UWB Positioning Experiment in a typical Snowy Environment

Abstract

In this paper, we present an UWB positioning experiment performed in a typical snowy environment with a portable ultra wideband (UWB) system. The study shows the possibility of using UWB technology in a context of real-time positioning of avalanche victims. At first, the performed experiment is described. Then, the positioning algorithm based on least-squares (LS) -Taylor series expansion (TSE) is detailed. This algorithm benefits from a prior knowledge of time difference of arrival (TDOA) error biases. Finally, experimental results obtained from measurements are discussed. The obtained results show that the proposed algorithm seems to be accurate and compatible for emergency requirements (e.g. less than lm 2D-RMSE at ranges up to 30m).