* * * CALL FOR COMPETITION 2024 * * *

Eleventh IPIN Competition
onsite and offsite Indoor Localization
(https://competition.ipin-conference.org)

offsite: 25 Sep-4 Oct, EvaalAPI web service
onsite: 10-13 Oct, Hong Kong
awards: 17 Oct, IPIN conference

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Application deadline extended to 7 September

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The International conference on Indoor Positioning and Indoor Localization
(IPIN) is pleased to announce the eleventh IPIN Indoor Localization Competition.
The competition is aimed at bringing together the academic and industrial
research communities for evaluating different approaches and envisioning new
methods for indoor and seamless localisation, an area where no generally
accepted standards exist yet.

The competition builds on the experience of previous competitions and is based
on the EvAAL framework, ensuring experience, solidity and a well-founded
scientific method. The IPIN 2024 Indoor Localization Competition consists of
several Tracks:

• Track 1: Smartphone (onsite)
• Track 3: Smartphone (offsite-online)
• Track 4: Foot-mounted IMU (offsite-online)
• Track 6: Smartphone on vehicle (offsite with onsite survey)

Results will be presented during dedicated sessions of the IPIN conference,
during which prizes will be awarded to the winners.


ONSITE TRACK

The competition will take place in Hong Kong, before the IPIN conference. An
actor carries the competing system by walking in the competition area.
Competing systems process data locally, without using any external aid, and
provide position estimates in real time. Survey of the area and system
calibration is restricted to a single day, before the competition proper.

Track 1 - Smartphone: The actor walks carrying a smartphone which runs the
competing system, using the sensors available on the smartphones to identify the
user's position.


OFFSITE WITH ONSITE SURVEY TRACK

Competitors survey the area in Hong Kong, before the IPIN conference.
Subsequently, on a Track-specific day, Track chairs carry a smartphone while
walking and driving in the competition area. The smartphone sends sensors data
in real time to an EvaalAPI server, while at the same time competitors run their
trials through the EvaalAPI. Prizes are awarded for a total worth to be
announced.

Track 6 – Smartphone on vehicle: A smartphone affixed to a car dashboard records
sensors and impaired GNSS data on a partly outdoors, partly indoors route.
Additionally, the driver walks an indoor path.


OFFSITE-ONLINE TRACKS

Competitors are provided with sensors data and use them to estimate the user
position. Competitors calibrate their algorithms in advance using ground truth
reference data (testing trials) and compete using new unreferenced data (scoring
trials). Competitors run their trials through the EvaalAPI in online mode to
emulate the causal, real-time behaviour of onsite Tracks. Scoring trials are
run on a Track-specific day. Prizes are awarded for a total worth to be
announced.

Track 3 - Smartphone: A pedestrian walking under realistic conditions in
buildings with possibly small outdoor parts, using data provided by a
conventional smartphone.

Track 4 – Foot-mounted IMU: A pedestrian carries ULISS (Ubiquituous Localization
with Inertial Sensors and Satellites) while walking a path with possible small
outdoor parts. ULISS provides IMU, magnetic and pressure readings plus GNSS
data. No maps are provided.

Once testing trials are published, competitors can run them at their premises.
When the EvaalAPI server is made available, they must run the testing trials on
it. Scoring trials are provided to competitors only once they complete a run of
the testing trials.


TECHNICAL COMPETITION DETAILS

The evaluation criteria for the competition, restrictions on the accepted
technologies, technical rules and a description of the benchmarks are detailed
in the technical annexes to this call. Possible refinements of the annexes,
even based on applicants' comments, will be distributed on the competition
discussion mailing list contest@evaal.aaloa.org and will appear on the
competitions site (https://competition.ipin-conference.org).

Competitors in offsite Tracks obtain sensor readings and submit position
estimates through the EvaalAPI web service (https://evaal.aaloa.org/evaalapi).
The aim is to emulate a causal process similar to the data flow of an onsite
Track: input data can be read only once and only in sequence, and the timestamp
of each submitted position estimate is the same as the latest sensor reading.

All the data gathered by the competition committee during the competition,
including data produced by competing systems in offsite Tracks, will be
published after the competition for the purpose of research and comparison.
Winners of the competition are announced on the IPIN web site and on the contest
mailing list.


COMPETITOR ADMISSION PROCESS

A competitor can be any individual or group of individuals working as a single
team, associated to a single or a number of organizations, who wants to
participate in one or several tracks. Only one team from the same organisation
(laboratory) is allowed to compete.

Competitors apply for admission to the competition tracks at
https://competition.ipin-conference.org/current-competition/application by
providing a short (2 pages) technical description of their localization system
in PDF, which includes a description of the algorithms and protocols used.
Track chairs will accept or refuse the application in a short time, based on
technical feasibility and logistic constraints.

After acceptance of the competitor's technical description, one member of the
competing team is required to register on the IPIN conference site, specifying
the Track to which the registration is linked. Full registration to the
conference covers participation in the competition process for one Track
(allotted time, support and space) and the submission of one paper describing
the system. Participation in additional Tracks can be added for an additional
fee. A reduced registration fee not including access to the conference is
available for offsite Tracks.

Competitors who wish to test their onsite system which does not fit any of the
onsite tracks may ask chairs of Track 1 to be admitted off-track, which will be
granted depending on organisational contraints.


Be sure to subscribe to the contest mailing list to get updates on the
competition: http://evaal.aaloa.org/mailman/listinfo/contest


IMPORTANT DATES

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Technical annexes published: 15 May
Application opens: 15 June
Testing trials published (offsite): 16 June
Application closes: 7 Sep
EvaalAPI server available: (offsite): 6 Sep
Testing trial completed (offsite): 15 Sep
Offsite competition: 25 Sep - 4 Oct
Onsite competition Track 6: 10,11 Oct
Onsite competition Track 1: 11,13 Oct
Onsite competition: 9 - 13 Oct
Proclamation of winners: 17 Oct
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IPIN COMPETITION COMMITTEE

Francesco Potortì – ISTI-CNR (IT)
Antonino Crivello – ISTI-CNR (IT)
Miguel Ortiz – GEOLOC Team, University Gustave Eiffel (FR)
Joaquín Torres-Sospedra – Universidade do Minho (PT)
Wenchao Zhang – AIR-CAS (CN)

Track chairs:
Track 1 Antonino Crivello – ISTI-CNR (IT)
Filippo Palumbo – ISTI-CNR (IT)
Track 3 Joaquín Torres-Sospedra – Universidade do Minho (PT)
Track 4 Miguel Ortiz – GEOLOC Team, University Gustave Eiffel (FR)
Ni Zhu – GEOLOC Team, University Gustave Eiffel (FR)
Track 6 Wenchao Zhang – AIR-CAS (CN)