When Wireless Localization Meets Artificial Intelligence: Basics, Challenges, Synergies, and Prospects

The rapid development of information communication and artificial intelligence (AI) technology is driving innovation in various new application fields such as autonomous driving, augmented reality, and the metaverse. In particular, the advancement of wireless localization technology plays a great role in these cutting-edge technologies. However, traditional wireless localization systems rely on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), which is ineffective in indoor or underground environments. To overcome this issue, indoor positioning systems (IPS) have gained attention, and various localization techniques utilizing wireless communication were studied. Subsequently, AI technologies are improving the performance of wireless localization and addressing problems that were previously difficult to solve. In this paper, we summarize wireless localization techniques and define the factors that impede their performance. Furthermore, we categorize AI algorithms and present examples of how they can be used to address these hindering factors. Finally, we propose open research directions and prospects for AI-assisted wireless localization.