SALOS-A UWB Single-Anchor Indoor Localization System Based on a Statistical Multipath Propagation Model.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Indoor Positioning Systems
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Multi-anchor Ultra-Wideband (UWB) systems are common for industrial indoor localization but are costly and complex to install.
• Exploiting UWB signal multipath propagation offers a way to reduce infrastructure requirements and costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the UWB Single-Anchor Localization System (SALOS) in challenging indoor environments with complex multipath propagation.
• To develop and implement new algorithms for SALOS, focusing on sophisticated signal modeling without requiring reference measurements.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 3D statistical multipath propagation model for arbitrary spatial geometries.
• Modeled signal propagation, including path length and complex amplitudes, between anchors and candidate tag positions.
• Compared modeled signals to UWB measurements using a similarity metric and performed a majority decision for position estimation.

Main Results:

• Implemented SALOS in a modular fashion within a building for indoor evaluation.
• Achieved correct position estimations for over 73% of measurements across a fixed grid of 20 positions.
• Demonstrated the system's effectiveness in an indoor setting with unpredictable multipath propagation.

Conclusions:

• SALOS offers a cost-effective alternative to multi-anchor UWB localization systems for indoor environments.
• The developed algorithms and signal modeling approach enable accurate positioning without prior training or fingerprinting.
• The system shows significant potential for industrial indoor localization applications despite challenging propagation conditions.