Pairwise Distance and Position Estimators From Differences in UWB Channels to Observers

We consider the problem of obtaining relative location information between two wireless nodes from the differences in their ultra-wideband (UWB) channels to observer nodes. Our approach focuses on the delays of multipath components (MPCs) extracted from the observed channels. For the two different cases of known and unknown MPC association between these channels, we present estimators for the distance and for the relative position vector between the two nodes. The position estimators require both MPC directions and MPC delays as input. All presented estimators exhibit very desirable technological properties: they do not require line-of-sight conditions, precise synchronization, or knowledge about the observer locations or about the environment. These advantages could enable low-cost wireless network localization in dynamic multipath environments. The exposition is complemented by a numerical evaluation of the estimation accuracy using random sampling, where especially the position estimators show the potential for great accuracy.

Pairwise Node Localization From Differences in Their UWB Channels to Observer Nodes

We consider the problem of localization and distance estimation between a pair of wireless nodes in a multipath propagation environment, but not the usual way of processing a channel measurement between them. We propose a novel paradigm which compares the two nodes' ultra-wideband (UWB) channels to other nodes, called observers. The key principle is that the channel impulse responses (CIRs) are similar at small inter-node distance $d$ and differ increasingly with increasing $d$. We present distance estimators which utilize the rich location information contained in the delay differences of extracted multipath components (MPCs). Likewise, we present estimators for the relative position vector which process both MPC delays and MPC directions. We do so for various important cases: with and without clock synchronization, delay measurement errors, and knowledge of the MPC association between the two CIRs. The estimators exhibit great technological advantages: they do not require precise time-synchronization, line-of-sight conditions, or knowledge about the observer locations or the environment. We study the estimation accuracy with a numerical evaluation based on random sampling and, additionally, with an experimental evaluation based on measurements in an indoor environment. The proposal shows the potential for great accuracy in theory and practice. Integrating the paradigm into existing localization algorithms and systems could enable low-cost localization of wireless users or networks in dynamic multipath settings.