<title>Non-GPS navigation utilizing randomly distributed sensor networks</title>

Abstract

The emergence of affordable practical miniature sensors has led to a tremendous leap forward in the ability to conduct effective Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) on the modern battlefield. Sensors are now impressively small and are capable of sensitively sensing many phenomena. Coupling this sensor data with a real world coordinate often provides the best tactical picture. However, it is not always practical to outfit these sensors with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers because of size, weight and power (SWAP) limitations. It is very conceivable that hundreds or thousands of these sensors could be randomly distributed over a region, precluding careful placement at specified locations. In this paper, we propose a method for not only locating the individual sensors, but also subsequently using the resulting sensor network as an alterative to GPS.

<title>Avoiding the Achilles heel of network-centric enterprises</title>

“…In another paper, we are presenting an alternative approach using ad-hoc distributed sensor networks . 5 Another concept that warrants increased attention is unit-relative positioning. In the absence of GPS it may difficult to determine a precise terrestrial position, but it may still be possible to determine the relative location of nearby units.…”