2009 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop on Wireless Sensing, Local Positioning, and RFID

Since the ruling of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States to open up the spectrum from 3.1-10.6 GHz for ultra wideband (UWB) applications in 2002, interest in the use of UWB for localization outside of military applications has skyrocketed. The multi-purpose nature of UWB for localization and also high or low data rate communication make it robust and attractive in many ... View full abstract»

This paper analyses the performance of Kalman filter based algorithms for tracking of a moving person observed by UWB sensors in an indoor environment. It is shown that known tracking algorithms cannot correctly cope with sudden changes - maneuvers - in the movement of the localized person. The article proposes a new algorithm. It combines the input selection approach, which treats maneuvers as no... View full abstract»

Precise position estimation has always been a challenging but highly requested task in many technical problems. The time-difference of arrival (TDOA) based local position measurement system LPM uses the well-known Bancroft algorithm, which computes a closed-form solution to the non-linear range measurement equations. A critical issue of this computation method is that outliers in the measurements ... View full abstract»

This paper describes a system for three dimensional indoor and outdoor localization of animals using a sequential Monte-Carlo-Method. A Kalman based particle filter is used to improve the measurement quality by incorporating the dynamics of the target object. The positioning method was integrated into a system for animal behavior analysis which provides extensive features to identify habitual resi... View full abstract»

This paper discusses novel techniques to overcome problems arising when porting the surface acoustic wave approach of building passive radio-frequency identification and measurement systems to the electromagnetic domain without the need of mechanical (acoustical) delay lines. These techniques include the utilization of left-handed artificial delay lines and the increase of information density by u... View full abstract»

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems at ultra high frequencies operate in an environment exposed to fading. While state-of-the-art RFID readers utilise multiple receive antennas with antenna multiplexing in order to deal with the multipath propagation environment, this contribution proposes maximal ratio combining at RFID reader receivers. A dual receive antenna RFID reader is presented i... View full abstract»

In this paper we present a multi sensor concept for localization and augmented-reality visualization of backscatter RFID tags. The sensor data of a camera and a RFID FMCW reader system are combined based on a synthetic aperture radar principle. The system enables the localization of tagged goods without the use of any installed infrastructure. We integrate a FMCW RFID reader and a camera system in... View full abstract»

RFID (radio frequency identification) tag and reader antennas can be easily designed using EM analysis software. In this tutorial overview paper, we describe several techniques for designing the key RF portion of both 13.53 MHz and 900 MHz RFID tags and readers. The advantages and disadvantages of various types of EM analysis are reviewed and societal issues related to RFID are raised. Specific ex... View full abstract»

Recently, we showed that single negative media can significantly enhance the sensitivity of near-field probes. Inspired by this recent finding, we propose a new near-field probe that uses only one single split ring resonator instead of a periodic arrangement of these resonators. We show through numerical simulations that the new proposed probe lead to significant enhancement in the sensitivity as ... View full abstract»

A technique for the automatic detection of concealed dielectric objects carried by persons is presented. The method is applicable for microwave personnel scanners with sufficient signal bandwidth and is expected to resolve the trade-off with the privacy of the scanned persons, allowing for efficient detection without the need for a human operator. Algorithm description along with measurement resul... View full abstract»

In this paper the design and the implementation of a linear, non-uniform antenna array for a 77-GHz MIMO FMCW system that allows for the estimation of both the distance and the angular position of a target are presented. The goal is to achieve a good trade-off between the main beam width and the side lobe level. The non-uniform spacing in addition with the MIMO principle offers a superior performa... View full abstract»

This paper discusses and outlines applications of wireless sensing technology in the mining and minerals industry to provide enhanced assistance to mining machines. Three major applications can be performed by radar systems, such as surface profiling, positioning and collision avoidance. Radar sensors offer significant advantages compared to laser and ultrasonic in tough environments like rain, du... View full abstract»

Over the last years tremendous improvements of wireless positioning systems have been achieved. System accuracy has improved drastically and maturity changed from hand-soldered lab demonstrators to commercial products. In parallel applications moved from small, experimental installations to coverage of complete sites. Consequently the research focus shifts away from the positioning core technology... View full abstract»

Evaluation of received signal strength (RSS)-based indoor location system is presented. The proposed method starts from the field amplitude decay law in free-space conditions, but also taking into account the near-field terms for those cases where the distance between transmitter and receiver does not meet far-field conditions. The proposed method is tested in a real indoor scenario, being the fie... View full abstract»

Accurate localization systems, based on the measurement of the time of flight of a signal between radio devices, also known as real time location systems (RTLS) are becoming increasingly important especially in indoor applications. Due to severe multi path conditions, the largest problem for those RTLS systems is to detect the time of arrival of signals traveling over the direct line of sight path... View full abstract»

In an ever-increasing number of wireless communications applications the measurement of positions of transmitters distributed in space is desired. Demands on low cost and power consumption make solutions that allow positioning with existing communications hardware during the process of data transmission particularly interesting. In this paper we discuss a method for using IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee) tr... View full abstract»

In this contribution we discuss the first results of a running project1, I-LOV, within the German national research program for civil security funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) concerning improved time efficiency and reliable novel detection systems for search and rescue. Classical detection technology covers borescopes and geophones in combination w... View full abstract»

Mobile user tracking and seamless service continuity in heterogeneous network environments represent an issue, especially when users move from outdoor to indoor environments, and vice versa. Mobile terminals with these properties allow providers to enable new services. In this paper, a location aware mobility-assisted technique for both indoor and outdoor environments is presented. The technique p... View full abstract»