Error Analysis of Time-Based and Angle-Based Location Methods

Indoor positioning is highlighted recently, and various kinds of indoor positioning systems are under developments. Since positioning systems have their own characteristics, proper positioning scheme should be chosen according to the required specifications. Positioning methods are classified into time-based and angle-based one. This paper presents the error analysis of time-based and angle-based location methods. Because measurements of these methods are nonlinear, linearizations are needed in both cases to estimate the user position. In the linearization, Gauss-Newton method is used in both cases. To analyze the position error, we investigate the error ellipse parameters that include eccentricity, rotation angle, and the size of ellipse. Simulation results show that the major axes of TOA and AOA method lie in different quadrants at most region of workspace, especially where the geometry is poor. When the TOA/AOA hybrid is employed, it is found that the error ellipse is reduced to the intersection of ellipses of TOA and AOA.