This work proposes the novel use of spinning beacons for precise indoor localization. The proposed "SpinLoc" (Spinning Indoor Localization) system uses "spinning" (i.e., rotating) beacons to create and detect predictable and highly distinguishable Doppler signals for sub-meter localization accuracy. The system analyzes Doppler frequency shifts of signals from spinning beacons, which are then used to calculate orientation angles to a target. By obtaining orientation angles from two or more beacons, SpinLoc can precisely locate stationary or slow-moving targets. After designing and implementing the system using MICA2 motes, its performance was tested in an indoor garage environment. The experimental results revealed a median error of 40~50 centimeters and a 90% error of 70~90 centimeters.

Abstract.One of the most important performance objectives for a localization system is positional accuracy. It is fundamental and essential to general location-aware services. The radio interferometric positioning (RIP) method [1] is an exciting approach which promises sub-meter positional accuracy. In this work, we would like to enhance the RIP method by dynamically selecting the best anchor nodes as beacon senders, and further optimizing the positional accuracy when tracking multiple targets. We have developed an estimation error model to predict positional error of the RIP algorithm given different combinations of beacon senders. Building upon this estimation error model, we further devise an adaptive RIP method that selects the optimal sender-pair combination (SPC) according to the locations of targets relative to anchor nodes. We have implemented the adaptive RIP method and conducted experiments in a real sensor network testbed. Experimental results have shown that our adaptive RIP method outperforms the static RIP method in both single-target and multi-target tracking, and improves the average positional accuracy by 47%~60% and reduces the 90% percentile error by 55%~61%.

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