RSSI-based hybrid algorithm for real-time tracking in underground mining by using RFID technology

Abstract

Knowing the precise and real-time location of underground mining workers is essential for their health and safety in any emergency. However, the standard Global Positioning System (GPS) is insufficient for such indoor environments as it requires new infrastructure based on different technologies and algorithms. Instead, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based real-time indoor localization systems and a hybrid algorithm are developed. The received-signal-strength (RSS) based positioning techniques are investigated and applied in indoor environments. A unique hybrid approach based on fingerprinting is proposed and developed to solve the disadvantages of the existing techniques. Consequently, the accuracy of this one-of-a-kind algorithm is found to be 2.52 m in an office and 3.13 m in an underground mine. We also compared the proposed hybrid algorithm to the Weighted K-Nearest Neighbor (WKNN). WKNN, on the other hand, has an accuracy of 4.01 m in the office and 4.33 m in underground mining environments. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.