Presenter: Shaliah Elyce Fricas

Group Members: David M. Malone, Giovani Henrique Cabral DeOliveira

Faculty Sponsor: Michael Rahaim

School: UMass Boston

Research Area: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Session: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM, Auditorium, A25

ABSTRACT

Accurate indoor localization remains a challenging problem due to the limitations of GPS in enclosed environments. Radio-Frequency (RF) techniques offer broad coverage but are sensitive to multipath and environmental variability, while optical wireless systems provide high spatial resolution but suffer from line-of-sight and blockage constraints. This project explores a hybrid RF and optical wireless approach that leverages the complementary strengths of both methods to improve robustness and reliability for indoor localization.

A centralized, multi-node software (SDR) testbed was developed to support synchronized RF and optical data collection across controlled indoor environments. The platform enables repeatable experiments, offline analysis, and future real-time interference by combining distributed sensing nodes with centralized control and processing.

As an initial validation of the testbed and signal quality, raw RF I/Q traces were analyzed offline using a simplified mobility classification task. Time-windowed signal segments were processed in MATLAB and used to distinguish between static and dynamic environmental conditions. This baseline experiment served as a test case to confirm that the collected signals encode meaningful temporal structure and to develop tools applicable to more complex positioning tasks.

Insights gained from the mobility analysis are now guiding the development of RF-optical positioning techniques. By validating the testbed and offline processing pipeline, this work establishes a foundation for evaluating indoor localization methods and transitioning toward real-time, continuous positioning using hybrid wireless signals.

These controlled experiments allow us to validate positioning methods with real measurements rather than simulations, giving confidence in how the system will behave in practical indoor use.