Combining Indoor Positioning Using Wi-Fi Round Trip Time with Dust Measurement in the Field of Occupational Health

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Environmental Monitoring
• Wireless Sensor Networks

Background:

• Personal exposure monitoring to hazardous substances is crucial.
• Accurate indoor positioning has been a challenge for real-time exposure assessment.
• Emerging technologies like Wi-Fi Round Trip Time (Wi-Fi RTT) offer new possibilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of combining Wi-Fi RTT for indoor positioning with wearable particle monitors (WPMs) for dust concentration monitoring.
• To assess the accuracy and applicability of this integrated system in a simulated industrial setting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Wi-Fi RTT for precise indoor localization of individuals.
• Employed wearable particle monitors to measure airborne dust concentrations.
• Conducted experiments in a simulated factory environment with controlled dust generation (sodium chloride solution).
• Recorded measurements along different walking routes and generated heat maps.

Main Results:

• Wi-Fi RTT demonstrated high accuracy in computing indoor positions.
• Error percentages for positioning were low across three experimental routes (2.3% to 7.8%).
• The integrated system successfully mapped dust concentration variations.
• Generated heat maps visualized dust distribution based on accurate positioning and WPM data.

Conclusions:

• Wi-Fi RTT is a viable technology for accurate indoor positioning in occupational health monitoring.
• The proposed methodology integrating Wi-Fi RTT and WPMs is effective for assessing personal exposure to airborne dust.
• This approach holds significant potential for improving workplace safety and health surveillance.