Evaluation of the LTE positioning capabilities under typical multipath channels

Abstract

The Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a mobile communication standard that is receiving significant attention, and especially offers positioning capabilities by specifying a dedicated downlink signal, i.e. the positioning reference signal (PRS). Thus, this technology can improve the location of mobile terminals operating in harsh environments, such as urban or indoor scenarios. This paper presents a study of the impact of the channel on the positioning capabilities of LTE with respect to the signal bandwidth. For that purpose, typical channel models, such as those recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), are used to obtain timing error distributions by means of the histogram of maximum likelihood estimates. The results obtained represent the worst-case scenario since the applied estimation process does not consider the presence of the multipath channel. The dependency of the timing error distributions with respect to the type of channel model is also analysed.

A Technology-agnostic GNSS/INS Real-time Sensor Fusion Platform with Ultra Wide Band Cooperative Distance Measurements for Terrestrial Vehicle Navigation

“…In outdoor scenarios there are fewer works that characterise statistically the measurement error. Works in [13,14] provide a statistical characterization of the ranging error based on emulation and measurements, respectively for OFDM-based waveforms in outdoor scenarios. We consider [13] since characterization is for longer range than [14].…”

“…Works in [13,14] provide a statistical characterization of the ranging error based on emulation and measurements, respectively for OFDM-based waveforms in outdoor scenarios. We consider [13] since characterization is for longer range than [14]. In [13] the error performance is analysed for LTE based ranging, for a dominant LOS scenario with negligible multipath effect, denoted as quasi-AWGN and a strong multipath scenario, such as the urban channel.…”

“…We consider [13] since characterization is for longer range than [14]. In [13] the error performance is analysed for LTE based ranging, for a dominant LOS scenario with negligible multipath effect, denoted as quasi-AWGN and a strong multipath scenario, such as the urban channel. For the LOS environment the error is modelled as,ρ…”

“…For the scenario with strong multipath component we resort to a numerical approach based on the cumulative density function results in the urban channels (see Fig. 5-18 from [13]). That is, the ranging measurements are modelled as random variables with realisations generated by inverse transform sampling applied to the CDF in [ [13], Fig.5-18].…”

LTE receiver design and multipath analysis for navigation in urban environments

“…The positioning performance achieved with LTE signals has been analyzed in the literature, andseveral software‐defined receivers (SDRs) have been proposed for navigation with real and laboratory‐emulated LTE signals . Experimental results demonstrated navigation solutions with different types of LTE reference signals in different environments, achieving meter‐level accuracy …”