Optimum reference node deployment for indoor localization based on the average Mean Square Error minimization

Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) for indoor localization is challenging as the GPS signal is significantly attenuated or completely blocked by the building. In achieving indoor localization, a set of transmitters from wireless communication networks are often used as reference nodes to localize target nodes with unknown locations. The accuracy of such localization process is considerably affected by the spatial distribution of the reference nodes with respect to the target node to be localized. Hence, deploying the reference nodes at best locations will notably increase the localization precision. In this paper, a novel reference nodes deployment scheme is introduced which minimizes the average Mean Square Error (MSE) of the localization over the area of interest with certain shape. The proposed scheme is evaluated for deploying the reference nodes in the circular, square, and hexagonal localization regions. The proposed scheme is validated and illustrated by numerical simulations.