Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis
Positioning via outdoor fingerprinting, which exploits the radio signals emitted by cellular towers, is fundamental in many applications. In most cases, the localization performance is affected by the availability of information about the emitters, such as their coverage. While several projects aim...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/1/352 |
| _version_ | 1797431185004036096 |
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| author | Andrea Brunello Andrea Dalla Torre Paolo Gallo Donatella Gubiani Angelo Montanari Nicola Saccomanno |
| author_facet | Andrea Brunello Andrea Dalla Torre Paolo Gallo Donatella Gubiani Angelo Montanari Nicola Saccomanno |
| author_sort | Andrea Brunello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Positioning via outdoor fingerprinting, which exploits the radio signals emitted by cellular towers, is fundamental in many applications. In most cases, the localization performance is affected by the availability of information about the emitters, such as their coverage. While several projects aim at collecting cellular network data via crowdsourcing observations, none focuses on information about the structure of the networks, which is paramount to correctly model their topology. The difficulty of such a modeling is exacerbated by the inherent differences among cellular technologies, the strong spatio-temporal nature of positioning, and the continuously evolving configuration of the networks. In this paper, we first show how to synthesize a detailed conceptual schema of cellular networks on the basis of the signal fingerprints collected by devices. We turned it into a logical one, and we exploited that to build a relational spatio-temporal database capable of supporting a crowdsourced collection of data. Next, we populated the database with heterogeneous cellular observations originating from multiple sources. In addition, we illustrate how the developed system allows us to properly deal with the evolution of the network configuration, e.g., by detecting cell renaming phenomena and by making it possible to correct inconsistent measurements coming from mobile devices, fostering positioning tasks. Finally, we provide a wide range of basic, spatial, and temporal analyses about the arrangement of the cellular network and its evolution over time, demonstrating how the developed system can be used to reconstruct and maintain a deep knowledge of the cellular network, possibly starting from crowdsourced information only. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:41:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f65e4a338e8e4d258d306aad4a348f4f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:41:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-f65e4a338e8e4d258d306aad4a348f4f2023-12-02T00:55:52ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-12-0123135210.3390/s23010352Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and AnalysisAndrea Brunello0Andrea Dalla Torre1Paolo Gallo2Donatella Gubiani3Angelo Montanari4Nicola Saccomanno5Data Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyData Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyData Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyData Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyData Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyData Science and Automatic Verification Laboratory, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyPositioning via outdoor fingerprinting, which exploits the radio signals emitted by cellular towers, is fundamental in many applications. In most cases, the localization performance is affected by the availability of information about the emitters, such as their coverage. While several projects aim at collecting cellular network data via crowdsourcing observations, none focuses on information about the structure of the networks, which is paramount to correctly model their topology. The difficulty of such a modeling is exacerbated by the inherent differences among cellular technologies, the strong spatio-temporal nature of positioning, and the continuously evolving configuration of the networks. In this paper, we first show how to synthesize a detailed conceptual schema of cellular networks on the basis of the signal fingerprints collected by devices. We turned it into a logical one, and we exploited that to build a relational spatio-temporal database capable of supporting a crowdsourced collection of data. Next, we populated the database with heterogeneous cellular observations originating from multiple sources. In addition, we illustrate how the developed system allows us to properly deal with the evolution of the network configuration, e.g., by detecting cell renaming phenomena and by making it possible to correct inconsistent measurements coming from mobile devices, fostering positioning tasks. Finally, we provide a wide range of basic, spatial, and temporal analyses about the arrangement of the cellular network and its evolution over time, demonstrating how the developed system can be used to reconstruct and maintain a deep knowledge of the cellular network, possibly starting from crowdsourced information only.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/1/352spatio-temporal databaseoutdoor positioningfingerprintingcrowdsourcing |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Brunello Andrea Dalla Torre Paolo Gallo Donatella Gubiani Angelo Montanari Nicola Saccomanno Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis Sensors spatio-temporal database outdoor positioning fingerprinting crowdsourcing |
| title | Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis |
| title_full | Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis |
| title_short | Crowdsourced Reconstruction of Cellular Networks to Serve Outdoor Positioning: Modeling, Validation and Analysis |
| title_sort | crowdsourced reconstruction of cellular networks to serve outdoor positioning modeling validation and analysis |
| topic | spatio-temporal database outdoor positioning fingerprinting crowdsourcing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/1/352 |
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