2,334 research outputs found
Cooperative and Distributed Localization for Wireless Sensor Networks in Multipath Environments
We consider the problem of sensor localization in a wireless network in a
multipath environment, where time and angle of arrival information are
available at each sensor. We propose a distributed algorithm based on belief
propagation, which allows sensors to cooperatively self-localize with respect
to one single anchor in a multihop network. The algorithm has low overhead and
is scalable. Simulations show that although the network is loopy, the proposed
algorithm converges, and achieves good localization accuracy
Target Tracking in Confined Environments with Uncertain Sensor Positions
To ensure safety in confined environments such as mines or subway tunnels, a
(wireless) sensor network can be deployed to monitor various environmental
conditions. One of its most important applications is to track personnel,
mobile equipment and vehicles. However, the state-of-the-art algorithms assume
that the positions of the sensors are perfectly known, which is not necessarily
true due to imprecise placement and/or dropping of sensors. Therefore, we
propose an automatic approach for simultaneous refinement of sensors' positions
and target tracking. We divide the considered area in a finite number of cells,
define dynamic and measurement models, and apply a discrete variant of belief
propagation which can efficiently solve this high-dimensional problem, and
handle all non-Gaussian uncertainties expected in this kind of environments.
Finally, we use ray-tracing simulation to generate an artificial mine-like
environment and generate synthetic measurement data. According to our extensive
simulation study, the proposed approach performs significantly better than
standard Bayesian target tracking and localization algorithms, and provides
robustness against outliers.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 201
Fundamental Limits of Wideband Localization - Part II: Cooperative Networks
The availability of positional information is of great importance in many
commercial, governmental, and military applications. Localization is commonly
accomplished through the use of radio communication between mobile devices
(agents) and fixed infrastructure (anchors). However, precise determination of
agent positions is a challenging task, especially in harsh environments due to
radio blockage or limited anchor deployment. In these situations, cooperation
among agents can significantly improve localization accuracy and reduce
localization outage probabilities. A general framework of analyzing the
fundamental limits of wideband localization has been developed in Part I of the
paper. Here, we build on this framework and establish the fundamental limits of
wideband cooperative location-aware networks. Our analysis is based on the
waveforms received at the nodes, in conjunction with Fisher information
inequality. We provide a geometrical interpretation of equivalent Fisher
information for cooperative networks. This approach allows us to succinctly
derive fundamental performance limits and their scaling behaviors, and to treat
anchors and agents in a unified way from the perspective of localization
accuracy. Our results yield important insights into how and when cooperation is
beneficial.Comment: To appear in IEEE Transactions on Information Theor
Distributed Local Linear Parameter Estimation using Gaussian SPAWN
We consider the problem of estimating local sensor parameters, where the
local parameters and sensor observations are related through linear stochastic
models. Sensors exchange messages and cooperate with each other to estimate
their own local parameters iteratively. We study the Gaussian Sum-Product
Algorithm over a Wireless Network (gSPAWN) procedure, which is based on belief
propagation, but uses fixed size broadcast messages at each sensor instead.
Compared with the popular diffusion strategies for performing network parameter
estimation, whose communication cost at each sensor increases with increasing
network density, the gSPAWN algorithm allows sensors to broadcast a message
whose size does not depend on the network size or density, making it more
suitable for applications in wireless sensor networks. We show that the gSPAWN
algorithm converges in mean and has mean-square stability under some technical
sufficient conditions, and we describe an application of the gSPAWN algorithm
to a network localization problem in non-line-of-sight environments. Numerical
results suggest that gSPAWN converges much faster in general than the diffusion
method, and has lower communication costs, with comparable root mean square
errors
Performance Limits and Geometric Properties of Array Localization
Location-aware networks are of great importance and interest in both civil
and military applications. This paper determines the localization accuracy of
an agent, which is equipped with an antenna array and localizes itself using
wireless measurements with anchor nodes, in a far-field environment. In view of
the Cram\'er-Rao bound, we first derive the localization information for static
scenarios and demonstrate that such information is a weighed sum of Fisher
information matrices from each anchor-antenna measurement pair. Each matrix can
be further decomposed into two parts: a distance part with intensity
proportional to the squared baseband effective bandwidth of the transmitted
signal and a direction part with intensity associated with the normalized
anchor-antenna visual angle. Moreover, in dynamic scenarios, we show that the
Doppler shift contributes additional direction information, with intensity
determined by the agent velocity and the root mean squared time duration of the
transmitted signal. In addition, two measures are proposed to evaluate the
localization performance of wireless networks with different anchor-agent and
array-antenna geometries, and both formulae and simulations are provided for
typical anchor deployments and antenna arrays.Comment: to appear in IEEE Transactions on Information Theor
A survey of localization in wireless sensor network
Localization is one of the key techniques in wireless sensor network. The location estimation methods can be classified into target/source localization and node self-localization. In target localization, we mainly introduce the energy-based method. Then we investigate the node self-localization methods. Since the widespread adoption of the wireless sensor network, the localization methods are different in various applications. And there are several challenges in some special scenarios. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of these challenges: localization in non-line-of-sight, node selection criteria for localization in energy-constrained network, scheduling the sensor node to optimize the tradeoff between localization performance and energy consumption, cooperative node localization, and localization algorithm in heterogeneous network. Finally, we introduce the evaluation criteria for localization in wireless sensor network
People-Sensing Spatial Characteristics of RF Sensor Networks
An "RF sensor" network can monitor RSS values on links in the network and
perform device-free localization, i.e., locating a person or object moving in
the area in which the network is deployed. This paper provides a statistical
model for the RSS variance as a function of the person's position w.r.t. the
transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). We show that the ensemble mean of the RSS
variance has an approximately linear relationship with the expected total
affected power (ETAP). We then use analysis to derive approximate expressions
for the ETAP as a function of the person's position, for both scattering and
reflection. Counterintuitively, we show that reflection, not scattering, causes
the RSS variance contours to be shaped like Cassini ovals. Experimental tests
reported here and in past literature are shown to validate the analysis
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