TRACKING AND TELEMETRY SYSTEM USING SIGNAL STRENGTH

TRIANGULATION FOR COMPANY-OWNED TAXIS

Jay Martin B. Baluyot1, James Bryan B. Labergas2, Jan Michael A. Mundin3, Daryl R. Radovan4,
Jaime C. Tiong Jr.5, and Engr. Noriel Mallari6

Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering

De La Salle University, Manila
2401 Taft Ave., Malate, Manila 1004, Philippines
1
Baluyot, jaymartinbaluyot@yahoo.com
2
Labergas, jblabergas@yahoo.com
3
Mundin, jmamundin@yahoo.com
4
Radovan, radovan.daryl@yahoo.com
5
Tiong, tiong_jj@yahoo.com
6
Engr. Mallari, mallarin@dlsu.edu.ph

ABSTRACT
The pursuit of technological development requires
ingenious solutions that can help diminish, if not
eradicate the world’s everyday problems. Ingenuity
suggests using tried and tested technologies, like Wi-Fi,
as tools in developing a totally different technology. By
using Wi-Fi and other communication tools, this study
tries to create a new method of locating a vehicle without
the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), a
localization system that has questionable reliability in
urban areas. Using multiple Wi-Fi routers set up around
a subdivision to replicate a city-wide Wi-Fi, a vehicle
equipped with a Wi-Fi module is localized using signal
strength triangulation and fingerprinting. The ability to
locate a vehicle has countless applications, though this
study has limited itself to one that involves monitoring
taxi vehicles. Thus, the GUI Display shows not only the
real-time location of the vehicle plotted on a map but
other telemetry data as well, such as taxi fare, speed,
distance covered, vacant/occupied and other important
data needed for taxi monitoring.
Key Words – fingerprinting, localization system,
telemetry, triangulation
I. Introduction
Wi-Fi is one of the most important and powerful tools in
terms of wireless technology today. It offers a wide array
of applications, especially in the field of data
communications. Wi-Fi technology has grown
tremendously in recent years due to countless of
applications that address the needs of this technology-
driven generation. One promising application of Wi-Fi is
in asset tracking. With city-wide installation of Wi-Fi [1],
[2] becoming the continuing trend in major cities across
the world, using this technology as means for asset
tracking seems practical and more importantly, possible.
Asset tracking using Wi-Fi needs two major methods –
localization and telemetry. Localization is the method of
remotely locating a specific unit accurately. This can be
done using the Global Positioning System, or the GPS.
However, studies have shown that the GPS is unreliable
in an urban set-up [3], where most asset tracking
applications are needed, due to the so-called “urban
canyons.” Alternative techniques for localization are
needed and this is how Wi-Fi comes into the picture.
Telemetry, on the other hand, is the transmission of data
from a source to a remote receiver.
Asset tracking in this study focuses on being able to
locate a company-owned taxi using two techniques,
triangulation and fingerprinting, and being able to send
telemetry data from the taxi, such as its fare, speed,
vacancy, distance travelled, and total income for the day,
to a remote server equipped with a GUI display where the
taxi operator can monitor the operation of his taxi.
Triangulation uses the signal strength of Wi-Fi routers as
inputs to a localization algorithm while fingerprinting is a
technique that records multiple signal strength values at a
certain location and compares it to a database with pre-
recorded signal strength values of that same location.
Using these two localization techniques, accurate
localization is already possible.
This study is significant in many ways. First, a new and
unique Wi-Fi localization algorithm was developed. This
same algorithm can be used in other applications that are

1
related to navigation and asset tracking. Second, the
reliability and accuracy of Wi-Fi localization using
triangulation and fingerprinting was tested. This is very
important for future studies and research works that will
be making use of Wi-Fi as means for localization. Third,
this thesis paves the trail for other asset tracking
applications aside from the application implemented in
this study. Lastly, this study contributes to taxi operation
improvement.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section II

