Radio-based multi-sensor system for person tracking and indoor positioning

Sensor based person tracking is a challenging topic. The main objective is positioning in areas without GPS connection, i.e. indoors. A research project is carried out at BAM, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, to develop and to validate a multi-sensor system for 3D localization. It combines body motion sensing and a guard system for the tracking and recording of the status of persons. The so named BodyGuard system was designed for sensor-based monitoring and radio-based transmission of the movement of a person. Algorithms were developed to transform the sensor data into a spatial coordinate. This paper describes how the BodyGuard system operates, which main components were used in the system, how the individual sensor data are converted into 3D motion data, with which algorithms the individual sensors are processed, how individual errors are compensated and how the sensor data are merged into a 3D Model. Final objective of the BodyGuard system is to determine the exact location of a person in a building, e.g. during fire-fighting operations.