Estimating Indoor Radio Environment Maps with Mobile Robots and Machine Learning

Abstract

Wireless communication technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in smart factories, but the rise in the number of wireless devices can lead to interference in the ISM band and obstacles like metal blocks within the factory can weaken communication signals, creating radio shadow areas that impede information exchange. Consequently, accurately determining the radio communication coverage range is crucial. To address this issue, a Radio Environment Map (REM) can be used to provide information about the radio environment in a specific area. In this paper, a technique for estimating an indoor REM using a mobile robot and machine learning methods is introduced. The mobile robot first collects and processes data, including the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and location estimation. This data is then used to implement the REM through machine learning regression algorithms such as Extra Tree Regressor, Random Forest Regressor, and Decision Tree Regressor. Furthermore, the numerical and visual performance of REM for each model can be assessed in terms of R2 and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE).