Constrained Localization: A Survey

Abstract

Indoor localization techniques have been extensively studied in the last decade. The well-established technologies enable the development of Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS). A good body of publications emerged, with several survey papers that provide a deep analysis of the research advances. Existing survey papers focus on either a specific technique and technology or on a general overview of indoor localization research. However, there is a need for a use case-driven survey on both recent academic research and commercial trends, as well as a hands-on evaluation of commercial solutions. This work aims at helping researchers select the appropriate technology and technique suitable for developing low-cost, low-power localization system, capable of providing centimeter level accuracy. The article is both a survey on recent academic research and a hands-on evaluation of commercial solutions. We introduce a specific use case as a guiding application throughout this article: localizing low-cost low-power miniature wireless swarm robots. We define a taxonomy and classify academic research according to five criteria: Line of Sight (LoS) requirement, accuracy, update rate, battery life, cost. We discuss localization fundamentals, the different technologies and techniques, as well as recent commercial developments and trends. Besides the traditional taxonomy and survey, this article also presents a hands-on evaluation of popular commercial localization solutions based on Bluetooth Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB). We conclude this article by discussing the five most important open research challenges: lightweight filtering algorithms, zero infrastructure dependency, low-power operation, security, and standardization.