Localizing WiFi Access Points Using Signal Strength

When estimating the location of WiFi access points (AP) in an anonymous environment, the required parameters of the radio propagation model are not readily obtainable. This letter investigates the use of received signal strength (RSS) for range-based AP localization when no information on the radio propagation model is provided. To achieve this goal, we linearly approximate the exponential relationship between RSS and distance, and apply a multilateration technique. Our simulation results validate that estimation of an AP location is possible given four or more RSS measurements at different locations.