New Design of Antenna Array for Bluetooth Direction Finding

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has become very common for tracking applications in homes, stadiums, malls, and hospitals over the last decade. With the outbreak of COVID, the technology was widely used for local tracking of the virus spread [1]. However, despite broad interest in using BLE as a tracker, the primary method is based on Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) measurements. On the other hand, the previous studies have demonstrated that this method is prone to multi-path and is inaccurate. With the introduction of BLE Direction Finding a shift in localization method has occurred. With the introduction of BEL direction finding, indoor tracking has come closer to its ultimate goal of asset tracking and positioning in crowded indoor environments. In this paper we present a new fast switching antenna array specifically designed for BLE direction finding. Using our newly designed antenna array and switch, we reached to accuracy of approximately 5° degrees.