Comparing Time-Based and Hybrid Time-Based/Frequency Based Multi-Platform Geo-Location Systems

Abstract

While time difference of arrival (TDOA) information is sufficient to passively solve for the location of a radio frequency transmitter, frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) information may be added to the TDOA information to solve for both the position and velocity of the transmitter. This analysis implements a stochastic discrete event simulation, written in Java, to compare and stochastically describe, under a variety of conditions, the differences between a mixed TDOA/FDOA Multi-platform Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geo-location System and that of the same system which uses TDOA information only. The presented analysis compares beth solution types for two- and three-dimensional fixes across: various measurement error distributions and correlation values, sensor network geometry, and sensor platform selection. The simulation results show first order stochastic dominance in the accuracy of the TDOA/FDOA solution in the two-dimensional scenarios. In the three-dimensional scenarios, sensor network to target geometry dominates both solutions' accuracy. While solution accuracy is used as the primary method of effectiveness, the distribution of each solution's uncertainty is also compared. Finally, the simulation itself remains a useful tool for further system design experimentation, performance indication, and as a means to describe system capabilities to the war fighter.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA337369

Entities

People

  • Andrew D. Stewart

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Computational Science
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Frequency Bands
  • Geometry
  • Global Positioning Systems
  • Information Science
  • Information Systems
  • Operating Systems
  • Programming Languages
  • Sensor Networks
  • Signal Processing
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • Web Browsers
  • World Geodetic System

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)

Technology Areas

  • Space