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Reversed Three-Dimensional Visible Light Indoor Positioning Utilizing Annular Receivers with Multi-Photodiodes
Yinfan Xu1, Jiaqi Zhao2, Jianyang Shi3
1Key Laboratory for Information Science of Electromagnetic Waves (MoE), Department of Communication Science and Engineering, Fudan University, No. 220, Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China. xuyinfan_tx@126.com.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 11, 2016
Summary
This study introduces a novel reversed indoor positioning system using visible light communication (VLC) with LED lights. The system achieves high accuracy, with a positioning error under 0.2 meters, enhancing indoor location services.
Area of Science:
- Electrical Engineering
- Computer Science
- Optical Communications
Background:
- Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems are increasingly integrated with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for illumination.
- Existing VLC indoor positioning systems (IPS) face limitations in accuracy and range.
- There is a growing need for precise indoor localization solutions in various applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and evaluate a reversed indoor positioning system (IPS) utilizing LED visible light communication (VLC).
- To enhance indoor positioning accuracy by employing a novel receiver configuration and positioning algorithms.
- To demonstrate the practical feasibility and performance of the proposed system.
Main Methods:
- Development of a reversed VLC-IPS where users carry LEDs and receivers are ceiling-mounted.
- Utilization of two annular receivers with multi-photodiodes for angle calculation.
- Integration of Received Signal Strength (RSS) method for distance determination.
- Experimental validation of the system's positioning range and accuracy.
Main Results:
- The proposed system achieves an effective positioning range of 1.8 meters with a 1.2-meter receiver separation.
- A positioning error of less than 0.2 meters is attainable under specific operational conditions.
- Optimal performance is observed when the PIN circle radius is between 0.16 m and 0.2 m, and transmitter-receiver plane distance is under 1.8 m.
Conclusions:
- The reversed VLC-IPS offers a promising solution for accurate indoor positioning.
- The multi-photodiode receiver and RSS-based distance calculation effectively improve localization precision.
- The system's demonstrated performance indicates its practical viability for real-world applications.

