Wideband Powerline Positioning for Indoor Localization

Erich P. Stuntebeck, Shwetak Patel, Thomas Robertson, Matthew S. Reynolds, Gregory D. Abowd

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Abstract

Fingerprinting techniques for indoor localization have been widely explored. A particular approach by Patel et al. suggested leveraging of the residential powerline as the signaling mechanism for a domestic location capability. In this paper, we critically examine that initial work, called powerline positioning (PLP). We find the proposed technique lacking in temporal stability, requiring frequent and undesired recalibration in some environments. We also determine that there is no a priori method to determine a pair of signaling frequencies that will reliably work in any space. We propose a wideband approach to PLP (WPLP) that injects up to 44 different frequencies into the powerline. We show that this WPLP approach improves upon overall positioning accuracy, demonstrates greatly improved temporal stability and has the added advantage of working in commercial indoor spaces.