1. A smartphone-based indoor pedestrian localisation system was developed that is independent of any dedicated localisation system and does not require knowledge of the pedestrian’s initial position, heading, and floor number.
2. The system uses a PDR algorithm and the Backtracking Particle Filter (BPF) with clustering to reduce multimodality problems, as well as a Viterbi-based floor detection algorithm that detects both stairs and elevator usage without additional hardware.
3. The system can track pedestrians across multiple floors and only requires a detailed floor plan and some WiFi access points to be present.
The article "Multi-Floor Indoor Pedestrian Dead Reckoning with a Backtracking Particle Filter and Viterbi-Based Floor Number Detection" presents a smartphone-based indoor pedestrian localization system that uses inertial navigation systems (INSs) and particle filters (PFs) to track pedestrians across multiple floors. The system also includes a new floor detection algorithm based on the Viterbi algorithm, which detects both stairs and elevator usage without additional hardware.
Overall, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the proposed system, including its advantages and limitations. However, there are some potential biases and missing points of consideration that should be addressed.
One potential bias is the focus on smartphone-based INS/PDR systems over dedicated localisation systems. While it is true that dedicated systems can be expensive and require manual work to set up, they may offer higher accuracy than smartphone-based systems. Therefore, it would be useful to compare the proposed system's performance with dedicated localisation systems in future studies.
Another potential bias is the assumption that a detailed floor plan and some WiFi access points are present in most public buildings and office environments. While this may be true for some buildings, it may not be the case for others, especially in developing countries or rural areas. Therefore, it would be important to consider alternative localisation techniques that do not rely on pre-existing infrastructure.
The article also lacks discussion of possible risks associated with using INS/PDR systems for pedestrian localization. For example, errors in step length estimation or heading estimation could lead to incorrect localization results, which could have serious consequences in emergency situations. Therefore, it would be important to evaluate the proposed system's robustness under different scenarios and conditions.
Finally, while the article presents several studies that have investigated different aspects of PDR algorithms and PFs for indoor pedestrian localization, there is little discussion of counterarguments or alternative approaches. For example, some researchers have proposed using machine learning techniques such as deep neural networks for indoor localization [1]. It would be interesting to compare these approaches with the proposed system in future studies.
In conclusion, while the article provides valuable insights into smartphone-based INS/PDR systems for indoor pedestrian localization, there are potential biases and missing points of consideration that should be addressed in future research.