Considerations on Indoor Navigation Based on Cheap Mobile Devices

Nowadays, almost everyone has their own portable computer in the form of a smartphone. It usually gives the ability of positioning and navigation using GPS signal. This method is not usually effective indoors. For navigation in buildings, other technologies based on completely different solutions should be used. There are many indoor navigation solutions available, based on the additional devices usage. They are effective, but require the purchase of additional hardware. Meanwhile, the user is most interested in the possibility of positioning using the same equipment both inside and outside. The authors of this article, noting this issue, decided to refer to the problem of positioning using bluetooth signal, which the module is built into every modern cell phone. Attempts were made to determine the position using bluetooth transmitters. Accuracy estimation of obtained position and considerations on the possibility of building a network of transmitters for positioning were also performed. For this purpose, experiments were conducted on the test object, where bluetooth transmitters and receivers - a mobile phones with Android were used. The signals were recorded using a suitably designed application and then analyzed. Considerations here described, are a part of studies to develop an effective indoor positioning system using various technologies available in today's mobile phones.