Direction Finding with UWB and BLE: A Comparative Study

Leo Happ Botler, Michael Spörk, Konrad Diwold, Kay Uwe Römer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperpeer-review

Abstract

Using Angle-of-Arrival based on Phase-Difference-of-Arrival is a recent trend in indoor positioning. Although the basic techniques for direction estimation have been known and used for a long time in different application scenarios(e.g., RADAR), the complexity of Phase-Difference-of-Arrival transceivers discouraged its use for indoor applications. This scenario changed with the recent development of modern chipsat competitive prices. Specifically, two ubiquitous technologies in the context of indoor positioning, namely Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB), currently feature Angle-of-Arrival estimation. In this paper we compare these two technologies regarding their potential for indoor positioning based on a fair evaluation of their performance for estimating Angle-of-Arrival in five different realistic setups. The results obtained are compared with existing studies when available. Our results show that Ultra-Wideband is, in general, more accurate and precise, especially when subject to multipath interference.Additionally, we discuss possible approaches to improve the accuracy and precision of Angle-of-Arrival estimation using BLE,such as the impact of increasing the number of antenna elements.By using UWB, we achieved an angular accuracy of up to5°even under obstructed LOS and multipath, while an overall mean error of nearly25°was obtained with BLE in an outdoor scenario without obstacles.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2020 IEEE 17th International Conference on Mobile Ad Hoc and Smart Systems, MASS 2020
Pages44-52
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781728198668
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Dec 2020
Event17th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Smart Systems : MASS 2020 - Virtual event, Virtual, Delhi, India
Duration: 10 Dec 202013 Dec 2020
https://www.iitr.ac.in/mass2020/

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2020 IEEE 17th International Conference on Mobile Ad Hoc and Smart Systems, MASS 2020

Conference

Conference17th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Smart Systems
Abbreviated titleIEEE MASS 2020
Country/TerritoryIndia
CityVirtual, Delhi
Period10/12/2013/12/20
Internet address

Keywords

  • AoA
  • PDoA
  • BLE 5.1
  • UWB
  • Direction Finding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Information Systems and Management
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computer Science Applications

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