"Geographic" location of devices in indoor environments

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In external environments, the geographical location, made by GPS or triangularization with cell antennas, is already practically a "problem solved", counting on resources and facilities available in the API of the main operating systems for mobile devices, like Android and iOS.

But how is the "geographical" location (in quotes here because it is not quite a location on the globe) of mobile devices in indoor environments, such as a large ballroom? Is there already a standardized or easy-to-reuse solution for this?

P.S.: In some comments were indicated commercial tools that do this (and this information was certainly very welcome!), but I wish to have an answer detailing the operation of one (or more!) of these solutions because I believe this would be useful also for the entire SOPT community.

  • Interesting question. The only solution I know for this (proprietary and for a very specific purpose) depends on the installation of several sensors in the environment you want to monitor. But if you have multiple mobile devices on a wireless network, must be possible to make some kind of triangulation and detect its position in relation to the router.

  • @Bfavaretto Sensors of what type? If you can provide an answer giving some tips on how this proprietary solution works (of course, if you can disclose the information), it will surely be helpful. :)

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    From a researched by "indoor Positioning", so I researched there are some proprietary solutions (using Wifi). I found these two developers: http://www.wifarer.com/ and http://www.meridianapps.com/. Looking fast, I don’t know if they offer the accuracy you need, but they come close.

  • I don’t know what the "sensors" are, and I actually think they’re not sensors, but small radio transmitters. Each is installed in a previously known position, and the mobile device orients itself according to them. They solutions via Wifi that Wakim linked seem simpler, and are worth a try.

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I’m working on a solution like this for the university where I work.

It follows the @bfavaretto comment line, with NFC tags to facilitate individual localization (an individual can 'sign' in a particular environment), but for spatial localization the solution is based on Google Maps Geolocation API.

Free translation of post about in Techcrunch:

The Google Maps Geolocation API [...] tries to triangulate its position, observing for cell towers and Wi-Fi access points around you. [...] According to Google, this service is intended to [...] allow a better location inside (where the GPS does not work).

The API calibrates over time by cross-referencing information from your internal maps (which create borders, or boundaries in API terminology) with statistical analysis of the data captured in each request (list of Wifi connections, mobile service antennas [even if you are not connected to them] nearby and eventual GPS, along with signal quality). In other words, in theory it becomes more precise with the passage of time.

For viewing, you can use the Google Indoor Maps, which even allows high resolution internal photographs via Street View:
https://www.google.com/maps/about/partners/indoormaps/

More about the technology in this article (in English):
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-google-maps-mapping.html

Bonus: The 5 most used indoor geolocation technologies (English):
http://www.thoughtden.co.uk/blog/2012/04/top-5-indoor-geolocation-technologies/

  • Very good answer! :)

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