Industry 4.0
Vol. 11 (2026), Issue 2, pg(s) 72-78

BUSINESS & “INDUSTRY 4.0”

Investigation of Positioning Accuracy Improvement Methods for Sigfox IoT Devices through WiFi MAC Address Analysis

  • 1 Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 2 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
  • 3 Chudenko Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 4 Interface Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 5 Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

This study presents and validates a method for achieving positioning accuracy comparable to standalone GPS (approximately 10 m) using a proprietary Sigfox WiFi positioning system that transmits only two MAC addresses per message. Due to Sigfox’s severe payload limitations, conventional positioning attempts often fail or yield significant errors. Our approach introduces continuous scanning on the device to dynamically collect up to four MAC addresses, paired with meticulous backend analysis and filtering of MAC address quality using a custom Here API Validation Tool. The proposed method effectively addresses these limitations, demonstrating a 100% location acquisition rate and a median positional error of 19 meters, making it highly effective for both stationary and dynamic mobile tracking.

Keywords

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