Inertial Measurement Unit: Evaluation for Indoor Positioning

In this paper, we tackle the problem of indoor positioning, where the GPS signals are unavailable and the energy consumption of battery powered mobile devices should be carefully considered during the positioning process. For this purpose, we study the inertial navigation system (INS), which uses only a set of inertial sensors, that represent an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), attached to the mobile without referring to any external positioning system. This technique is characterized by its low cost and low energy consumption, while ensuring an effective positioning in indoor environments. The aim of this work is to evaluate the IMU in order to develop an indoor positioning application. A set of tests were made with the accelerometer to examine its accuracy and its use in the process of positioning. The obtained results are encouraging and allowed us to develop an android based positioning application with an acceptable degree of accuracy.