Emitter velocity estimation comparison for frequency difference of arrival measurement based single and multiple reference lateration algorithm

Abstract

The accuracy at which the instantaneous velocity and position of a non-stationary emitting source estimated using a lateration algorithm depends on several factors such as the lateration algorithm approach, the number and choice of reference receiving station (RS) used in developing the lateration algorithm. In this paper, the use of multiple reference RSs was proposed to improve the velocity estimation accuracy of the frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) based lateration algorithm. The velocity estimation performance of the proposed multiple reference FDOA based lateration algorithm is compared with the conventional approach of using single reference RS at some selected emitter positions using Monte Carlo simulation. Simulation result based on an equilateral triangle RS configuration shows that the use of multiple reference RSs improved the velocity estimation accuracy of the lateration algorithm. Based on the selected emitter positions, a reduction in velocity estimation error of about 0.033m/s and 1.31 m/s for emitter positions at ranges 0.5 km and 5 km respectively was achieved using the multiple reference lateration algorithm.