SBIR Phase I: On Generalizing Localization in Wireless Networks: Providing Low-Cost Solutions for Tracking and Security in Wireless LANs

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide a scalable spatial positioning service for wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN). Unlike wired networks, wireless ones offer the opportunity to position any transmitting device in physical space. At the conclusion of the project, our single framework will demonstrate real-time spatial positioning and tracking of WLAN devices in challenging indoor environments with little or no prior set-up and configuration. Providing affordable localization will not only enable better WLAN management, but also will enable additional location-based services. In particular, the proposed research addresses the challenges of positioning accuracy, consistency, and tracking performance. The proposed research work will provide the foundation for a scalable, universal localization infrastructure. Such a foundation is necessary to integrate location information into wireless devices. The resulting impact of such a seamless integration can be likened to those obtained now that communication is partnered with nearly every computing device; in both cases many novel and exciting applications are enabled by these infrastructures. The long term goal is to enable the position of all wireless devices to be known using only the existing communication traffic. Such a universal, scalable localization system will enable a host of novel monitoring, tracking, routing and security services. For example, emergency response, inventory tracking and control, geometric network routing, and security applications would all benefit from widely available, low-cost localization.