Luminaire reference points (LRP) in Visible Light Positioning using hybrid imaging-photodiode (HIP) receivers

Visible Light Positioning (VLP) is an exciting new technology that has the potential to provide indoor positioning in a myriad of applications. Typically, VLP uses LED luminaires for positioning beacons and, like other positioning technologies, there is a requirement that sufficient beacons are available in the field of view (FOV) for triangulation. This can be challenging in many environments due to the luminaire placement and size. In this paper we investigate the use of luminaire reference points (LRPs) and hybrid imaging-photodiode (HIP) receivers to improve the reliability and robustness of VLP. LRPs are precisely defined points on a luminaire that can be recognised by the imaging sensor in a HIP receiver. We show that, by associating multiple LRPs with a single luminaire, it is possible to achieve positioning when only one luminaire is in the FOV of the receiver. We demonstrate, using the geometric dilution of precision, that low positioning errors can be achieved even when luminaire geometry and spacing is non-ideal.