A Message Passing based Adaptive PDA Algorithm for Robust Radio-based Localization and Tracking

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive message passing algorithm for robust radio-based localization and tracking in multipath environments, effectively handling obstructed line-of-sight conditions and environmental uncertainties.

Contribution

The proposed algorithm uniquely combines adaptive probabilistic data association with multipath component analysis, enabling reliable localization without detailed environment knowledge.

Findings

Operates reliably in strong multipath environments.

Handles simultaneous temporary obstructions of all anchors.

Adapts online to changing SNR and LOS probabilities.

Abstract

We present a message passing algorithm for localization and tracking in multipath-prone environments that implicitly considers obstructed line-of-sight situations. The proposed adaptive probabilistic data association algorithm infers the position of a mobile agent using multiple anchors by utilizing delay and amplitude of the multipath components (MPCs) as well as their respective uncertainties. By employing a nonuniform clutter model, we enable the algorithm to facilitate the position information contained in the MPCs to support the estimation of the agent position without exact knowledge about the environment geometry. Our algorithm adapts in an online manner to both, the time-varying signal-to-noise-ratio and line-of-sight (LOS) existence probability of each anchor. In a numerical analysis we show that the algorithm is able to operate reliably in environments characterized by strong multipath propagation, even if a temporary obstruction of all anchors occurs simultaneously.