IoT Cloud RAN Testbed for Indoor Localization based on LPWANs

Indoor localization is a highly researched topic as applications such as asset tracking can provide an enormous benefit for users. As GPS is typically not available indoors, smart phones employ WiFi fingerprinting to locate themselves inside buildings. Such localization is also highly interesting in context of Internet of Things (IoT). Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) offer cost-effective and long-range connectivity for IoT. Employing this approach, LPWAN sensor nodes can be localized using the received signal level at multiple LPWAN receivers. For testing the performance of LPWAN fingerprinting and the development of new algorithms we developed and installed a network consisting of 21 LPWAN receiver stations on the area of the NuernbergMesse, i.e. the international fair of Nuremberg, Germany. The infrastructure is realized as Cloud RAN (Radio Access Network). This means that the receivers only digitize the channel and the actual decoding of the signals is realized in the Cloud. As a result, the infrastructure is able to support the localization of many state-of-the-art LPWAN system. Initial measurements show the high performance and flexibility of the system. This paper gives an overview of the developed network components and shows the initial measurement results.