Radio Propagation Models for TDOA Localization Performance Evaluation Exploiting Ray Tracer

In this paper, a deterministic channel model based on ray tracing (RT) is utilized to evaluate how the wave propagation mechanisms influence the realistic localization systems. Three-dimensional (3D) information of a university campus scenario with dense buildings is used for trials. RT is utilized to generate channel impulse responses (CIRs) between the targets and positioning nodes (sensors) under three frequency bands with various propagation mechanisms, e.g., multiple reflection, scattering, diffraction, and their combinations. Therewith, the CIRs are utilized to estimate target locations. The significance of this work lies in: (1) providing a measurement-free approach which is able to effectively evaluate the localization performances of realistic environment; (2) revealing how environment models and wave propagation mechanisms influence the localization performances. The proposed method can be easily transferred to evaluate other localization methods and to optimize deployment of localization sensor networks.