Hybrid indoor localization scheme with image sensor-based visible light positioning and pedestrian dead reckoning

Area of Science:

• Computer Vision
• Indoor Positioning Systems
• Ubiquitous Computing

Background:

• Accurate indoor localization remains a challenge for many applications.
• Existing systems often require extensive infrastructure or suffer from low precision.
• Visible light communication (VLC) offers a promising alternative for indoor positioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a hybrid indoor localization scheme combining visible light positioning (VLP) and pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR).
• To demonstrate the feasibility of VLP using off-the-shelf mobile devices and commercial LED lamps.
• To achieve robust, real-time, and high-accuracy indoor location tracking.

Main Methods:

• Development of a hybrid positioning algorithm integrating VLP and PDR.
• Implementation of VLP using image sensors to detect and localize based on visible light sources.
• Utilizing inertial measurement units (IMUs) for PDR to complement VLP.
• Prototyping with commercial LED lamps and smartphones.

Main Results:

• Visible light positioning achieved cell recognition and 3D positioning with centimeter-level error using a single image.
• The hybrid VLP-PDR system demonstrated robust, real-time decimeter-level indoor location tracking.
• Successful operation was shown even with sparse light-source beacons in a real indoor environment.

Conclusions:

• The proposed hybrid VLP-PDR scheme offers a practical and accurate solution for indoor localization.
• The system leverages existing infrastructure (LED lighting) and mobile devices for cost-effective deployment.
• This technology enables continuous and reliable indoor positioning for various applications.