Automatic switching between indoor and outdoor position providers

In which way may an application switch instantly and reliably between an indoor and an outdoor positioning provider as a user enters and exits buildings? In this work we present a robust switching algorithm, utilizing the dynamic accuracy estimation of each position provider as a reliability indication. Our algorithm offers a fast automatic switch between the indoor and the outdoor provider, in a transparent way for the user. We also present experimental results, using GPS outdoors and a Bluetooth provider indoors. This technique was tested in our lab and was afterwards installed at the Hospital of Perugia, Italy, in the context of the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Virgilius project, where users can navigate with a smartphone. This study is also a result of the research done in the context of the AAL EDLAH project, for optimizing the selection of the most adequate positioning technology. Accurate position estimations are used as input for the EDLAH object detection module.