UMD CS Graduate Students' Research Recognized at ACM SenSys

University of Maryland Department of Computer Science graduate students Nakul Garg and Aritrik Ghosh presented their research at the 22nd ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys) held from November 4-7, 2024, in Hangzhou, China. Their work received the Best Poster Runner-Up Award, highlighting innovations in networked sensing and actuation systems. 

Garg and Ghosh, advised by computer science Assistant Professor Nirupam Roy, developed LiTEfoot, a low-power localization system designed for the long-term tracking of small assets across global supply chains. By leveraging ambient LTE base station signals, which cover nearly 90% of the U.S. landmass, LiTEfoot consumes significantly less power than traditional GPS while achieving similar median accuracy. The system can operate for up to 11 years on a single coin cell battery, continuously estimating location every five seconds.

LiTEfoot captures signals from nearby cell towers in just milliseconds, enabling real-time tracking with minimal power consumption. 

"We've developed a system that monitors assets for years using just a coin cell battery, making it practical for large-scale deployment," Garg said. "This award validates our belief that transformative technology doesn't need to be complex or power-hungry—it can emerge from rethinking fundamental approaches."

Their streamlined receiver architecture and advanced signal processing techniques allow LiTEfoot to scan a 3 GHz spectrum in just 10 milliseconds. 

"Our work offers a scalable solution for outdoor tracking and localization," Gosh said. "Being the runner-up for Best Poster at SenSys 2024 is a rewarding experience highlighting our hard work and innovation."  

The researchers emphasized the potential societal impact of their work. Garg pointed out that about 30% of food is wasted after harvest, while nearly a billion people go hungry. 

"LiTEfoot could transform food distribution by enabling continuous monitoring of perishable goods from farm to table," he said. "Imagine being able to track every small package of produce through the supply chain with tags that last years on a single battery—this could dramatically reduce food waste while ensuring fresher delivery to consumers."

Ghosh added that their system could make a meaningful impact across several sectors by enabling long-term, ultra-low-power tracking solutions. 

"In logistics, it can offer a scalable approach to reducing cargo theft, addressing a major supply chain issue," he said. "For urban mobility and smart cities, LiTEfoot can improve the efficiency of shared vehicle management and resource allocation. In agriculture and urban services, it can support sustainable monitoring practices, enabling better management of livestock and waste with minimal communication and energy needs."

Looking ahead, the team also aims to enhance LiTEfoot's accuracy to perform reliably in remote areas with sparse cellular coverage. 

"We're working to make LiTEfoot adaptable to a variety of ambient RF signal protocols, allowing it to operate independently of LTE availability," Gosh said. "This approach will ensure that, with the advent of 5G, 6G, and beyond, LiTEfoot remains a robust and future-proof solution for low-power outdoor localization."

The ACM SenSys conference is a premier forum for research on networked sensing and actuation systems, focusing on the design, development, deployment and challenges of intelligent sensors and actuators. These systems promise transformative applications by offering unprecedented instrumentation density and fidelity while addressing constraints like resource limitations, uncertainty, mobility and scale. 

—Story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, CS Communications