summarizes past research works related to this study.
Section III discusses the overall system and project
design. Section IV discusses the localization algorithm
that was developed in this study. Section V briefly
discusses the experiments performed along with the Fig. 1. This figure shows the block diagram of the system. It consists of
results. Section VI concludes this paper with a summary three major subsystems: the Mobile Unit, Localizers and the PC-Based
Sever.
of research contributions.
The Mobile Unit is the subsystem installed inside the
II. Related Works vehicle. It consists of the taxi meter, which includes the
SC162A 2x16 alphanumeric LCD, rotary encoder, and
There are several points to consider when it comes to
pushbuttons; and the Rabbitcore RCM5400W, which
localization in the following study. One of these points is
consists of the prototyping board, antenna, and the Wi-Fi
the city-wide Wi-Fi. Since the study assumes a city-wide
module. The Rabbitcore RCM5400W Wi-Fi module
Wi-Fi, it is important to note some places that are
serves as the microcontroller of the Mobile Unit. The taxi
employing such system. According to [2], UK is already
meter standard being followed in this study is the LTFRB
planning to set up Wi-Fi hotspots where there are mobile
standard which starts at a rate of PHP30.00 that is good
phone networks and switching between Wi-Fi and mobile
for the first 400 meters that the vehicle has travelled.
phone networks can be done with the push of a button.
PHP2.50 is added for every 200 meters the vehicle travels
or for every 90 seconds that the car is stationary. Changes
Localization can be done in a variety of ways. One can
in the standard are not a concern since the taxi is
use GPS [3] for tracking a GPS an asset with a GPS
programmed to be flexible to standard changes.
receiver. The group used two types of localization:
triangulation and fingerprinting.
The second subsystem is the Localizers subsystem. This
is a network of six 802.11g Wi-Fi routers installed in
The group’s triangulation process involves the use of different strategic areas around a subdivision, which
equations of triangles formed by the intersections of the
replicates a city-wide network. The primary function of
Wi-Fi propagation area of three Wi-Fi routers. Another
the Localizers is to provide signal strength data to the
level of the group’s localization is the fingerprinting
Mobile Unit that will be needed in the localization
localization which uses multiple signal strengths to create
algorithm. The six Wi-Fi routers are installed in such a
a fingerprint of a cell. Fingerprinting indoors was done in
way that all roads are covered with multiple networks.
[4] using the light intensity present inside the room, also
taking into account the reflections from the wall. In the
The third subsystem is the PC-Based Server. It consists of
group’s study, signal strengths from at least three routers
the database and the GUI Display. The database is used to
were used to create the fingerprint.
store all the data sent by the Mobile Unit while the GUI
Display shows all of these data for the taxi operator to
Lastly, telemetry must also be considered since according see. Thus, the PC-Based Server processes all the
to [5], “the biggest explosion will be in telemetry where
information sent by the Mobile Unit. This information
our devices will talk with other devices on our behalf”.
includes the signal strength data used by the PC-Based
Server to compute and display the real-time location of
III. Project Description the Mobile Unit. The GUI Display and the database are
developed using Visual Studio 2008.
There are three subsystems designed in this thesis,
namely, the Mobile Unit, Localizers, and the PC-Based The testing site is located in Severina Subdivision in
Server. This is shown in Figure 1.
Paranaque City, Metro Manila. The map is shown in the

