Indoor Positioning Based on Bluetooth RSSI Mean Estimator for the Evacuation Supervision System Application

The novel approach to the Low Energy Bluetooth RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) examination for a personal location during the evacuation process is presented in this paper. The presented system is based on stationary locating localization nodes installed inside the facility and portable wristbands worn by people. A method based on the propagation model and preliminary determination of its characteristics is used to calculate the wristband-locator distance. The accuracy of the distance estimations is increased by assuming Gaussian model of RSSI measurements and using the estimator of RSSI mean value. A modified multilateration approach is used to estimate the person’s position in the 2D Cartesian coordinate system. The paper also includes the outcomes of experiments conducted on the proposed approach as it was applied to the prototype evacuation supervision system. The paper presents a comparison of the position estimation error for the proposed method based on the mean RSSI value estimator with the results obtained when raw RSSI values were used. Analysis and discussion of wristband position estimation error are also included.