An investigation into the use of kriging for indoor Wi-Fi received signal strength estimation

Abstract

Kriging is proposed as a tool for Wi-Fi signal strength estimation for complex indoor environments. This proposal is based on two studies suggesting that kriging might be suitable for this application. Both of these studies have shortcomings in supporting this proposal, but their results encourage a more in depth investigation into this. Even though kriging is a geostatistical method developed for geographical interpolation, it has been used successfully in a wide range of other applications as well. This further suggests that kriging might be a versatile method to overcome some of the difficulties of existing signal strength estimation methods. Two main types of signal strength estimation are deterministic methods and empirical methods. Deterministic methods are generally very complex and requires input parameters that are difficult to obtain. Empirical methods are known to have low accuracy which makes them unreliable for practical use. Three main investigations are presented in order to evaluate the use of kriging for this application. A sampling plan is proposed as part of a generic application protocol for the practical use of kriging for Wi-Fi signal strength. It is concluded that kriging can be conffidently used as an estimation technique for Wi-Fi signal strength in complex indoor environments. Kriging is recommended for practical applications, especially where insufficient information is available about a building or where time consuming site surveys are not feasible.