TOA Estimation with Pulses of Unknown Shape

This paper investigates time of arrival estimation via impulse radio ultra-wideband technology. A dense multipath channel is assumed and frequency-selective propagation effects are taken into account that make the individual received pulses different in shape from the transmitted monocycles. Assuming only an approximate knowledge of the received pulses' duration, a time of arrival estimator is derived making use of least mean square techniques. The algorithm operates on energy measurements made on a folded version of the received signal. The estimator performance is investigated by simulation under implementation conditions of different complexity. Comparisons are made with other available schemes.