SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate

The Enhanced 911 (E911) mandate of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) drives the evolution of indoor three-dimensional (3D) location/positioning services for emergency calls. Many indoor localization systems exploit location-dependent wireless signaling signatures, often called fingerprints...

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Main Authors: Rahul Mundlamuri, Devasena Inupakutika, David Akopian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/823
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author Rahul Mundlamuri
Devasena Inupakutika
David Akopian
author_facet Rahul Mundlamuri
Devasena Inupakutika
David Akopian
author_sort Rahul Mundlamuri
collection DOAJ
description The Enhanced 911 (E911) mandate of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) drives the evolution of indoor three-dimensional (3D) location/positioning services for emergency calls. Many indoor localization systems exploit location-dependent wireless signaling signatures, often called fingerprints, and machine learning techniques for position estimation. In particular, received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) and Channel State Information (CSI) in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs or Wi-Fi) have gained popularity and have been addressed in the literature. While RSSI signatures are easy to collect, the fluctuation of wireless signals resulting from environmental uncertainties leads to considerable variations in RSSIs, which poses a challenge to accurate localization on a single floor, not to mention multi-floor or even three-dimensional (3D) indoor localization. Considering recent E911 mandate attention to vertical location accuracy, this study aimed to investigate CSI from Wi-Fi signals to produce baseline Z-axis location data, which has not been thoroughly addressed. To that end, we utilized CSI measurements and two representative machine learning methods, an artificial neural network (ANN) and convolutional neural network (CNN), to estimate both 3D and vertical-axis positioning feasibility to achieve E911 accuracy compliance.
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spelling doaj-art-22c7d01182a040509adfc3de800615bb2025-08-20T03:12:35ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125382310.3390/s25030823SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy MandateRahul Mundlamuri0Devasena Inupakutika1David Akopian2Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249-0670, USAElectrical and Computer Engineering Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249-0670, USAElectrical and Computer Engineering Department, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249-0670, USAThe Enhanced 911 (E911) mandate of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) drives the evolution of indoor three-dimensional (3D) location/positioning services for emergency calls. Many indoor localization systems exploit location-dependent wireless signaling signatures, often called fingerprints, and machine learning techniques for position estimation. In particular, received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) and Channel State Information (CSI) in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs or Wi-Fi) have gained popularity and have been addressed in the literature. While RSSI signatures are easy to collect, the fluctuation of wireless signals resulting from environmental uncertainties leads to considerable variations in RSSIs, which poses a challenge to accurate localization on a single floor, not to mention multi-floor or even three-dimensional (3D) indoor localization. Considering recent E911 mandate attention to vertical location accuracy, this study aimed to investigate CSI from Wi-Fi signals to produce baseline Z-axis location data, which has not been thoroughly addressed. To that end, we utilized CSI measurements and two representative machine learning methods, an artificial neural network (ANN) and convolutional neural network (CNN), to estimate both 3D and vertical-axis positioning feasibility to achieve E911 accuracy compliance.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/823E9113D indoor localizationchannel state informationfloor detectionneural networks
spellingShingle Rahul Mundlamuri
Devasena Inupakutika
David Akopian
SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
Sensors
E911
3D indoor localization
channel state information
floor detection
neural networks
title SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
title_full SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
title_fullStr SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
title_full_unstemmed SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
title_short SDR-Fi-Z: A Wireless Local Area Network-Fingerprinting-Based Indoor Positioning Method for E911 Vertical Accuracy Mandate
title_sort sdr fi z a wireless local area network fingerprinting based indoor positioning method for e911 vertical accuracy mandate
topic E911
3D indoor localization
channel state information
floor detection
neural networks
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/823
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AT devasenainupakutika sdrfizawirelesslocalareanetworkfingerprintingbasedindoorpositioningmethodfore911verticalaccuracymandate
AT davidakopian sdrfizawirelesslocalareanetworkfingerprintingbasedindoorpositioningmethodfore911verticalaccuracymandate