Wireless localization in buildings by smart tiles

An innovative conception of indoor localization for human beings is proposed. A person, moving within a building can be localized and tracked by using a self-powered RFID system consisting of a nomadic reader interrogating an array of passive tags embedded in the floor tiles. The whole system is based on environmentally friendly technologies: the piezoelectric (PZT) based energy harvesting to power the hardware as well as the on-paper inkjet printing for the tag antenna.