A comparative performance analysis of four geolocation methods in terms of their theoretical root mean square positioning errors is provided. Comparison is established in two different ways: strict and average. In the strict type, methods are examined for a particular geometric configuration of base stations(BSs) with respect to mobile position, which determines a given
noise profile affecting the respective time-of-arrival (TOA) or timedifference-
of-arrival (TDOA) estimates. In the average type, methods
are evaluated in terms of the expected covariance matrix of
the position error over an ensemble of random geometries, so that
comparison is geometry independent. Exact semianalytical equations
and associated lower bounds (depending solely on the noise
profile) are obtained for the average covariance matrix of the position
error in terms of the so-called information matrix specific to
each geolocation method. Statistical channel models inferred from
field trials are used to define realistic prior probabilities for the
random geometries. A final evaluation provides extensive results
relating the expected position error to channel model parameters
and the number of base stations.Peer Reviewe
