The Rosum Television Positioning Technology

M. Rabinowitz, J.J. Spilker

Abstract:	In the first portion of this paper, we address the question of whether the Global Positioning System can fulfill the needs of mobile wireless devices that operate in inclement environments. To answer this question, we analyze the theoretical performance of Assisted-GPS, for an idealized receiver, in difficult urban environments. The results of this analysis indicate that if accuracy, reliability and rapid acquisition time are important for a wireless application that will be used indoors, then an augmentation or replacement technology is necessary. To that end, we devote the second portion of this paper to an exploration of the Rosum Positioning Technology (RPT), which used the embedded synchronization signals in TV broadcasts to position mobile users. The technique discussed herein may be used to position a range of wireless devices that require location information when in inclement conditions, including PDA's, laptops, cellular phones, asset-tracking devices and radios for emergency response personnel. Since we make use of signals that are part of the Television Standard, the Rosum Positioning Technology requires no changes to the television broadcast stations. The TV signal can accommodate robust indoor positioning where GPS tends to fail, since the synchronization signals typically have a power advantage over GPS of more than 40dB. In addition, the effects of multipath are substantially mitigated since the signals have a bandwidth of roughly 6MHz, and considerably superior geometry for triangulating lateral position to that which GPS can provide. In overview, the technology exploits the considerable TV infrastructure to achieve more reliable, accurate and rapid positioning than can be achieved with GPS alone.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation and CIGTF 22nd Guidance Test Symposium (2003) June 23 - 25, 2003 Hyatt Regency Hotel Albuquerque, NM
Pages:	528 - 541
Cite this article:	Rabinowitz, M., Spilker, J.J., "The Rosum Television Positioning Technology," Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation and CIGTF 22nd Guidance Test Symposium (2003), Albuquerque, NM, June 2003, pp. 528-541.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In