2
Figure 2. It is divided into 736 cells, 89 of which are used
to indicate the location of the Mobile Unit in the GUI
Display.
Fig. 2. This figure shows the map of Severina Subdivision. 89 cells are
used to indicate the location of the Mobile Unit in the GUI Display.
These cells cover all the possible locations of the vehicle.
IV. Localization Algorithm
In this study, localization has two levels. The first level is
signal strength triangulation while the second level is the
fingerprinting technique. As mentioned in the
Introduction, signal strength triangulation uses the signal
strength of the different Wi-Fi routers for localization.
Fingerprinting, on the other hand, creates a “fingerprint”
of multiple signal strength values in 89 different cells
around the testing site and these values are recorded in the
database. These pre-recorded signal strength values are
then made to become the reference in which actual signal
strength values are compared with during the actual
localization.
During the actual localization, triangulation is performed
first. This is done by getting the three strongest signal
received by the Mobile Unit. The next step is to determine
the strongest signal among the three, which is usually the
signal coming from the closest router. Then, imaginary
circles are created from the three signals and the four
intersection points between the imaginary circles of the
strongest signal with the imaginary circles of the two
other signals are determined. Two lines are created from
the four intersection points and the intersection between
the two lines is the location of the Mobile Unit. This
algorithm can be seen visually in Figure 3. Triangulation
returns the possible locations of the Mobile Unit or the
possible cells where the Mobile Unit may be located. To
determine the exact location out of these possible
locations, the second-level technique, which is
fingerprinting, comes into play. It uses the current signal
strength readings of the Mobile Unit and compares it with
those recorded in the database. The exact location is
3
determined when the pre-recorded signal strength
readings matches with the current signal strength
readings.
Fig. 3. This figure shows triangulation algorithm used in this study.
V. Experiments and Results
Numerous tests and experiments were specifically
designed to meet the objectives of this study.
The first test was signal strength triangulation testing
under controlled environment. This experiment was
performed at the Central Plaza inside De La Salle
University-Manila. The objective of this test was to
determine if signal strength triangulation can localize the
Rabbitcore Wi-Fi module using multiple Wi-Fi routers.
Four Wi-Fi routers were set up in different areas around
the Central Plaza. Using the triangulation algorithm
discussed earlier, the Rabbitcore Wi-Fi module was
localized with errors of up to 10 meters. This experiment
showed that it is possible to use the signal strength of Wi-
Fi as means for triangulation. Moreover, since the error
was still significant, considering that this testing is
performed in a controlled environment, improvements in
the algorithm must be made and the use of fingerprinting
to improve the accuracy solves this problem.
The second test was speed and distance testing using the
rotary encoder. The rotary encoder is the
electromechanical transducer of the Mobile Unit as it
converts mechanical revolutions of the gearbox into
digital pulses. In essence, this component is the interface
between the vehicle and the entire system. The ability to
determine the speed of the car and the distance that it has
travelled lies in the rotary encoder. The speed and
distance of the car can be computed using the equations
below:
(1)
 (2)

(3)

Note that in the Equation 1, it is necessary to determine

the number of times the rotary encoder revolves for every
revolution of the wheel. Moreover, one rotary encoder
revolution is equivalent to one digital pulse. Through
testing, it was determined that at a certain distance, 31
revolutions of the wheel produces 35 rotary encoder Fig. 4. This figure shows a simplified map of Severina Subdivision. 89
cells are used to indicate the location of the Mobile Unit in the GUI
revolutions. After knowing this ratio, the speed and Display. The red cells indicate the location of the Wi-Fi routers while
distance can now be computed. Speed and distance was the blue cells indicate the 89 cells used to display the location of the
tested by displaying its values in the LCD of the Mobile vehicle.
Unit and comparing the values to the speedometer and
odometer of the car, respectively.

The third test was the fingerprinting in the actual site. As

mentioned previously, fingerprinting increases the
accuracy of the whole system. In this testing, the signal
strength “fingerprints” of the 89 cells were determined
through repetitive testing. Ten signal strength readings
were recorded for each of the 89 cells for a single router
and the average of the readings was computed. This was
repeated for the 5 other routers that were used in the
study. A database of these signal strength values were
produced after this testing. In essence, each of the 89 cells
has unique signal strength intensity values of the different
routers. Locating the Mobile Unit can now be done by
comparing the current signal strength readings with that
of the values in the database. Figure 4 shows a simplified Fig. 5. This figure shows the cell fingerprint for Router 1 (indicated as
map with the location of the 6 Wi-Fi routers while Figure the red cell). The values inside the 89 cells are the signal strength values
5 shows the cell fingerprints for the first router. 5 other received by the Mobile Unit from Router 1. Note that the stronger the
cell fingerprints or each of the 5 remaining routers are value of the signal, the darker is the color of the cell. It can be seen that
the closer the cell is to the router, the stronger is the signal strength.
created and are not shown in this paper.
Experiments were also performed to determine the effects
The fourth and most important test was the actual of adverse weather conditions on the signal strength of
localization and telemetry test. In this test, triangulation Wi-Fi routers. This was considered necessary since this
and fingerprinting were performed simultaneously to thesis is applied mainly outdoors. It was determined that
locate the Mobile Unit. For a stationary vehicle, the weather has relatively limited effect on the signal strength
average localization error was just over 1 cell unit. 1 cell of Wi-Fi routers since signal strength readings on both
unit translates to around 3 meters. To be more precise, the dry and wet conditions are relatively similar.
average localization error for a stationary vehicle using
triangulation and fingerprinting was just 3.35 meters.
VI. Conclusion and Recommendations
Moreover, 94% of the time the displayed location in the
GUI was just within 3 cell units, or within 10 meters, of This study has laid the groundwork for future studies that
the actual location of the vehicle. Testing was also deal with localization and asset tracking. This study
performed for a moving vehicle and its location and showed the possibility of using Wi-Fi as means for
telemetry data were observed in the GUI Display. It was localization. Triangulation localized the vehicles with
determined that the average error for a moving vehicle errors of up to 20 meters. Adding the fingerprinting
was less than 15 meters. technique improved the accuracy by limiting the error to

