Baseline Sensitivity for 2-D Magnetoquasistatic Through-the-Wall Position Sensing

Magnetoquasistatic (MQS) fields are not significantly disturbed by dielectrics and have been demonstrated for accurate position sensing in GPS-denied or occluded indoor environments. Previous experiments utilizing the Through-the-Wall technique have verified average position accuracies of under 1m inside a residential house under specific configurations [1] . This abstract will demonstrate the sensitivity of the MQS system baseline and how the 2-D indoor position errors increase as the separation between transmitter nodes decreases. The primary purpose of this work is to advance the understanding of transmitter node placement and mounting limitations on a fire-truck or fire-engine for emergency first responder applications and the effects on the sensitivity of the tracking accuracy. Due to practical lengths of the fire-truck, maximum baselines of about 9m and minimum baselines of about 5m are expected.