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Transactional Area Network

A Transactional Area Network (TAN) is a proposed virtual area network designed to enable decentralized, peer-to-peer indoor localization and positioning. TAN was first introduced in a 2024 publication in the MDPI's journal Electronics by Anastasios Nikolakopoulos et al ^[1]. This concept aims to establish a universal architecture and methodology for future indoor localization frameworks. It addresses the increasing need for effective and user-friendly indoor positioning systems by leveraging existing technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi signals, without the necessity for extensive additional hardware.

Overview

Concept and Purpose

The Transactional Area Network suggests an approach to indoor localization by defining a virtual network where data exchanges between devices are viewed as transactions. This framework aims to enhance entity interaction, mutual influence, and data exchange within indoor environments. The proposed network seeks to increase the adoption of indoor positioning applications by simplifying their implementation and operation, thereby promoting broader usage and data generation.

Main Characteristics

• Peer-to-Peer Design: TAN prioritizes direct data exchange between users, enabling a decentralized approach to indoor positioning. This design reduces reliance on central servers and allows for more flexible and scalable deployment.
• Minimal Hardware: The network primarily relies on end-users' personal devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, with optional use of external hardware like Bluetooth beacons. This reduces costs and simplifies the deployment process.
• Data Collection: TAN collects and transmits positioning data generated by users to an external database for further analysis. This data can be used to gain insights into movement patterns and improve indoor navigation systems.
• Data Comprehensibility: The collected data can provide meaningful insights and information relevant to the specific indoor environment. Thus, data can be actionable and useful for various applications.

Technical Details

Implementation

TAN's suggested implementation utilizes personal devices to transmit and receive BLE and Wi-Fi signals, functioning as virtual beacons. Key proposed technical features include:

• Virtual Beacon Configuration: Each device acts as a virtual beacon ^[2], broadcasting and detecting BLE signals to calculate distances from other devices. This setup allows for distance measurements without the need for dedicated hardware.
• Peer-to-Peer Session Establishment: Devices establish ad-hoc communication sessions using frameworks such as Apple's Multipeer Connectivity or Google's Nearby Connections. This enables real-time data exchange between devices.
• Signal Pairing and User Identification: The system pairs BLE signals with peer-to-peer data, enabling devices to identify and exchange information with nearby users accurately. This ensures that users receive accurate and relevant information.
• External Database Connectivity: Devices transmit collected data to an external database for storage and analysis. This allows for large-scale data aggregation and machine learning applications.

Use Cases

Potential Applications

• Social Interactions: TAN can enhance interpersonal interactions in indoor locations such as restaurants, social events, and cafes by providing real-time proximity data and communication capabilities. Users can see who is nearby and initiate interactions based on proximity.
• Emergency Response: In catastrophic events, TAN could assist rescue teams by providing real-time localization data of trapped individuals, improving the efficiency and speed of rescue operations. This could be particularly useful in scenarios where traditional communication infrastructure is compromised.
• Workplace Analytics: Companies can monitor employee traffic within their premises to optimize resource allocation and improve operational efficiency. By analyzing movement patterns, companies can make informed decisions about space utilization and workflow optimization.

Research and Development

Proof-of-Concept

A proof-of-concept implementation of TAN was developed using the Swift programming language and tested on iOS devices. The software utilized Apple's iBeacon and Multipeer Connectivity frameworks to demonstrate the potential feasibility of TAN in real-world scenarios. The proof-of-concept showed that TAN could calculate distances and facilitate peer-to-peer data exchange in indoor environments.

Future Directions

While TAN shows potential, its widespread adoption requires further research and development. Future research around the concept of a Transactional Area Network (TAN) should primarily focus on the detailed analysis of algorithms, accuracy, and efficiency aspects. It should explore how potential constraints of TAN, such as the impact of walls and other physical barriers on signal propagation, can affect localization accuracy and cause geometric distortions. Additionally, the examination of distance measurement error rates, standard deviation, root-mean-square error, and filtering applications (like Kalman filters) should be considered ^{[3] [4]}. These efforts could validate the theoretical advancements proposed in this article and ensure robust practical applications of TANs.

References

• Nikolakopoulos, A., Psychas, A., Litke, A., & Varvarigou, T. (2024). Leveraging Indoor Localization Data: The Transactional Area Network (TAN). Electronics, 13, 2454. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13132454

• Zhuang, Y., et al. (2016). "Smartphone-Based Indoor Localization with Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons." Sensors, 16(5), 596. https://doi.org/10.3390/s16050596

• Dalkılıç, F., Çabuk, U.C., Arıkan, E., & Gürkan, A. (2017)., "An analysis of the positioning accuracy of iBeacon technology in indoor environments," 2017 International Conference on Computer Science and Engineering (UBMK), Antalya, Turkey, 2017, pp. 549-553, doi: 10.1109/UBMK.2017.8093459.

• Dinh, T.-M.T., Duong, N.-S., & Sandrasegaran, K., "Smartphone-Based Indoor Positioning Using BLE iBeacon and Reliable Lightweight Fingerprint Map," in IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 20, no. 17, pp. 10283-10294, 1 Sept.1, 2020, doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2020.2989411