IEEE 802.11mc Ranging Performance in a Real NLOS Environment

Since IEEE 802.11 defined a couple of enhancements that allow accurate time measurements in COTS Wi-Fi devices, the possibility of achieving precise low-cost distance estimations in Wi-Fi has become a reality. However, many sources of error, such as bandwidth limitations of the Wi-Fi signal, limited clock rate in the device, multipath propagation due to the obstacles in the indoor environment, etc., may add noise to the time measurements and therefore distort the estimated ranging. This study aims at covering the gap existing in the literature by assessing the performance of the ranging estimation in real IEEE 802.11mc stations in a typical NLOS environment. The impact on the accuracy is also explored when the station is held in different positions with respect to the floor.