How would one track the position of a person in a building? I have an idea but I am unsure of its validity.
Provided wifi nodes are setup in known positions around a building, one could trilaterate the position of the person. Because the distance between the nodes is already known , things like a wifi signal passing through different objects can be compensated for. Every few seconds a test would run comparing what the signal strength should be from node to node. If the signal strength varies from what is expected then we can expect that the signal is passing through a different material. These tests would give a constant "weight" that would then be used in trilateralation.
I have also tried to find velocity sensors but with no such luck. Accelerometers work but what if the object you want to track is traveling at a constant speed? Wouldn't the accelerometers then read 0?
GPS does not provide anywhere near the accuracy I need.
This is all speculation and I don't know the math behind it as of yet.
The eventual application of this is to build a system that tracks firefighters or other rescue workers within a building. The building's blueprints would be stored on a computer and their positions would be mapped on the wireframe layout of the building. Allowing others on the outside to find them in the event of becoming trapped.
Buildings aflame, funnily enough, provide very little light. In some situations you can not see your hand in front of your face. Because of this, sensors that rely on optics probably would not work that well.
Originally I started using my android phone but found its sensors lacking. Any ideas for tracking persons inside a building would be welcome.
This has been marked as offtopic but I have found a useful library for anyone looking to do something similar.
http://kootenpv.github.io/2016-09-19-predict-where-you-are-indoors
