A cooperative target location algorithm based on time difference of arrival in wireless senor networks

In order to improve the location accuracy of the centroid algorithm in binary-detection sensor networks, a cooperative target location algorithm based on time difference of arrival was proposed. This algorithm only needs the position information and the target signal arrival time information of four nodes; it is simple in principle and calculation. Besides, because this algorithm used the centroid information of the four nodes, the algorithm can tolerant some minor error including the node position error and the time difference error. Simulations were made, and the results shows that the algorithm can realize accurate target location when there is none of error in the information of node information and time difference of arrival time, and the effectiveness of the algorithm is better than the centroid algorithm when there are minor error in the information of node position and time difference of arrival time.