Early Steps in Automated Behavior Mapping via Indoor Sensors

Abstract

Behavior mapping (BM) is a spatial data collection technique in which the locational and behavioral information of a user is noted on a plan layout of the studied environment. Among many indoor positioning technologies we chose Wi-Fi BLE beacon and ultra-wide band (UWB) sensor technologies for their popularity and investigated their applicability in BM. We tested three technologies for error ranges and found an average error of 1.39 m for Wi-Fi in a 36 m(2) test area (6m x 6 m) 0.86 m for the BLE beacon in a 37.44 m(2) test area (9.6 m x 3.9 m) and 0.24 m for ultra-wide band sensors in a 36 m(2) test area (6 m x 6 m). We simulated the applicability of these error ranges for real-time locations by using a behavioral dataset collected from an active learning classroom. We used two UWB tags simultaneously by incorporating a custom-designed ceiling system in a new 39.76 m(2) test area (7.35 m x 5.41 m). We considered 26 observation points and collected data for 180 s for each point (total 4680) with an average error of 0.2072 m for 23 points inside the test area. Finally we demonstrated the use of ultra-wide band sensor technology for BM.