Permutation-Invariant Transformer Neural Architectures for Set-Based Indoor Localization Using Learned RSSI Embeddings

Abstract: We propose a permutation-invariant neural architecture for indoor localization using RSSI scans from Wi-Fi access points. Each scan is modeled as an unordered set of (BSSID, RSSI) pairs, where BSSIDs are mapped to learned embeddings and concatenated with signal strength. These are processed by a Set Transformer, enabling the model to handle variable-length, sparse inputs while learning attention-based representations over access point relationships. We evaluate the model on a dataset collected across a campus environment consisting of six buildings. Results show that the model accurately recovers fine-grained spatial structure and maintains performance across physically distinct domains. In our experiments, a simple LSTM consistently outperformed all other models, achieving the lowest mean localization error across three tasks (E1 - E3), with average errors as low as 2.23 m. The Set Transformer performed competitively, ranking second in every experiment and outperforming the MLP, RNN, and basic attention models, particularly in scenarios involving multiple buildings (E2) and multiple floors (E3). Performance degraded most in E2, where signal conditions varied substantially across buildings, highlighting the importance of architectural robustness to domain diversity. This work demonstrates that set-based neural models are a natural fit for signal-based localization, offering a principled approach to handling sparse, unordered inputs in real-world positioning tasks.