# Improving Performance of Bluetooth Low Energy-Based Localization System Using Proximity Sensors and Far-Infrared Thermal Sensor Arrays

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid system combining Bluetooth and infrared sensors to improve location accuracy by a few centimeters.

## Contribution

A novel hybrid localization system using BLE and IR sensors with a particle-filter-based algorithm is proposed.

## Key findings

- Proximity and far-infrared sensors achieved angle estimation accuracy of about a few degrees.
- The hybrid system reduced mean positioning error by several centimeters.

## Abstract

This paper presents the concept of a hybrid positioning scheme using results from a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based system and additional infrared (IR) devices: proximity sensors and far-infrared thermal sensor arrays. In the proposed solution, the IR sensors operate independently from the BLE subsystem. Their output (the distance to the localized person and the angle between the sensor axis and the person’s location) is periodically used to improve the positioning accuracy. The results from both parts of the system are fused using a particle-filter-based algorithm. The proposed concept was tested experimentally. The initial tests established that both the proximity (VL53L5CX) and array (MLX90640) sensors allowed for angle estimations with a mean accuracy of about a few degrees. Using them in the proposed hybrid localization scheme resulted in a mean positioning error decrease of several centimeters.