IoT-Enabled Indoor Global Positioning and Navigation Framework using LI-FI Technology

The demand for wireless connectivity is growing, and with it, the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum has become highly congested, making the accuracy and reliability of traditional indoor positioning systems less dependable. Given this, it remains difficult to provide accurate indoor navigation, as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are significantly attenuated by walls, floors, and other indoor obstacles. To overcome these drawbacks, this paper presents a new concept: LIPS-NET (Li-Fi Integrated Positioning and Smart Navigation Enhanced Topology), an Internet of Things (IoT)- based indoor localization and navigation approach that uses Visible Light Communication (VLC)’s RF-free transmission for localization and data transmission. By using Li-Fi-enabled LED luminaires to deliver concurrent navigation and lighting, coupled with co-ordinated IoT nodes to create environment maps, position co-ordination, and support intelligent navigation with minimal communication overhead, the proposed framework is a viable approach for future implementation. The prototype implementation and experimental testing across different indoor environments validate LIPS-NET’s performance. The results gained from the implementation of LIPS-NET are shown to be successful and achieve localization accuracy lower than 0.7 m, navigation path optimality higher than 85%, end-to-end latency lower than 100 ms, signal-to-noise ratio higher than 28 dB, delivery ratio of packets higher than 93%, and performance stability more than 89% for high radio frequency (RF) congestion. Additionally, they verify that, in terms of maximum energy consumption (43 J per node) and free throughput (72 Mbps), the framework provides an accurate, energy-efficient, scalable, and RF-independent method for reliable indoor positioning and navigation using the existing light infrastructure.