-of-Sight Identification and Mitigation Using Received Signal Strength10.1109/TWC.2014.2372341 ↗
27. Blind and visually impaired visitors’ experiences in museums: Increasing accessibility through assistive technologies
28. New indoor navigation system for visually impaired people using visible light communication10.1186/1687-1499-2013-37 ↗
29. Information accessibility oriented self-powered and ripple-inspired fingertip interactors with auditory feedback10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106117 ↗
30. Faisal, F., Hasan, M., Sabrin, S., Hasan, Z., and Siddique, A.H. (2021, January 5–7). Voice Activated Portable Braille with Audio Feedback. Proceedings of the 2021 2nd International Conference on Robotics, Electrical and Signal Processing Techniques (ICREST), Dhaka, Bangladesh.10.1109/ICREST51555.2021.9331004 ↗
31. CCVoice: Voice to Text Conversion and Management Program Implementation of Google Cloud Speech API10.5626/KTCP.2019.25.3.191 ↗
32. András Márton: Les pratiques funéraires en Pannonie de l’époque augustéenne à la fin du 3e siècle
33. Santhosh, S.S., Sasiprabha, T., and Jeberson, R. (2010, January 13–15). BLI—NAV embedded navigation system for blind people. Proceedings of the 2010 Recent Advances in Space Technology Services and Climate Change (RSTSCC), Chennai, India.
34. A precise RFID indoor localization system with sensor network assistance10.1109/CC.2015.7114062 ↗
35. A portable mid-range localization system using infrared LEDs for visually impaired people10.1016/j.infrared.2014.09.023 ↗
36. Chen, H., Wang, K., and Yang, K. (2018, January 27). Improving realsense by fusing color stereo vision and infrared stereo vision for the visually impaired. Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Information Science and System, Jeju, Republic of Korea.10.1145/3209914.3209944 ↗
37. Rehrl, K., Leitinger, S., Bruntsch, S., and Mentz, H. (2005, January 16). Assisting orientation and guidance for multimodal travelers in situations of modal change. Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vienna, Austria.
38. Ultrasonic Spectacles & Waist- Belt for Visually Impaired & Blind Person10.9790/3021-04234649 ↗
39. Are electronic white canes better than traditional canes? A comparative study with blind and blindfolded participants10.1007/s10209-020-00712-z ↗
40. Higuchi, H., Harada, A., Iwahashi, T., Usui, S., Sawamoto, J., Kanda, J., Wakimoto, K., and Tanaka, S. (2004, January 26–28). Network-based nationwide RTK-GPS and indoor navigation intended for seamless location based services. Proceedings of the National Technical Meeting, Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, USA.
41. Overview of radiolocation in CDMA cellular systems10.1109/35.667411 ↗
42. An indoor navigation system for the visually impaired10.3390/s120608236 ↗
43. AI Powered Glasses for Visually Impaired Person
44. Chen, H.-E., Lin, Y.-Y., Chen, C.-H., and Wang, I.-F. (2015, January 18–23). BlindNavi: A Navigation App for the Visually Impaired Smartphone User. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Seoul, Republic of Korea.10.1145/2702613.2726953 ↗
45. Huang, S., Ishikawa, M., and Yamakawa, Y. (2018, January 21–23). An Active assistant robotic system based on high-speed vision and haptic feedback for human-robot collaboration. Proceedings of the IECON 2018—44th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Washington, DC, USA.10.1109/IECON.2018.8592810 ↗
46. Mon, C.S., Yap, K.M., and Ahmad, A. (2019, January 27–28). A preliminary study on requirements of olfactory, haptic and audio enabled application for visually impaired in edutainment. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE 9th Symposium on Computer Applications & Industrial Electronics (ISCAIE), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.10.1109/ISCAIE.2019.8743738 ↗
47. Rehrl, K., Göll, N., Leitinger, S., Bruntsch, S., and Mentz, H.-J. (2007). Smartphone-based information and navigation aids for public transport travellers. Location Based Services and TeleCartography, Springer.10.1007/978-3-540-36728-4_37 ↗
48. Zhou, J., Yeung, W.M.-C., and Ng, J.K.-Y. (2008, January 25–28). Enhancing indoor positioning accuracy by utilizing signals from both the mobile phone network and the wireless local area network. Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications (Aina 2008), Okinawa, Japan.10.1109/AINA.2008.106 ↗
49. Karkar, A., and Al-Maadeed, S. (2018, January 25–26). Mobile Assistive Technologies for Visual Impaired Users: A Survey. Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Computer and Applications (ICCA), Beirut, Lebanon.10.1109/COMAPP.2018.8460406 ↗
50. Menelas, B., Picinalli, L., Katz, B.F.G., and Bourdot, P. (2010, January 20–21). Audio haptic feedbacks for an acquisition task in a multi-target context. Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI 2010), Waltham, MA, USA.10.1109/3DUI.2010.5444722 ↗
51. A wireless sensor network based personnel positioning scheme in coal mines with blind areas10.3390/s101109891 ↗
52. Hairuman, I.F.B., and Foong, O.-M. (2011, January 5–8). OCR signage recognition with skew & slant correction for visually impaired people. Proceedings of the 2011 11th International Conference on Hybrid Intelligent Systems (HIS 2011), Melacca, Malaysia.10.1109/HIS.2011.6122123 ↗
53. Messaoudi, M.D., Menelas, B.-A.J., and Mcheick, H. (2020). Autonomous Smart White Cane Navigation System for Indoor Usage. Technologies, 8.10.3390/technologies8030037 ↗
54. (2024, May 19). A Cellphone Based Indoor wayfindingsystem for the Visually Challenged. Available online: https://assistech.iitd.ac.in/doc/Roshni_Pamphlet.pdf.
