Project Definition:
The goal of this project was to develop a system for localisation of people indoors. A reliable indoor localisation system can have many applications, particularly in the assisted living area, e.g. for monitoring whereabouts of elderly people or other people in need of assistance etc. The main idea behind this project is to use RFID technology for localisation. Fixed RFID tags are positioned around the house in places of localisation interest. The person then can wear the portable device that contains the RFID reader as well as other key components like a microprocessor and a Wifi module. The reader will detect RFID tags that are spread around the specified indoor area and then will be able to figure out the approximate position of the wearer (e.g. that the person is near specific spot in the house).
Abstract:
In order to achieve localisation, many factors such as reliability, usability, cost and size of devices have been carefully researched in order to be able to make the wisest choice regarding the equipment and the operation of the system.My main idea was to create a system that would be able locate any person wearing the device I built.
In order to archive that I have built a device with an RFID reader which will be scanning passive tags that will be placed around in fixed positions around the indoor area. Passive tags are the easy to be attached to objects as they are available in cards, stickers etc. which can be placed anywhere in the environment without being noticeable.
The device I have built contains an Ultra High Frequency RFID Reader which is able to scan the tags around the area and together with the Arduino Pro Mini and the CC3000 Wifi Breakout Board, the tag number is then sent over to a local server database where the website which displays the location is retrieving the information from. This way my system is able to determine the location of any person that is wearing the device in the indoor environment that has the tags.This idea is very effective and reliable since the system can not calculate wrong positions as it is physically impossible. Also this way, if is needed the positioning area can be easily expanded to any other indoor area with simply adding a few tags in the room that is needed. The website has been created in order for the system to demonstrate to the viewer the locations of the person that is being tracked in a user friendly way.
