On Time-of-arrival Positioning in a Multipath Environment

Wireless geolocation in a multipath environment is of particular interest for wideband communications and fast-developing ultrawideband (UWB) technologies. Conventional methods are solely based on first arriving signals. In this paper, it is investigated whether and under what conditions processing delay estimates of multipath components in addition to first arrivals can enhance the positioning accuracy. It is shown that the enhancement depends on two principal factors: strength of multipath components and variance of nonline-of-sight (NLOS) delays. Analytical results, which are derived as an extension of a single-path propagation case (IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., Feb. 2006), are presented first. Their practical implications are then discussed by examining several numerical examples. Finally, modified schemes of practical interest in a multipath environment are proposed