Impulse Radio UWB or Multicarrier UWB for Non-GPS Based Indoor Precise Positioning Systems

Hemish K. Parikh and William R. Michalson

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology for indoor precise positioning systems that can be used by fire fighters. Two promising techniques to achieve indoor positioning accuracy of better than 1 m are Impulse Radio Ultra Wideband (IR-UWB) and Multicarrier Ultra Wideband (MC-UWB). This paper provides insight into key concepts such as receiver synchronization and practical system implementation for both these techniques from the positioning system perspective. This is followed by a system level comparison listing advantages and disadvantages of both these techniques. Basic simulation results comparing performance of a precise positioning system using IR-UWB and MC-UWB are presented, followed by indoor ranging test results using a MC-UWB based prototype. It is demonstrated that such an MC-UWB based positioning system achieves ranging accuracy of better than 1 m in indoor multipath environments without occupying GHz of bandwidth and without interfering with other existing wireless systems.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 55, Number 1
Pages:	29 - 37
Cite this article:	Parikh, Hemish K., Michalson, William R., "Impulse Radio UWB or Multicarrier UWB for Non-GPS Based Indoor Precise Positioning Systems", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 55, No. 1, Spring 2008, pp. 29-37.
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