Indoor Positioning System for Nursing Homes

Global positioning systems using satellites have proven to be extremely useful, not only for route guidance, but also for knowing the exact whereabouts in the event of an accident or emergency. However, this system has major shortcomings indoors due to the error it contains (between 3 and 10 m depending on the number of visible satellites), but mostly due to the weak signal obtained indoors. This is a challenge in large buildings where the exact location of a person needs to be known: for example, in nursing homes, where the number of caregivers does not allow all the elderly to be monitored at all times. This is why, in this type of situation, the usual Global Positioning System is dispensed with and local solutions based on cameras or sensor networks are used. In this work, a study is carried out on indoor positioning using wearable devices attached to the people to be located, which serve as positioning beacons and communicate via Zigbee networks with a series of fixed nodes located in the rooms. Unlike camera control, it is a non-intrusive mechanism and the system’s power consumption is significantly reduced. The results of the tests carried out in a house with 3 rooms and 2 fixed nodes demonstrate its correct operation in real time.