Comparison and evaluation of acceleration based step length estimators for handheld devices

A comparison between different step length estimation algorithms for pedestrian dead reckoning is presented. This work covers theoretic evaluation of the estimators' performance and presents a comparison based on measurement data. Measurement data were taken from a group of five adults walking at three different velocities. For reference, the sensors were placed according to the recommendation given for each algorithm. In respect to everyday usability the performance of the estimators is furthermore evaluated for arbitrary placement of the sensors, as it is the case when using a mobile measurement platform like a smartphone.