Evaluation of Edge-Based UWB Indoor Positioning Using Smartwatches and Embedded Anchors
摘要
Precise indoor positioning remains a key challenge in ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing, particularly in health-related and assisted living environments. This work explores a novel perspective by utilising consumer wearables, specifically the Pixel Watch 3 with embedded Ultra-Wideband (UWB) capabilities, to enable private, peer-to-peer indoor localisation without relying on external infrastructure for indoor location. We present a hybrid UWB-based ranging system that integrates Pixel Watch 3 with Decawave DWM3001CDK development boards, aiming to evaluate the feasibility of real-time, short-range interaction, and contextual awareness under edge-computing approach. A custom application for the smartwatch was developed to manage UWB communication and synchronise it with the embedded anchors. The system was tested under controlled conditions to assess performance and battery consumption. The results show stable short-range measurements with high accuracy and a multi-hour battery life, confirming that consumer wearables can support high-precision UWB systems for decentralised, privacy-preserving applications in health, safety, and smart environments.