Question:
Discuss about localisation and navigation using bluetooth low energy beacons?
Answer:
Currently, mobile phones are the primary method of navigation. However, indoor positioning and navigation poses a unique problem because the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites normally used to navigate outdoors have limited use indoors. Every instant of our daily routine takes place in some location which is identified as geographical co-ordinates that connects the physical and the digital world, and for this reason we need to know the user’s position which could surely help in finding way in complex environments such as Hospitals or any other place. Since the GPS has been introduced it has become a de facto standard for outdoor positioning applications. But GPS has its limitations for it cannot navigate or localise the indoor applications and for this widespread research has been done. Extensive research has been devoted to explore the topic based on a variety of technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ultra wideband radio and Zigbee. None of the above have effectively made it into a extensively accepted standard, though significant progress has been made.
One of the solutions found was using Wi-Fi access points as anchors, computing the signal strength and calculating location using trilateration. Certainly, there is a tool today that provides the framework for such an application. However, there are significant disadvantages with using Wi-Fi, namely that there are huge setup costs in arranging the foundation for Wi-Fi position tracking.
In the year 2010 an entirely new Bluetooth technology which was referred to as “Bluetooth Smart” or “Bluetooth low energy” was released which guarantees among other features very low power usage, a completely new software stack and changed radio frequency properties. A variety of approaches and algorithms are tested, explored compared and evaluated in a test bed scenario designed for this purpose. Moreover, RSSI (received signal strength indicator) behaviour was analysed for the results of these tests, which is the parameter which is used as the basis for the positioning approaches. The analysis shows Bluetooth low energy is a feasible substitute for indoor positioning that offers widespread handiness in society, affordable accuracy and low value readying. The report conjointly provides essential recommendation on some necessary pitfalls once mistreatment the technology for positioning applications.
In this report two examples have been taken that have been designed to use this technology. One is DeeBLE and the other is Cognitive Service Robot Cosero.
DeeBLE
This application aims to address this issue by implementing a different method of indoor positioning, one that uses the recently developed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). With the new APIs released by Google, we can now use Bluetooth devices to act as anchors. The key feature of BLE is the lightweight communication between devices that allows us to provide just enough context, while still being agile and portable. This peer to peer messaging opens up many possibilities, ranging from applications in shopping malls to emergency response situations. The application will demonstrate the simplicity and robustness of BLE, as well as its many extendable applications and capabilities.
Cognitive Service Robot Cosero.
CSRC covers a wide range of tasks in domestic indoor environments . It has been equipped with a flexible torso and two anthropomorphic arms that provide human-like reach. A linear actuator moves the whole upper body up and down, allowing the robot to grasp objects from a wide range of heights—even from the floor. Cosero’s anthropomorphic upper body is mounted on a mobile base with narrow footprint and omnidirectional driving capabilities. By this, the robot can maneuver through narrow passages that are typically found in indoor environments, and it is not limited in its mobile manipulation capabilities by holonomic constraints. The human-like appearance of cosero robot also supports intuitive interaction with human users.
This was just to summarise what these apps actually do and are made up for. The detailed working has been explained in the report.
One of the primary goals of designing an application that can effectively use BLE was to demonstrate how the application could be extended to a wide variety of use cases. The strength of BLE comes from its scalability; additional anchors are easy to add to the network, and they seamlessly contribute accuracy, range and robustness to the network. BLE navigation may have limited use with two or three anchors, but it immediately gains strength with the addition of two or more anchors.
To optimize navigation and allow for large scale use, dedicated anchors must be designed that will interact with the application. Using smartphones as anchors is both inefficient and impractical. In real life scenarios, anchors should be durable and portable to see widespread use.
