Multipath Exploitation for Emitter Localization using Ray-Tracing Fingerprints and Machine Learning

The precise localization of radio frequency (RF) transmitters in outdoor environments has been an important research topic in various fields for several years. Nowadays, the functionalities of many electronic devices are based on the position data of a radiofrequency transmitter using a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Spatially separated sensor scan measure the signal from the transmitter and estimate its location using parameters such as Time Of Arrival (ToA), Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA), Received Signal Strength (RSS) or Direction Of Arrival (DOA). However, certain obstacles in the environment can cause reflection, diffraction, or scattering of the signal. This so called multipath effect affects the measurements for the precise location of the transmitter. Previous studies have discarded multipath information and have not considered it valuable for locating the transmitter. Some studies used ray tracing (RT) to create position fingerprints, without reference measurements, in a simulated scenario. Others tested this concept with real measurement data, but this proved to be a more cumbersome method due to practical problems in the outdoor environment. This thesis exploits the concept of Channel Impulse Response (CIR) to address the problem of precision in outdoor localization environments affected by multipath. The study aims to fill the research gap by combining multipath information from simulation with real measurements in a machine learning framework. The research question was whether the localization could be improved by combining real measurements with simulations. We propose a method that uses the multipath fingerprint information from RT simulation with reference transmitters to improve the location estimation. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we implemented a TDoA location system enhanced with multipath fingerprints in an outdoor scenario. This thesis investigated suburban and rural areas using well-defined reflective components to characterize the localization multipath pattern. The results confirm the possibility of using multipath effects with real measurements to enhance the localization in outdoor situations. Instead of rejecting the multipath information, we can use them as an additional source of information.