Angle of Arrival and Centimeter Distance Estimation on a Smart UWB Sensor Node

Abstract

Accurate and low-power indoor localization is becoming more and more of a necessity to empower novel consumer and industrial applications. In this field, the most promising technology is based on Ultra-Wideband (UWB) modulation; however, current UWB positioning systems do not reach centimeter accuracy in general deployments due to multi-path and nonisotropic antennas, still necessitating several fixed anchors to estimate an object's position in space. This paper presents an in-depth study and assessment of Angle of Arrival (AoA) UWB measurements using a compact, low-power solution integrating a novel commercial module with Phase Difference of Arrival (PDoA) estimation as integrated feature. Results demonstrate the possibility of reaching centimeter distance precision and 2.4°average angular accuracy in many operative conditions, e.g., in a 90°range around the center. Moreover, integrating the channel impulse response, the phase differential of arrival, and the point-to-point distance, an error correction model is discussed to compensate for reflections, multi-paths, and frontback ambiguity.

Current Status and Future Trends of Meter-Level Indoor Positioning Technology: A Review

“…In addition, since meter-level indoor positioning technologies are applied mostly to humans or smart robotics, the hardware platform and positioning solutions need to be lightweight and robust. With the continuous development of sensing technology, more and more positioning technologies and characteristics will be supported by the MEMS sensors and integrated into the smart hardware platform, which can be divided into radio-based sources-for instance, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)/UWB Angle of Arrival (AOA) and Angle of Departure (AOD) [108][109][110][111], acoustic-based sources such as acoustic AOA [112], and ultrasonic ranging [113]-and mapping-based sources such as Light Laser Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) [114], 4D millimeter wave radar [115], and depth/monocular camera (Author et al [116]). How to adaptively select and integrate the above-mentioned location sources and cover complex and changeable scenarios to realize meter-level and even submeter-level positioning performance is also a challenge that needs to be solved, and a more diversified, intelligent, and popularized indoor positioning system is the development goal in the future.…”

Collision Risk in Autonomous Vehicles: Classification, Challenges, and Open Research Areas

“…Data Method [67] BLE AoA Dataset [131,132] Analyze Indoor Localization Systems: Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Radio (UWB), Inertial Measurement Units(IMU), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), [68] Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) [133,134] Vehicle Geolocalization…”

On Indoor Localization Using WiFi, BLE, UWB, and IMU Technologies

“…The ability to access angle information from BLE devices opens up the opportunity for localization using a single anchor, which can significantly reduce IPS installation costs thanks to the possibility of fusing several localization estimates from a range of measurements and individual location estimates. Researchers are beginning to investigate the possibility of AoA determination on UWB devices as wll [132,133].…”