55. Chen, Q., Khan, M., Tsangouri, C., Yang, C., Li, B., Xiao, J., and Zhu, Z. (August, January 31). CCNY Smart Cane. Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE 7th Annual International Conference on CYBER Technology in Automation, Control, and Intelligent Systems (CYBER), Honolulu, HI, USA.10.1109/CYBER.2017.8446303 ↗
56. Navigation Assistance for the Visually Impaired Using RGB-D Sensor with Range Expansion10.1109/JSYST.2014.2320639 ↗
57. Syndrome-Enabled Unsupervised Learning for Neural Network-Based Polar Decoder and Jointly Optimized Blind Equalizer10.1109/JETCAS.2020.2992593 ↗
58. Bai, J., Liu, D., Su, G., and Fu, Z. (2017, January 7–9). A cloud and vision-based navigation system used for blind people. Proceedings of the AIACT ‘17: 2017 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Control Technologies, Wuhan, China.10.1145/3080845.3080867 ↗
59. A Multidimensional Walking Aid for Visually Impaired Using Ultrasonic Sensors Network with Voice Guidance
60. Sahoo, N., Lin, H.-W., and Chang, Y.-H. (2019). Design and implementation of a walking stick aid for visually challenged people. Sensors, 19.10.3390/s19010130 ↗
61. Binaural sonar electronic travel aid provides vibrotactile cues for landmark, reflector motion and surface texture classification10.1109/TBME.2002.803561 ↗
62. Smart indoor and outdoor guiding system for blind people using android and IOT10.5958/0976-5506.2019.00446.7 ↗
63. Mahmud, N., Saha, R., Zafar, R., Bhuian, M., and Sarwar, S. (2014, January 23–24). Vibration and voice operated navigation system for visually impaired person. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Informatics, Electronics & Vision (ICIEV), Dhaka, Bangladesh.10.1109/ICIEV.2014.6850740 ↗
64. Grubb, P.W., Thomsen, P.R., Hoxie, T., and Wright, G. (2016). Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology, Oxford University Press (OUP).10.1093/oso/9780199684731.001.0001 ↗
65. Reliability of Bluetooth Smart Technology for Indoor Localization System
66. Cominelli, M., Patras, P., and Gringoli, F. (2019, January 25). Dead on Arrival: An empirical study of the Bluetooth 5.1 positioning system. Proceedings of the MobiCom ‘19: The 25th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, Los Cabos, Mexico.
67. Performance analysis of ble 5.1 new feature angle of arrival for relative positioning
68. Leitch, S.G., Ahmed, Q.Z., Bin Abbas, W., Hafeez, M., Laziridis, P.I., Sureephong, P., and Alade, T. (2023). On Indoor Localization Using WiFi, BLE, UWB, and IMU Technologies. Sensors, 23.10.3390/s23208598 ↗
69. Bandukda, M., Singh, A., Berthouze, N., and Holloway, C. (2019, January 4–9). Understanding Experiences of blind individuals in outdoor nature. Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems—Proceedings, Glasgow, UK.10.1145/3290607.3313008 ↗
70. Chen, Z., Xu, A., Sui, X., Wang, C., Wang, S., Gao, J., and Shi, Z. (2022). Improved-UWB/LiDAR-SLAM Tightly Coupled Positioning System with NLOS Identification Using a LiDAR Point Cloud in GNSS-Denied Environments. Remote Sens., 14.10.3390/rs14061380 ↗
71. Intelligent beacon location and fingerprinting10.1016/j.procs.2019.04.005 ↗
72. (2024, May 18). Better Together: How Combining UWB and Bluetooth Low Energy Enables Innovation|NXP Semiconductors. Available online: https://www.nxp.com/company/blog/better-together-how-combining-uwb-and-bluetooth-low-energy-enables-innovation:BL-UWB-AND-BLUETOOTH-LOW-ENERGY.
