Classification of user positioning techniques and systems for intelligent environments

Abstract

One of the most important observation parameters for smart environments and ambient intelligence is the position of users. Over the last years huge research efforts have been spent on new algorithms, technologies, and systems for the localization of users and objects. The spread of these technologies results in a wide range of application scenarios and manifold combinations of measurements and algorithms. One fundamental task in designing smart environments is the choice of a localization system which fits into the ambient infrastructure, is applicable to the underlying application scenario, and provides localization results in desired form and accuracy. At this stage, it is very difficult to compare the published systems in order to opt for a specific solution. In this work existing systems and techniques are evaluated and documented under different characteristics facing two goals. The first one is to give an overview about the state of the art of user localization techniques and secondly to make these techniques comparable in order to fit the right technique to a given application. Therefore, intrinsic system characteristics are documented.