In wireless networks, an essential step for precise range-based localization is the high-resolution estimation of multipath channel delays. The resolution of traditional delay estimation algorithms ...is inversely proportional to the bandwidth of the training signals used for channel probing. Considering that typical training signals have limited bandwidth, delay estimation using these algorithms often leads to poor localization performance. To mitigate these constraints, we exploit the multiband and carrier frequency switching capabilities of wireless transceivers and propose to acquire channel state information (CSI) in multiple bands spread over a large frequency aperture. The data model of the acquired measurements has a multiple shift-invariance structure, and we use this property to develop a high-resolution delay estimation algorithm. We derive the Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) for the data model and perform numerical simulations of the algorithm using system parameters of the emerging IEEE 802.11be standard. Simulations show that the algorithm is asymptotically efficient and converges to the CRB. To validate modeling assumptions, we test the algorithm using channel measurements acquired in real indoor scenarios. From these results, it is seen that delays (ranges) estimated from multiband CSI with a total bandwidth of 320 MHz show an average RMSE of less than 0.3 ns (10 cm) in 90% of the cases.
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are widely used for navigation and time distribution
, features that are indispensable for critical infrastructure such as mobile communication networks, as ...well as emerging technologies such as automated driving and sustainable energy grids
. Although GNSS can provide centimetre-level precision, GNSS receivers are prone to many-metre errors owing to multipath propagation and an obstructed view of the sky, which occur particularly in urban areas where accurate positioning is most needed
. Moreover, the vulnerabilities of GNSS, combined with the lack of a back-up system, pose a severe risk to GNSS-dependent technologies
. Here we demonstrate a terrestrial positioning system that is independent of GNSS and offers superior performance through a constellation of radio transmitters, connected and time-synchronized at the subnanosecond level through a fibre-optic Ethernet network
. Using optical and wireless transmission schemes similar to those encountered in mobile communication networks, and exploiting spectrally efficient virtual wideband signals, the detrimental effects of multipath propagation are mitigated
, thus enabling robust decimetre-level positioning and subnanosecond timing in a multipath-prone outdoor environment. This work provides a glimpse of a future in which telecommunication networks provide not only connectivity but also GNSS-independent timing and positioning services with unprecedented accuracy and reliability.
In developing a high accuracy terrestrial radio navigation system, as a complement to a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), it is recognized that the performance of time delay estimation is ...proportional to, and thereby limited by, the signal bandwidth. Given a possibly narrow signal bandwidth, the central carrier phase can, alternatively, provide a better distance accuracy, though the central carrier phase cycle ambiguity should be resolved. In practice, the carrier phase may be perturbed by multipath. In this paper, considering an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, we propose a two-step carrier phase estimation method to reduce the error introduced by multipath. First, the propagation delay of the LoS path is coarsely determined, then the carrier phase is estimated using the earlier determined coarse time delays. Furthermore, a positioning model only based on carrier phase estimates is presented in this paper. The proposed technique is evaluated by statistical analyses and a simulated OFDM-based terrestrial positioning system in different roadway multipath environments. The results show that the impact of multipath on carrier phase estimation can be largely mitigated, so that the carrier phase can be used for precise positioning. In addition, fixing the integer carrier phase cycle ambiguities can significantly reduce the time for the position solution to converge to high precision.
This paper presents a methodology to design a sparse multiband ranging signal with a large virtual bandwidth, from which time delay and carrier phase are estimated by a low complexity multivariate ...maximum likelihood (ML) method. In the estimation model for a multipath channel, not all reflected paths are considered, and time delay and carrier phase are estimated in a step-wise manner to further reduce the computational load. By introducing a measure of dependence and a measure of bias for a multipath reflection, we analyse the bias, precision and accuracy of time delay and carrier phase estimation. Since these two indicators are determined by the signal spectrum pattern, they are used to formulate an optimization for signal design. By solving the optimization problem, only a few bands from the available signal spectrum are selected for ranging. Consequently, the designed signal only occupies a small amount of signal spectrum but has a large virtual bandwidth and can thereby still offer a high ranging precision with only a small bias, based on the low-complexity simplified ML method. Numerical and laboratory experiments are carried out to evaluate the ranging performance of the proposed estimation method based on sparsely selected signal bands. Relative positioning, in which we only measure a change in position, based on either the time delay estimates or the carrier phase estimates, is presented as a proof-of-concept for precise positioning. The results show that positioning based on only 7 out of 16 signal bands, sparsely placed in the available spectrum, achieves a decimeter level accuracy when using time delay estimates, and a millimeter level accuracy when using carrier phase estimates. Compared with the case of using all available bands, and without largely decreasing the positioning performance, the computational complexity when using the sparse multiband signal can be reduced by about 80%.
For validation and demonstration of high accuracy ranging and positioning algorithms and systems, a wideband radio signal generation and acquisition testbed, tightly synchronized in time and ...frequency, is needed. The development of such a testbed requires solutions to several challenges. Tight time and frequency synchronization, derived from a centrally distributed time-frequency reference signal, needs to be maintained in the hardware of the transmitter and receiver nodes, and wideband signal acquisition requires sustainable data throughput between the receiver and host PC as well as data storage at GB level. This article presents a testbed for wideband radio signal acquisition, for validation and demonstration of high accuracy ranging and positioning. It consists of multiple Ettus X310 universal software radio peripherals (USRPs) and supports high accuracy (<; 100 ps) time-deterministic, sustainable signal transmission and acquisition, with a bandwidth up to 320 MHz (in dual channel mode) and frequencies up to 6 GHz. Generation and processing of wideband arbitrary signal waveforms is done offline. To realize these features, radio frequency on chip (RFNoC) compatible HDL units were developed for integration in the X310 SDR platform. Wideband transmission and signal acquisition at a lower duty cycle is applied to reduce the data offloading throughput to the host's personal computer (PC). Benchmarking of the platform was performed to demonstrate sustainable long duration dual channel acquisition. Indoor range measurements with the synchronous operation of the testbed show a decimeter-level accuracy.