4
around 4 meters for a stationary vehicle and less than 15
meters for a moving vehicle. These are accuracy ratings
comparable with GPS. Future studies can improve the
accuracy further by making improvements in the
algorithm and investing in more Wi-Fi routers.
[3] Michael Kanellos. “Intel Experiments with Wi-Fi as GPS
substitute.” Available: CNET News.com. July 2005.
[4] Nishkam Ravi and Liviu Iftode. “FiatLux: Fingerprinting Rooms
Using Light Intensity.” Department of Computer Science, Rutgers
University, New Jersey
[5] Paul Saffo. “Paul Saffo on Wireless technology.” Available: http://
www.cnn.com/chat/ transcripts/2000/8/31/saffo/index.html

Jay Martin B. Baluyot was born in Manila, Philippines in 1988. He is

currently a graduating Electronics and Communications Engineering
student at De La Salle University – Manila. His research interests
include data communications and embedded systems.

James Bryan B. Labergas was born in Manila, Philippines in 1988. He

is currently a graduating Electronics and Communications Engineering
student at De La Salle University – Manila. His research interests
include development tools and embedded systems.

Jan Michael A. Mundin was born in Laguna, Philippines in 1988. He is

currently a graduating Electronics and Communications Engineering
student at De La Salle University – Manila. His research interests
include software development.

Daryl R. Radovan was born in Quezon City, Philippines in 1988. He is

Fig. 6. This figure shows the main page of the GUI Display developed
currently a graduating Electronics and Communications Engineering
in Visual Studio 2008. It consists of the map, which show the real-time
student at De La Salle University – Manila. His research interests
location of the vehicle, and windows where telemetry data from the
include embedded systems and networking systems.
vehicle are displayed.
Jaime C. Tiong Jr. was born in Cebu City, Philippines in 1988. He is
A GUI Display along with a database was also created currently a graduating Electronics and Communications Engineering
using Visual Studio 2008 (The GUI Display is shown in student at De La Salle University – Manila. His research interest
Figure 6 as a screenshot). All of the parameters were includes embedded systems.
successfully sent by the Mobile Unit to the PC-Based
Server for storage and display. These parameters include
signal strength, speed, current fare, vacancy, total income
of the day, total distance travelled, number of trips, driver
name, driver contact number, plate number of the vehicle
and the street name. The GUI display enhanced the
effectiveness of the taxi monitoring application. Using
this feature, the taxi operator can easily monitor taxi
operation at a single glance. Moreover, the GUI Display
was designed to be user-friendly which makes it relatively
easy to use and navigate. Also, the database can be
exported to a Microsoft Excel file.

The systems designed in this thesis are completely

scalable, which means that more vehicles and a larger
testing site can be used without making changes to the
design. The group recommends increasing the scale of
testing to a barangay-scale or even city-wide scale and to
increase the number of Mobile Units.

For future studies, researchers may use other forms of

wireless technology such as WiMax in localization and
asset tracking. Also, other forms of asset tracking may be
explored using the technology developed in this thesis.

References

[1] Philadelpia considering creating world’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot.

Available:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20040901-4149.html
[2] City-wide Wi-Fi Rolls Out in the UK. Available: http://news.bbc. co.
uk/2/hi/technology/4578114.stm