Concepts and possibilities of the positioning device and algorithm evaluation tool POSE for qualifying the suitability of ranging device/positioning algorithm combinations

We present a conceptual abstraction layer dedicated to unify the interface to hardware devices capable of performing ranging as well as dedicated to evaluate the positioning algorithms working on top. The proposed device and positioning algorithm evaluation tool POSE is implemented in Java programming language. It offers a complete measurement and evaluation environment. A flexible technology-independent interface to support arbitrary ranging hardware is described whereas a plug-in concept for a variety of positioning algorithms offers the possibility of rapid evaluation of combinations of ranging devices/positioning algorithms. The feasibility of the concept is proofed by having implemented initial support for two ranging device types, one positioning algorithm based on Multidimensional Scaling and a set of evaluation metrics.