This paper describes significant factors on spatial error distribution measured in a given indoor space with a local positioning system which utilizes spread spectrum ultrasonic waves generated by narrow directional ultrasonic transmitters. The positioning error has interestingly been discussed from the viewpoints of the dilution of precision (DOP) and the ranging error due to the transmitter directional characteristic, mainly. The indoor 3-D position is calculated by means of an algorithm using distances from the transmitters located at the four corners of the ceiling to a mobile receiver. From the result of these experiments, it has been usefully found that the positioning error can be more largely influenced on the DOP of vertical direction than it of horizontal direction and that its average is of 3.43[cm] rms for all 3-D measurable points. These findings obtained from the work imply that the 3-D indoor positioning can be realized with an acceptable centimeter-order of precision. Moreover, they suggest that it has to be considered from the viewpoints of not only the ranging error, which could be yielded by the distance measurement, but also the DOP, which is inevitably obtained by a geometrical arrangement relative to the transmitters and receiver.
Propagation characteristics and range experiments of spread spectrum 40kHz ultrasonic waves have been explored under band-limited frequency. Comparative experiments were conducted using two arrangements combining a broadband speaker and a microphone for the broadband case, and an all-purpose receiving transducer and the broadband speaker for the band-limited case. Under the broadband condition, range accuracy measurements and evaluation of signal discrimination in a code division multiple transmission were made demonstrating 0.034% (corresponding to about 7mm in range distance) of range accuracy for a full-scale distance of 21.6m, demonstrating high signal discrimination. The severely band-limited experiment improved accuracy from 0.084% for a distance of 8.4m to 0.063% for a greater distance of 14.4m using a longer M-sequence length by extending shift registers from 10-bit to 15-bit. These experimental results show promise in the intended application of ultrasonic spread spectra to local positioning systems.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.