Room-Level Localization System Based on LoRa Backscatters

• Published in: IEEE access 2021, Vol.9, p.16004-16018
• Main Authors: Lazaro, Antonio, Lazaro, Marc, Villarino, Ramon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Backscatter; Backscatter communications; Backscattering; Discriminant analysis; Frequency shift; Internet of Things (IoT); Localization; Location awareness; LoRa; Machine learning; Microcontrollers; Modulation; Received signal strength indicator; Receivers; RFID; Signal strength; Wearable technology; Wireless fidelity; wireless sensor networks; zero-power sensor
• ISSN: 2169-3536; 2169-3536
• DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3053144

The aim of this paper is to propose a novel room-level localization approach to locate LoRa backscatter devices, which can be easily embedded into wearable devices or smartphones. The advantages of this system lie in its series of low-cost, low-power, low-complexity and long-range features. LoRa backscattering operates by alternatively connecting an antenna, through a switch, to two loads with high reflection coefficients and opposite phase. The result is a frequency shift of the LoRa incident signal equal to the backscatter switching frequency. The localization system comprises several LoRa receivers distributed among the rooms, a LoRa transmitter located at a central point and the backscatter device, which is carried or worn by a subject. The position of the LoRa backscatter device can be determined by comparing the received signal strength between all receivers. In order to improve the accuracy of the system, different machine learning classifiers were compared. System performance was tested in a real-life scenario, achieving an accuracy up to 89.7% using linear discriminant analysis (LDA).