Passenger's location estimation using Kalman filter for Beacon fare collection in a wireless low floor tram

Abstract

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is drawing attention as it is a new technology capable of communicating using low energy and doesn't require pairing as its classic version. These two facts are important for IoT applications making BLE a good candidate to be chosen over other communication technologies (Wi-Fi, ZigBee, and Bluetooth Classic). One key point of the automatic fare collection system is the passenger detection. As passenger nowadays are likely to carry smartphones with embedded BLE function. Therefore, first in this paper will be explained how Bluetooth Low Energy can be used in public transportation systems such as in a Low Floor Wireless Tram to check if someone took in fact a public transportation vehicle (such as: bus, train, metro or tram) or if he or she is just nearby (waiting for the next vehicle for example). Next, it will be explained how to improve Bluetooth Low Energy passenger's location detection when using RSSI (Receiver Signal Strength Indication) for this task.