Bluetooth low energy technology applied to indoor positioning systems: an overview

Abstract

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) are an alternative to Global Positioning System (GPS) in those environments where its signal is attenuated. This is one of the main reasons why IPS has been the subject of much research over the last two decades and where different technologies and methods have been used. Among the technologies used in IPS are those that use radio frequency (RF) signals, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Wi-Fi. BLE is widely used in ubiquitous computing and in many applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) mainly due to its low power consumption and because it can provide advanced services to users. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the state of the art of BLE-based IPS including its main methods and algorithms.