Fast Indoor Localization of Smart Hand-held Devices Using Bluetooth

Indoor localization remains a hot topic during the last few decades. Previous research mainly relies on wireless fingerprints and thus demands a large number of APs or labor-intensive site survey. To this end, by exploring Bluetooth features and leveraging user motions, we introduce a novel localization scheme that needs neither APs nor site survey. More specifically, through a systematic experimental study, we gain in-depth understandings of Bluetooth characteristics,.e.g., the impact of various factors such as distance, orientation, and obstacles on the Bluetooth RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator). With the empirical experiences, a novel motion-assisted localization model is built to describe the relationship between RSSI and device location. Based on the model, we design a localization scheme that iteratively adjusts the search directions according to RSSI changes to approach the target device. We prototype and evaluate our system in several real-world scenarios. Extensive experiments show that the proposed scheme is efficient in terms of localization accuracy, searching time and energy consumption.