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Location-aware Wi-Fi: A more intuitive and stable network connection

Location-aware Internet has its share of critics, but its usefulness in providing updated information and better services can’t be denied.

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Quantumrun Foresight
February 16, 2023

Insight summary

Wi-Fi and web-based applications that are both commercial and location-aware collect data through spatial analysis and connection to services. Because of their value in providing useful information for navigation and establishing stable connectivity, these systems are increasingly used everywhere, from public spaces to the workplace.

Location-aware Wi-Fi context

Wi-Fi radio frequencies can be used to communicate wirelessly and also to detect and track people, devices, and assets. Nearly every wireless device uses Wi-Fi, which transmits data using radio waves indoors and in other spaces. Such equipment includes smartphones, computers, routers, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, and more.

Wi-Fi remains a viable option for indoor positioning, although it is not as accurate as other technologies like BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and UWB (Ultra Wideband). Wi-Fi’s continued importance for location-based applications largely stems from the fact that there are already so many Wi-Fi devices and infrastructures indoors.

In the early 2010s, Google was working on indoor positioning systems so that users could better navigate buildings, similar to how a GPS (global positioning system) helps people outdoors. In 2017, it was granted patents for a more accurate method that uses IPS (indoor positioning system), LEDs (light-emitting diodes), and Wi-Fi.

Additionally, in 2019, the Fine Time Measurement protocol was introduced to enhance location detection through radio frequency. The more it is built into newer Wi-Fi systems, the more indoor navigation will gain utility. Location-aware Wi-Fi will also make it easier for network administrators to locate and scrape access points (AP) data as needed.

The latest Wi-Fi generation released in 2019, Wi-Fi 6, was designed to be quicker, more reliable and more secure than any past generations equipped for the new IoT landscape. Wi-Fi 6 has opened up innovative use cases that often rely on location services.

Disruptive impact

There are several Wi-Fi positioning techniques used to determine precise locations. The first is RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) Multilateration. In RSSI-based applications, fixed APs or sensors will detect Wi-Fi devices and the strength of the signal from the device. This location data is sent to a central IPS or real-time location system (RTLS).

Another technique is RSSI Fingerprinting, which records the location and signal from nearby APs, and the coordinates of a device. Meanwhile, the Time-of-Flight method uses precision technologies like UWB, measuring the time it takes for signals to reach one device to another.

In particular, location-aware Wi-Fi can be beneficial for retailers to understand customer behavior offline. The factors to consider include the amount of time customers spend in a given shop, how often they visit, and the routes they take. This information helps retailers increase their knowledge about potential buyers. For example, marketing departments can know how to influence purchasing decisions on top of more effective contextual marketing campaigns.

Through IPS, retailers can use built-in smartphone sensors such as barometers, accelerometers, and gyroscopes (used to measure orientation). These data can be merged with Wi-Fi fingerprint information to generate precise pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR), including detecting the direction of movement, stopping or walking, and step counting. However, all these measurements can take a lot of battery/energy consumption.