Network localization and navigation give rise to a new paradigm for communications and contextual data collection, enabling a variety of new applications that rely on position information of mobile nodes (agents). The performance of such networks can be significantly improved via the use of cooperation. Therefore, a deep understanding of information exchange and cooperation in the network is crucial for the design of location-aware networks. This article presents an exploration of cooperative network localization and navigation from a theoretical foundation to applications, covering technologies and spatiotemporal cooperative algorithms

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Abstract-Real-time and reliable location information of mobile nodes is a key enabler for many emerging wireless network applications. Such information can be obtained via network navigation, a new paradigm in which nodes exploit both spatial and temporal cooperation to infer their positions. In this paper, we establish a theoretical foundation for network navigation and determine the fundamental limits of navigation accuracy using equivalent Fisher information analysis. We then introduce the notion of carry-over information and provide a geometrical interpretation for the evolution of navigation information. Our framework unifies the navigation information obtained from spatial and temporal cooperation, leading to a deep understanding of information evolution and cooperation benefits in navigation networks.Index Terms-Cooperative network, localization, navigation, Cramér-Rao bound (CRB), equivalent Fisher information (EFI).

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