Terrestrial Network-Based Positioning and Navigation

ABSTRACT The fundamental technologies and signal-processing approaches to estimate the position of a mobile device using terrestrial network-based radio communication systems are addressed in Chapter 3. The potential position-related information that can be extracted from a propagating signal is reviewed, namely: received signal strength (RSS), time of arrival (TOA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), and angle of arrival (AOA). Then the fundamental techniques to derive the position information from a collection of such measurements are explained, according to the classification in geometric techniques (either deterministic or statistical) and mapping (or fingerprinting) techniques. The most common sources of error affecting the above-mentioned processes are then analyzed. The chapter continues presenting the positioning approaches typically adopted in different network technologies (i.e., cellular networks, wireless LANs, and wireless sensor networks), addressing the underlying signal format, the most suitable kind of measurement, and the associated positioning and navigation algorithms. Particular attention is devoted to the ultrawideband technology, as the most promising signal format to implement high-performance terrestrial positioning.