Designing and Implementing a RFID-based Indoor Guidance System

C. C. Chang¹, P. C. Lou², H. Y. Chen²

¹Department of Applied Geomatics, Ching Yun University, Taoyuan..
²Department of Information Management, Yu Da University, Miaoli..

DOI:                 

Abstract

Most people are not familiar with the indoor environment because most interior spaces are similar, and as such do not arouse the interest of most visitors. Although the GPS combined with the GIS has been broadly applied to many navigation applications, it might be still insufficient in an indoor environment where GPS signals are often severely obstructed. To meet the indoor requirements, the technique of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) was utilized to play an important locating role in the implementation of an indoor guidance system. The RFID tags, containing 1 KB capacity divided by 64 blocks, were adopted to accommodate the spatial-related information for working with the shortest routing for the system. By selecting the start and end points in the operation, the guidance system can suggest a direct, shortest distance, path. The locations of the passing points were identified and obtained by retrieving the spatial-related data from the tags next to the moving. RFID reader. The guidance messages, including suggested path, modified path and moving directions, can be immediately presented to the users and arrive at their destination via the system’s graphic and voice interfaces. This guidance system has been comprehensively tested for its operation functions and was evaluated by a group of users, indicating that the average time for way finding in an indoor guidance trial can be efficiently reduced by 50%. This prototype for an indoor guidance system is expected to be capable of working on a portable device, such as a PDA or mobile phone, thereby extending its practical application.

Keywords

Guidance System, RFID, Indoor Locating, Shortest Routing Operation.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Abwerzger G., Wasle E., Fridh M., Lem O., Hanley J., Hanson P., Jeannnot M. and Claverotte L. (2007) GNSS and Location-based Services. Inside GNSS, 2(4): 54-63.
[2]	Barnes J., Rizos C., Wang J., Small D., Voigt G. and Gambale N. (2003) High Precision Indoor and Outdoor Positioning Using LocataNet. Journal of Global Positioning System, 2(2): 73-82.
[3]	Bryant R. (2005) Assisted GPS - Using Cellular Telephone Networks for GPS Anywhere. GPS World, May 2005, 40-45.
[4]	Chang C.C., Lou P. C. and Ke P. J. (2005) Simulation Tests for Indoor Positioning with Real and Virtual GPS Pseudolite Observations. International Symposium on GPS/GNSS 2005, Hong Kong.
[5]	Chon H.D., Jun S., Jung H. and An S. W. (2004) Using RFID for Accurate Positioning. Journal of Global Positioning System, 3(1-2): 32-39.
[6]	Chou L.D., Wu C.H., Ho S.P., Lee C.C. and Chen J.M. (2004) Requirement Analysis and Implementation of Palm-based Multimedia Museum Guide Systems. IEEE 18th International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Application, Taiwan.
[7]	Finkenzeller K. (2003) RFID Handbook: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart Cards and Identification. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
[8]	F?ckler P., Zeidler T., Brombach B., Bruns E. and Bimber O. (2005) PhoneGuide: Museum Guidance Supported by On-device Object Recognition on Mobile Phones. ACM 4th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, New Zealand.
[9]	Küpper A. (2005) Location-based Services: Fundamentals and Operation. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
[10]	Lachapelle G. (2004) GNSS Indoor Location Technologies. Journal of Global Positioning System, 3(1-2): 2-11.
[11]	Lay D.S. (2005) The Design and the Evaluation of the Museum Digital Guide and Learning System. National Computer Symposium, Taiwan.
[12]	Miller L.E. (2006) Indoor Navigation for First Responders: A Feasibility Study. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
[13]	Peng Y.J., Yeh S.C. and Wu Y.H. (2006) A Research of WiFi Positioning Technology for Indoor Automatic Guide Systems. MCU International Academic Conference, Taiwan.
[14]	Retscher G. (2007) Test and Integration of Location Sensors for a Multi-sensor Personal Navigator. The Journal of Navigation, 60: 107-117.
[15]	Sun G., Chen J., Guo W. and Liu K.J. (2005) Signal Processing Techniques in Network-aided Positioning. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, June 2005, 12-23.
[16]	Wang C.L., Chiou Y.S. and Yeh S.H. (2005) An Indoor Location Scheme based on Wireless Local Area Networks. IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference, Las Vegas.
[17]	Williams D.H. and Christensen G. (2005) The Definitive Guide to: Mobile Positioning & Location Management. Mind Commerce.