Performance of NLOS Base Station Exclusion in cmWave 5G Positioning

Abstract

Positioning methods relying on cellular signals are subject to severe degradation errors due to the inherent harsh working conditions of urban scenarios. In contrast, emerging applications are gradually requesting a more accurate and reliable positioning solution, thus requiring the implementation of alternative measures to minimize such degradation. This paper describes a method for detecting faulty measurements from base station (BS) affected by non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation. The method monitors the residuals resulting from the least-squares positioning solution, inspired by the approach implemented by Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) techniques in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers. The method has been tested through simulations based on a deep urban deployment map, which comes with an experimental data file of user’s position. Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) of 5G New Radio (NR) operating in the centimeter-wave (cmWave) band is used. Results confirm the utility of implementing NLOS monitoring method to achieve a better performance assessment under realistic assumptions while using 5G positioning signals.