A Review of Wireless Positioning From Past and Current to Emerging Technologies

Abstract

Many techniques for wireless positioning have existed for years, but with emerging technologies like 5G and ultra wideband, wireless positioning is becoming more accurate than ever. On the one hand, improved accuracy implies increased usefulness. It will open up new application areas and lead to advances in areas like internet of things (IoT), self-driving cars, and contact tracing. Furthermore, decision support systems can benefit from better positioning techniques. On the other hand, the ability to track connected devices with sub-meter precision brings some privacy and security concerns. This chapter aims to review indoor and outdoor positioning technologies and how they can be used for contact tracing. It then further discusses some of the data management, privacy, and security concerns that follow. To that end, this chapter studies the main techniques for wireless positioning, cellular-based positioning using 5G, and their use to contact tracing. Finally, the authors provide some insight into how 5G and UWB might help the area of positioning and contact tracking in the future.