Impact of NLOS propagation upon ranging precision in UWB systems

Abstract

The ultra wideband (UWB) radiolocation functionality usually relies on the ability to perform a very precise estimation of the time of flight (TOF). Unfortunately, in spite of the fine performances demonstrated by the UWB systems, indoor dense multipath channels may alter the precision of the range estimate from severe blockage situations. This paper addresses the general problem of non line of sight (NLOS) errors in the specific context of UWB range estimation. Typical ranging errors due to the NLOS propagation are exhibited by deriving experimental results from real indoor VNA measurements into realistic statistical error models.