Accurately tracking mobile signals indoors is the goal of new project at AICOS

17.10.2018

 

GARMIO is the name of a new project that brings together Fraunhofer AICOS and industry partner Celfinet, with researchers working on creating a new web-based solution destined to locate and characterize mobile devices users with high accuracy, both indoors and outdoors, without requiring GPS data.

 

Nowadays, planning and optimizing cell tower locations is a difficult process, attained by cumbersome processes that require driving around cities registering signal variations. In consequence, the data collected only corresponds to locations where vehicles can operate, excluding the inside of buildings, parks, and other large areas.

Since most of our time is generally spent indoors, the perception of mobile telephony signals throughout the interior of large buildings, particularly in locations like underground parking or elevators, is vital to mobile operators. This software will then be able to help mobile operators provide better services for their customers and reduce operational costs.

To answer this market need, AICOS is developing GARMIO, a software library to be integrated in telecommunications operators’ own mobile applications, with the aim of making this process easier. This solution will provide precise georeferentiation for cell signal data acquired from mobile device users in both indoor and outdoor settings, without requiring GPS data. This data will be further characterized by the mobility patterns of the users, as this can have a large impact on signal quality.

Modern smartphones have a multitude of sensors that can be used to estimate user’s location. By leveraging the potential of these sensors, the proposed solution will then be able to register mobile signals with much higher accuracy than current processes, linking coordinates and activities to signal strength indicators.

This technology might also prove to be of use in targeted advertising and indoor navigation systems, therefore broadening the potential applications of the technology being developed.

GARMIO is coordinated by Celfinet, Consultoria em Telecomunicações in cooperation with Fraunhofer AICOS.