InLocW: A reliable indoor tracking and guiding system for smartwatches with path re-routing

Abstract

In this work, an end-to-end indoor routing and guiding solution, ‘InLocW’ (InLoc - Wearable) is discussed. The initial location fix of the user is obtained using an infrastructure of BLE beacons. Primary focus is on continuous calculation of instantaneous walking direction (a primary arrow displayed on the smartwatch) based on user's current location estimated by a particle filter which runs in the back end. A solution is devised to synchronize these directions to user's walking, thereby solving the problem of inherent latency between estimated and actual user's location in a PDR system. Another major contribution of this work is a preventive measure against the deviation of user from the path, for which a secondary arrow is displayed on the smartwatch to inform the user of any impending turn well before the turn itself. Also a correction module is implemented which re-routes the user back to the correct path in case any deviation from the optimum path is detected, which constitutes another major contribution. The overall system works without any dependence on a smartphone, or any involvement of user with the smartwatch during routing, thereby allowing them to walk without any distractions, and just follow the displayed directions. The system has been tested on paths with multiple turns and has proved to be efficient in preventing deviations from the routing path, and ensuring a smooth movement of user from source to the selected destination with high reliability.