Comparative Study of Narrowband and Ultra-Wideband Systems for Device-Free Localization

Setting up a device-free localization (DFL) system requires an appropriate selection of radio technologies and algorithms. The selection has impacts on the complexity of both, signal processing, and hardware infrastructure, as well as the maintenance effort. The radio technology has an impact on the system’s infrastructure as some localization algorithms demand extensive manual calibration, leading to increased maintenance efforts. To address these challenges, we developed and compared two DFL systems: one based on narrowband (NB) radio technology with received signal strength (RSS) measurements, and another with an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio chip with channel impulse response (CIR) measurements that enables utilization of multipath propagation. We evaluated both systems using a fingerprinting method and a radio tomographic imaging algorithm across various configurations. Our experimental evaluation demonstrates the differences in radio technologies and localization accuracy, and maintenance requirements, therefore provides help for developers of localization systems.