Cooperative localization using a foot-mounted inertial navigation system and ultrawideband ranging

This paper aims to evaluate the performance gains that can be obtained by introducing cooperative localization in an indoor firefighter localization system, through the use of scenario-based simulations. Robust and accurate indoor localization for firefighters is a problem that is not yet resolved. Foot-mounted inertial navigation systems (INS) have been examined for first responder localization, but they have an accumulating position error that grows over time. By using ultrawideband (UWB) ranging between the firefighters and combining range measurements with position and uncertainty estimates from the foot-mounted INS via a cooperative localization approach it is possible to reduce the position error significantly. An error model for the position estimates received from single and dual foot-mounted INS is proposed based on experimental results, and it contains a scaling error which depends on the distance travelled and a heading error which grows linearly over time. The position error for dead-reckoning systems depends on the type of movement. Similarly, an error model for the UWB range measurements was designed where the range measurements experience a bias and variance, which is determined by the number of walls between the transmitter and receiver. By implementing these error models in a scenario-based simulation environment it is possible to evaluate the performance gain of different cooperative localization algorithms. A centralized extended Kalman Filter (EKF) algorithm has been implemented, and the position accuracy and heading improvements are evaluated over a smoke diving operation scenario. The cooperative localization scheme reduces the position errors by up to 70% in a scenario where a three-person smoke diver team performs a search and rescue operation.