BeamLoc - an approach for NLoS localization in UWB indoor environments

Abstract

Indoor localization for non line of sight (NLoS) situations in unknown environments has not yet been satisfactorily solved. A new algorithm, called BeamLoc, is presented in this paper, which does not assume any a priori information about the environment. The position of a robot with an arbitrary position should be estimated via several access points (AP) installed in the indoor scenario. The robot is equipped with a compass to guarantee a common spatial reference within the APs. Using beamforming the APs steer to a certain direction, which is utilized at the APs to estimate the direction of arrival (DoA) of the signal emitted by the robot. Also a time of arrival (ToA) estimation is performed, so that ToA and DoA estimates of the different APs can be combined to estimate the robot's position within a centimeter accuracy, thanks to the huge bandwidth.