UWB pulse detection and TOA estimation using GLRT Xie, Yan; Janssen, Gerard J.M.; Shakeri, Siavash ...
EURASIP journal on advances in signal processing,
09/2017, Volume:
2017, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In this paper, a novel statistical approach is presented for time-of-arrival (TOA) estimation based on first path (FP) pulse detection using a sub-Nyquist sampling ultra-wide band (UWB) receiver. The ...TOA measurement accuracy, which cannot be improved by averaging of the received signal, can be enhanced by the statistical processing of a number of TOA measurements. The TOA statistics are modeled and analyzed for a UWB receiver using threshold crossing detection of a pulse signal with noise. The detection and estimation scheme based on the Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) detector, which captures the full statistical information of the measurement data, is shown to achieve accurate TOA estimation and allows for a trade-off between the threshold level, the noise level, the amplitude and the arrival time of the first path pulse, and the accuracy of the obtained final TOA.
This paper presents the channel measurements performed within a closed metal cabinet at 60 GHz covering the frequency range 57-62 GHz. Two different volumes of an empty metal cupboard are considered ...to emulate the environment of interest (an industrial machine). Furthermore, we have considered a number of scenarios such as line of sight, non line of sight, and placing absorbers. A statistical channel model is provided to aid short-range wireless link design within such a reflective and confined environment. Based on the measurements, the large- and small-scale parameters are extracted and fitted using the standard log-normal and Saleh-Valenzuela models, respectively. The obtained results are characterized by a very small path loss exponent, a single cluster phenomenon, and a significantly large root-mean-square (RMS) delay spread. The results show that covering a wall with absorber material dramatically reduces the RMS delay spread. Finally, the proposed channel model is validated by comparing the measured channel with a simulated channel, where the simulated channel is generated from the extracted parameters.
In this paper, a new framework is proposed for least-squares localization based on estimated ranges, covering time-difference-of-arrival (TDoA), time-of-arrival (ToA), and received signal strength ...(RSS) cases. The multidimensional nonlinear localization problem is first transformed to a lower dimension and then solved iteratively. Within the proposed transformed least-squares (TLS) framework, we introduce a method in which the localization problem is transformed to one dimension (1-D). In this way, compared to the classical nonlinear least-squares (NLS) type of methods, the amount of computations in each iteration is greatly reduced; a reduction of 67% for a 3-D positioning system is shown. Hence, the introduced 1-D iterative (1DI) method is fairly light on the computational load. The way to choose the 1-D parameter is proposed, and theoretical expressions for the convergence rate and the root- mean-squared error (RMSE) of the 1DI estimator are derived. Validation is performed mainly based on actual ultra-wideband (UWB) radio measurements, collected in typical office environments, with signal bandwidths varying from 0.5 to 7.5 GHz. Supplementary simulations are also included for validation. Results show that, in terms of RMSE, the 1DI method performs better than the linear least-squares (LLS) method, where the solution is obtained noniteratively, and performs similarly as NLS, especially in TDoA cases.
Coastal squeeze is the largest threat for sandy coastal areas. To mitigate seaward threats, erosion and sea level rise, sand nourishment is commonly applied. However, its long-term consequences for ...macroinvertebrate fauna, critical to most ecosystem services of sandy coasts, are still unknown. Seventeen sandy beaches – nourished and controls – were sampled along a chronosequence to investigate the abundance of four dominant macrofauna species and their relations with nourishment year and relevant coastal environmental variables. Dean's parameter and latitude significantly explained the abundance of the spionid polychaete Scolelepis squamata, Beach Index (BI), sand skewness, beach slope and latitude explained the abundance of the amphipod Haustorius arenarius and Relative Tide Range (RTR), recreation and sand sorting explained the abundance of Bathyporeia sarsi. For Eurydice pulchra, no environmental variable explained its abundance. For H. arenarius, E. pulchra and B. sarsi, there was no relation with nourishment year, indicating that recovery took place within a year after nourishment. Scolelepis squamata initially profited from the nourishment with “over-recolonisation”. This confirms its role as an opportunistic species, thereby altering the initial community structure on a beach after nourishment. We conclude that the responses of the four dominant invertebrates studied in the years following beach nourishment are species specific. This shows the importance of knowing the autecology of the sandy beach macroinvertebrate fauna in order to be able to mitigate the effects of beach nourishment and other environmental impacts.
In this paper, a novel low-complexity time-of-arrival (TOA) estimation strategy and a conceptual receiver setup for ultrawideband (UWB) signals is proposed, and its performance is evaluated. The ...receiver consists of an analog peak detector followed by two RC filters with different time constants. From two exponentially decaying signals, the TOA of the first peak of the received signal is reconstructed. This solution requires simple signal processing and sampling rates on the order of only a few tens of megahertz. At the same time, the achieved range error is at centimeter level since the large signal bandwidth used is fully exploited. To allow for performance flexibility, a statistical framework is proposed in which results of multiple initial TOA estimates are combined into a final estimate. Impairments due to narrowband interference are investigated, and a coarse acquisition scheme based on maximum energy detection is described. This last step is required for proper operation of the TOA receiver. A link budget analysis, which is based on the FCC power limitations for UWB signals, shows that reliable ranging is feasible up to 300 m in line-of-sight situations and up to 60 m in non-line-of-sight cases. The presented solution avoids the main technological challenges, namely extremely high sampling rates and complex processing at the receiver, which currently limit practical implementations of high-precision UWB positioning systems.
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