Accurate Indoor Localization by Combining IEEE 802.11 g/n/ac WiFi-Systems with Strapdown Inertial Measurement Units

WiFi signals delivered by a radio frequency (RF) transceiver unit and a strapdown inertial measurement unit (IMU) are combined to realize a highly accurate navigation/localization system. The performance of this approach is evaluated by a system simulation. Mobile station (MS) motion data and WiFi range estimates are superimposed by real-world noise signals. Both sensor signals, the noisy WiFi signal and the motion signal delivered by the IMU are fused employing an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The simulation studies presented in this article show that WiFi-IMU-EKF navigation filter can achieve a significant increase in location accuracy compared to stand-alone IMU or WiFi solutions and that the integrated approach may provide a cost-effective and accurate system for many indoor location systems.