Real Time Position Location System Using Ultra-Wideband Technology
Konstantinos Deligiorgis
Abstract
The last decades, the GPS technology is extensively used and exists at the center of discussion and research. The capabilities of such a system are well known, but it is not yet possible to create an affordable and easy solution based on the existing GPS infrastructure, for signal dispersion inside buildings and through obstacles. However, the knowledge that has been acquired the recent years makes the UWB technology the ideal candidate to solve this problem, as it is a new short-range wireless communication protocol that works via radio waves. This new technology supports the transfer of digital information and unlike similar technologies, it operates at very high frequencies using low power, and therefore in a wide range of frequencies of the range of GHz. UWB technology can be used to obtain extremely accurate spatial and directional data. The aim of this Thesis is the development of a Real Time Location System (RTLS) that is going to work indoors by using UWB technology. First, the analysis of the applications as well as the candidate technologies, that can be used in such a system, are presented. The UWB technology was chosen, based on the benefits that it offers and by using the known localization algorithms, the position of an object in space could accurately be estimated. Once the UWB technology and the DWM1000 transceiver, which was provided by DecaWave, were analyzed and studied, following the IEEE.802.15.4 standard, a printed circuit board (PCB) was designed and manufactured at the NTUA Electronics and Systems Laboratory. Furthermore, the Two Way Ranging (TWR) method is presented, from the Time of Arrival localization technique and the SS-TWR and SS-TWR variants used by the DWM1000 transceiver to estimate the distance between two units. Subsequently, an attempt was made to develop software based on these two methods with the appropriate channel configuration. Finally, the logic behind the software is presented, with the help of flowcharts, as well as the results obtained from the experimental process that was performed in a predefined environment.