Skip to main content
. 2024 Oct 26;24(21):6876. doi: 10.3390/s24216876

Table 8.

Advantages and disadvantages of indoor positioning technologies.

Technology Advantages Disadvantages
WLAN-Based IPS
  • -

    Widely accessible with minimal infrastructure costs [63,64].
  • -

    Affected by NLOS propagation and multipath effects [61,62].
  • -

    Uses existing Wi-Fi networks, enhancing availability [63,64].
  • -

    High costs for wireless map creation and maintenance [25,26,27].
  • -

    Fingerprint methods outperform range-based methods in complex environments.
BLE IPS
  • -

    Low power consumption and cost-effective for short-range applications [105].
  • -

    Limited accuracy compared to Wi-Fi [107].
  • -

    Suitable for short-distance data transmission and IoT devices, enabling easy deployment [105,106,107,108].
  • -

    Performance degrades with obstacles and environmental factors [109].
RFID-Based IPS
  • -

    High accuracy and ability to penetrate obstacles [112].
  • -

    Depends on tag placement and density for accuracy [116].
  • -

    Strong security features, capable of functioning in NLOS environment, and moderate costs [113,114].
  • -

    Active tags require battery maintenance [112].

  • -

    Limited range in some cases, affecting deployment [112].

  • -

    Requires infrastructure for RFID readers [112].
UWB IPS
  • -

    Centimeter-level accuracy and excellent barrier penetration [118,119].
  • -

    Higher power consumption and setup costs [121].
  • -

    Suitable for short-distance applications [120].
  • -

    Performance affected by multipath fading and NLOS conditions [122].
INS
  • -

    Autonomous positioning without external infrastructure [124].
  • -

    Measurement errors accumulate over time (drift) [125,126].
  • -

    Useful in environments where GPS is unreliable [127].
  • -

    Requires integration with other technologies for improved accuracy [127].
Cellular-Network-Based IPS
  • -

    Leverages existing cellular infrastructure for location estimation [129].
  • -

    Generally less accurate than dedicated indoor positioning methods [130,131].
  • -

    Hybrid methods can enhance accuracy with GPS data [132,133].
  • -

    Signal interference and fading may hinder performance [135,136,137].
ZigBee IPS
  • -

    Energy-efficient with low data rates, suitable for medical applications [138].
  • -

    Limited range and accuracy in complex scenarios [140].
  • -

    Cost-effective and simple to deploy [139].
  • -

    Requires regular updates to the radio map due to signal fluctuations [140].
VL-Based IPS
  • -

    High bandwidth and energy efficiency [141,142].
  • -

    Dependent on direct line-of-sight, impractical in dynamic settings [146].
  • -

    Capable of achieving high accuracy in controlled environments [145].
  • -

    High computational demands for image processing [148].
Geomagnetic IPS
  • -

    Utilizes existing magnetic fields, no additional infrastructure needed [160,161,162,163].
  • -

    Susceptible to distortion from nearby electronic devices [166,167,168].
  • -

    Offers temporal stability and low deployment costs [164,165].
  • -

    Calibration challenges due to sensor-reading variations [170].
Ultrasonic IPS
  • -

    High-precision positioning and cost-effective [171,172,173].
  • -

    Performance affected by noise and multipath effects [189].
  • -

    Capable of tracking multiple users simultaneously [180].
  • -

    Requires careful deployment to minimize interference [189].
5G N/W Positioning
  • -

    Improved accuracy (within 5–10 m) [202,203,204].

  • -

    Supports dynamic environments
6G N/W Positioning