Microlocation for Smart Buildings in the Era of the Internet of Things: A Survey of Technologies, Techniques, and Approaches

Microlocation plays a key role in the transformation of traditional buildings into smart infrastructure. Microlocation is the process of locating any entity with a very high accuracy, possibly in centimeters. Such technologies require high detection accuracy, energy efficiency, wide reception range, low cost, and availability. In this article, we provide insights into various microlocation-enabling technologies, techniques, and services and discuss how they can accelerate the incorporation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart buildings. We cover the challenges and examine some signal processing filtering techniques such that microlocation-enabling technologies and services can be thoroughly integrated with an IoT-equipped smart building. An experiment with Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) beacons used for microlocation is also presented.