New fuzzy-based indoor positioning scheme using ZigBee wireless protocol

This paper proposes new fuzzy-based scheme providing position information vital for smart home applications. The scheme runs efficiently on the economical wireless ZigBee nodes and uses the link quality indicator (LQI) measured without the need for any additional hardware. It uses fuzzy logic to represent measure noise and surrounding environmental impacts. Position estimation is based upon the fuzzy information provided by all available ZigBee nodes and the surrounding environment is modeled by assembling a set of representative fuzzy vectors. Fuzzy levels are determined by applying the K-means algorithm given the LQI distribution as input. The scheme performance is compared to two popular schemes, the I³BM and the Environment Adaptive. The three are implemented using the Jennic JN5148 ZigBee PRO kit. It is demonstrated that for regular motion the proposed scheme significantly outperforms the other two without high computational cost, slow response, or large memory requirement.