Abstract
Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) have the ability to localize a mobile transmitter using signals of opportunity, as a low power and low cost alternative to satellite-based solutions. In this paper, we evaluate the accuracy of three localization approaches based on the Received Signal Strength (RSS). More specifically, the performance of a proximity, range-based and optimized fingerprint-based algorithm is evaluated in a large-scale urban environment using a public Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network. The results show a mean location estimation error of 340, 320 and 204 m, respectively. During the measurement campaign, we discovered a mobility issue in NB-IoT. In contrast to other LPWAN and cellular technologies which use multiple gateways or cells to locate a device, only a single cell antenna can be used for RSS-based localization in NB-IoT. Therefore, we address this limitation in the current NB-IoT hardware and software by studying the mobility of the cellular-based 3GPP standard in a localization context. Experimental results show that the lack of handover support leads to increased cell reselection time and poor cell sector reliability, which in turn results in reduced localization performance.
Highlights
With the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices that keeps growing rapidly, it has become indispensable to provide a location estimate of these devices in end user applications
During the large-scale Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based localization experiments, we discovered a mobility issue in the Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol
The mobility of NB-IoT is evaluated in terms of sector reliability and cell reselection time
Summary
With the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices that keeps growing rapidly, it has become indispensable to provide a location estimate of these devices in end user applications. Traditional localization applications use a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in order to locate or track the position of a mobile device, with an accuracy of up to a few meters. In contrast to GNSS solutions, Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) provide an energy-efficient solution to communicate short messages between a mobile device and an end user application. The Base Stations (BSs) of an LPWAN network can be used to estimate the location of a Mobile Terminal (MT). Release 14 of the 3GPP introduced Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDoA) in NB-IoT [2] This downlink-based localization approach combines the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD). We performed the first real-world Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based outdoor localization experiments with NB-IoT [3].
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