A mobile Wi-Fi time-of-arrival-based localization and orientation tracking system for contact tracing

• Main Authors: Choa, Kyra Summer L., Tan, Salvador M., Jr., Wan, Abigail B., Yao, Ryan Christian G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Tracking (Engineering); Contact tracing (Epidemiology); Computer Sciences; Databases and Information Systems
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdb_comtech/14
• Institution: De La Salle University

Contact tracing is an important prevention measure in containing infectious diseases and easing the rate of transmission. However, since traditional contact tracing methods can be labor intensive and error-prone due to iterative processes and memory bias, there is a need to develop tools and systems that may be able to provide assistance. This study developed a mobile localization and orientation tracking system for digital contact tracing. The devices contain a microcontroller and magnetometer at most, making them lightweight enough to be handheld, while also able to collect relevant data, such as distance measurements, orientation, and date and time. From this, an estimated position and orientation in a given space is acquired through Bayesian grid update. The system was tested in three different environments with 0.75-1m localization error using four responders and with 2-3m localization error using three responders. While the system may be viable for certain settings, further research and adjustment will be needed to make such a system usable in varied scenarios.