Guided collaborative position determination for air navigation signals

Abstract

The continuous and accurate estimation of aerial navigation target positions presents a significant challenge, primarily due to the lack of data with sufficient temporal continuity. Notably, existing research has seldom examined the impact of signal emission probability on the performance of ground-based positioning systems. To address the issues of localization stability and continuity for aerial targets, this study proposes the guided collaborative position determination (GPD) method. This approach leverages an interrogation-response principle for navigation signals to improve trajectory continuity. By actively sending ranging query signals from ground stations to elicit responses from airborne targets, the probability of signal exposure is increased, directly addressing the root cause of data discontinuity. Furthermore, a time difference of arrival localization model based on the sum of distances is established, enabling continuous positioning and tracking of multiple targets through particle filtering. Experimental results demonstrate that the GPD method significantly enhances localization accuracy for dense targets, particularly under conditions of small sample sizes. Computational analyses also indicate marked improvements in both inter-station communication and processing efficiency. This study introduces a novel approach to enhancing localization continuity for dense navigation signals and provides valuable insights for developing next-generation distributed ground-based positioning systems. Thus, the proposed method advances both theoretical understanding and engineering practice in critical domains such as airspace surveillance and unmanned aerial vehicle swarm management.