Development of an android app for wi-fi signal strength mapping

Abstract

The widespread availability of wireless networks (Wi-Fi) has created an increased interest to develop an Android Platform based applications for Wi-Fi signal strength mapping purposes. Since most android based mobile applications are developed for cell phone users so that the user can use this applications for wireless connectivity. With the rapid development of smartphone industry, various android platform-enabled API is used such as GPS receivers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, digital compasses, cameras; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have been built in smartphones for communication.

In this project an application has been developed to collect the location data info with the signal strength (RSSI) along with AP information. Data analysis was made with the help of the software MATLAB and OriginLab against WiFi signal strength (RSSI), Longitude, Latitude. A WLAN system generally contains one or more APs to cover a large area. The quality and service of a Wi-Fi network depends on the distance from the AP, the antenna type, environment, the quality of the device, etc. For creating a perfact WLAN system, the positioning of the APs is critical. Creating maps based on floor plans of indoors is necessary to choose the effective positioning of APs. A smartphone with an appropriate app would be very helpful for the network administrators to create such a signal strength map as smartphone provides mobility. With such maps, the administrators can position APs effectively for efficient service.