Resilient 3D Indoor Localization Using a Masked Transformer Encoder with Multi-band CSI Fingerprints

Integrating dense channel fingerprints into deep learning (DL) becomes a promising way to realize precise three-dimensional (3D) indoor localization. However, most existing methods are frequency-dependent, which limits the localization precision when operating in different frequency bands. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a masked Transformer encoder (MTE) model capable of using the channel state information (CSI) data of an arbitrary number of sub-channels (frequency bands) as input. The proposed MTE model can locate a UE using frequency-scalable CSI data, to realize resilient localization. We first introduce how to transform CSI data into sequential data suitable for Transformer-based models, with length of the sequence determined by the number of sub-channels. Based on this, an MTE model is designed to achieve resilient FP localization with frequency-scalability, i.e., capable of processing the CSI data of an arbitrary number of sub-channels. Next, we construct a 3D CSI FP dataset using ray-tracing (RT) simulations based on real-world indoor scenarios and versatile electromagnetic (EM) coefficients. The reliability of the dataset is verified by measurement data. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the MTE model outperforms many state-of-the-art baselines, classical time-series models, and alternative Transformer-based methods, especially under arbitrary sub-channel CSI data. Moreover, we demonstrate that the MTE model also offers many advantages in terms of training and storage costs through comparisons with conventional models.