User Tracking by Sensorfusion for Situation Aware Systems

Context-aware applications for mobile computers (PDA´s) need a high quality of globally sensor input. Multimodal sensor systems as well as tracking of location, userprofile and environment changes are trying to achieve new and better possibilities for the interpretation of the user´s interaction with the environment. Some relevant solutions of high accuracy tracking systems do already exist. The task of a functioning indoor navigation has been solved by a complex and high-end realization. This report describes an approach of a low budget but efficient user-tracking-system. An accurate location system can be build by the inclusion of human biometrics and very cheap standard components. The acceleration of the user´s foot can be used to calculate an individual step length for each step, stairs can be identified and no calibration is needed. The used algorithm provides linear errors and a reset of critical data. This offers new possibilities in indoor navigation and real life applications. The basic concepts of a location dependent situation aware system with PDA´s became basically visible by the eGuide, the official electronic congress guide for the Palm Europe Developer Conference (manufacturer of the Palm Computers) in Amsterdam 2001.