73. Farooq-i-Azam, M., and Ayyaz, M.N. (2016). Location and Position Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks, ResearchGate.10.1201/b13092-8 ↗
74. Che, F., Ahmed, Q.Z., Lazaridis, P.I., Sureephong, P., and Alade, T. (2023). Indoor Positioning System (IPS) Using Ultra-Wide Bandwidth (UWB)—For Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Sensors, 23.10.3390/s23125710 ↗
75. Double-sided two-way ranging algorithm to reduce ranging time10.1109/LCOMM.2009.090093 ↗
76. Timestamping and Ranging Performance for IEEE 802.15.4 CSS Systems10.1109/TIM.2013.2286958 ↗
77. Fakhoury, S., and Ismail, K. (2023). Ultra-Wideband-Based Time Occupancy Analysis for Safety Studies. Sensors, 23.10.3390/s23177551 ↗
78. (2024, May 18). Nearby Interaction|Apple Developer Documentation. Available online: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/nearbyinteraction.
79. (2024, May 19). GitHub—Estimote/iOS-Estimote-UWB-SDK: iOS SDK and Demo App for Estimote UWB Beacons. Available online: https://github.com/Estimote/iOS-Estimote-UWB-SDK.
80. (2024, May 18). isCameraAssistanceEnabled|Apple Developer Documentation. Available online: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/nearbyinteraction/ninearbypeerconfiguration/4013050-iscameraassistanceenabled.
81. Delamare, M., Boutteau, R., Savatier, X., and Iriart, N. (2020). Static and Dynamic Evaluation of an UWB Localization System for Industrial Applications. Sci, 2.10.3390/sci2020023 ↗
82. (2024, May 18). Smartphones with UWB: Evaluating the Accuracy and Reliability of UWB Ranging|Request PDF. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369379894_Smartphones_with_UWB_Evaluating_the_Accuracy_and_Reliability_of_UWB_Ranging.
83. (2024, May 18). (PDF) High-Accuracy Ranging and Localization with Ultra-Wideband Communications for Energy-Constrained Devices. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351062898_High-Accuracy_Ranging_and_Localization_with_Ultra-Wideband_Communications_for_Energy-Constrained_Devices.
84. Flueratoru, L., Wehrli, S., Magno, M., and Niculescu, D. (2020, January 7–11). On the Energy Consumption and Ranging Accuracy of Ultra-Wideband Physical Interfaces. Proceedings of the GLOBECOM 2020—2020 IEEE Global Communications Conference, Taipei, China.10.1109/GLOBECOM42002.2020.9347984 ↗
85. Wang, F., Tang, H., and Chen, J. (2023). Survey on NLOS Identification and Error Mitigation for UWB Indoor Positioning. Electronics, 12.10.3390/electronics12071678 ↗
86. Decarli, N.O., Wilab, D.D., Gezici, S., Alberto, A., and Amico, D. (2010, January 5–7). LOS/NLOS Detection for UWB Signals: A Comparative Study Using Experimental Data. Proceedings of the IEEE 5th International Symposium on Wireless Pervasive Computing 2010, Modena, Italy.10.1109/ISWPC.2010.5483704 ↗
87. Crețu-Sîrcu, A.L., Schiøler, H., Cederholm, J.P., Sîrcu, I., Schjørring, A., Larrad, I.R., Berardinelli, G., and Madsen, O. (2022). Evaluation and Comparison of Ultrasonic and UWB Technology for Indoor Localization in an Industrial Environment. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22082927 ↗
88. A high precision indoor positioning system of BLE AOA based on ISSS algorithm10.1016/j.measurement.2023.113801 ↗
89. Woolley, M. (2019). Bluetooth Core Specification v5.1 Feature Overview, Bluetooth SIG. Bluetooth Core Specification v5.1 Contains a Series of Updates to the Bluetooth® Core Specification. This Document Summarizes and Explains Each Change. Bluetooth Core Specification v5.1 Should be Consulted for Full Details.
90. Ramirez, R., Huang, C.-Y., Liao, C.-A., Lin, P.-T., Lin, H.-W., and Liang, S.-H. (2021). A Practice of BLE RSSI Measurement for Indoor Positioning. Sensors, 21.10.3390/s21155181 ↗
91. Data Fusion of UWB and IMU Based on Unscented Kalman Filter for Indoor Localization of Quadrotor UAV10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2985053 ↗
92. Woo, H.-J., Seo, D.-M., Kim, M.-S., Park, M.-S., Hong, W.-H., and Baek, S.-C. (2022). Localization of Cracks in Concrete Structures Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Sensors, 22.10.3390/s22176711 ↗
93. (2024, June 18). UWB and AI overview—By Giorgio Zanella—Technotrend. Available online: https://technotrend.substack.com/p/uwb-and-ai-overview.