By Bruce Christian New Wi-Fi standard improves indoor location accuracy A new standard for improving Wi-Fi location accuracy could create a tidal wave of innovation, according to Roy Want, the standards editor, and Jonathan Segev, a standards engineer at Intel Corporation and the chair of the IEEE Standards Association 02.11az standard. The IEEE 802.11az standard, also called “next-generation positioning” or NGP, is a roadmap for accurate IEEE 802.11 location appearing, said the association. When a Wi-Fi enabled device – such as a mobile phone – is used, it can use GPS when outdoors for location information because it has a clear line of sight to satellites. But inside, GPS signals can be blocked, and the device must connect to Wi-Fi. But location accuracy indoors is not as precise as with the GPS outside. Segev and Want said the new standard changes that. Legacy Wi-Fi provides location accuracy down to a range of between 33 to 49 feet. Improvements came with the release of IEEE Std 802.112016, which incorporated fine timing measurement (FTM) to improve accuracy to around three to six feet. With IEEE 802.11az, location accuracy has moved to about four inches. Devices supporting the new standard already are appearing, and innovative use cases, say proponents, can be expected that will address traditional problems such as: • More accurate indoor navigation – As an example, consumers in a retail store could use an application to navigate through the store from the entrance to the products they want. By leveraging multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) technology, users can stay better connected in indoor environments where pillars, walls, furniture and other obstacles exist. • Enablement of micro-targeting for retail and warehouse asset tracking – A store employee can use a mobile app to track products on the shelves, in the stock room and in a warehouse. The retailer also can leverage usage data from its customers’ shopping apps, such as their movements on the retail floor, to obtain analytics and serve relevant ads to the user. • Secure, authenticated and private positioning – As a matter of security, you wouldn’t want your laptop or tablet to be opened from a distance across a room by another device. With IEEE 801.11az, the setting could require the computer opens only via your smart watch, but with proper authentication and when you are within inches of it. Similarly, this can apply to the ability to unlock a vehicle’s door via a smart device, but only if standing within a programmed distance that can be less than three feet away. Another application could be the use of a smart device to make payment at the point of sale in a store or using it to facilitate an ATM transaction. The proximity of two devices improves the guarantee of authenticity, thwarting attacks from relays. • Scalability allows hundreds of devices to connect at the same time – The new standard enables improved connectivity in dense environments, such as shopping malls, arenas and stadiums where large numbers of users gather and use the available Wi-Fi at the same time. Beyond these use cases, IEEE 802.11az, has deeper benefits. For example IEEE 802.11az enables self-locating networks for easy, fast and cost-efficient WLAN deployment. It also supports access points and devices that run on higher power. According to Segev and Want, energy efficiencies may be realized by IEEE 802.11az because the time it takes to go from acquiring the channel to determining your range is shorter. This is because IEEE 802.11az has removed the IEEE 802.11-2016 “bursts” of rate exchanges that use more energy. Improved usages also may include the introduction of a physical layer level anti-spoofing mechanism to protect the range estimation from man in the middle (MITM) attacks and other time advance attacks. “The protection mechanism makes use of and expands the IEEE 802.11 security framework,” Segev and Want explained, ‘’taking advantage of the proofing effort already invested and making IEEE 802.11az a prime technology for uses such as unlocking doors or a PC with a wearable.” o KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE MOBILE & WIRELESS 40 CHANNELVISION | JULY - AUGUST 2023
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