Pulsed-RF Ultra Wideband Transceivers for Aiding in Distributed Navigation Networks

B. Dewberry

Abstract:	Although it should be intuitive that precision, multipath-resistant, peer-to-peer range measurements between GNSS receivers will increase the accuracy of navigation in GNSS-compromised environments, a novel network protocol is necessary to maximize update rate and scalability in a dynamic ad-hoc deployment. This Media Access Control (MAC) layer, built upon the pulsed-RF physical layer and a two-way time-of-flight link layer, is tightly coupled with the navigation solution of each node. The state estimate and covariance of each node is shared in the communication protocol enabling each node to optimally select those neighbors with combined direction and estimated dimensional accuracy to minimize each node's error at each time epoch. This distributed iterative techniques results in a novel "propagation of accuracy" (rather than data) throughout a distributed network of 2 or more nodes supporting sparse and/or temporary reference locations in field automation. Experimental results will be provided along with verified simulation results which expand the solution to support high scalability. The key innovation is tight coupling of Kalman estimation with low-level network scheduling, with a focus on accuracy rather than data throughput or routing, in a Mobile Ad-hoc Navigation Network (MANNET) application.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 26th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2013) September 16 - 20, 2013 Nashville Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, TN
Pages:	1620 - 1625
Cite this article:	Dewberry, B., "Pulsed-RF Ultra Wideband Transceivers for Aiding in Distributed Navigation Networks," Proceedings of the 26th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2013), Nashville, TN, September 2013, pp. 1620-1625.
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