Radio frequency triangulation (positioning)

Question

I would like to know whether it is possible in any way to triangulate (or otherwise) to get the location of a moving object within a certain area, say 200 mx 200 m, using radio waves. I looked at some transceivers, and the range should not be impossible (the budget does not really matter). What I need? Is there some reading material there?

What I was thinking about had several “antennas” located around a certain area, listening to the radio frequency signal from a moving object — and then somehow calculate the distance from the object to the antenna and thus get the exact location of the object by combining data from all antennas.

How is this possible, anyone want to point me in the right direction? Many thanks to the guys.

Edit: Forgot to mention that accuracy should not be so accurate, maybe ~ 15 cm?

Answer 1

Phased arrays are used for beamforming : sending a signal in a specific direction and estimating the direction of arrival.

DOA and several antenna arrays can be used for Localization , which is what you are looking for. This source explains that 2D localization can be performed with 3 receivers using only TDOA information.

I'm not sure how practical it is or applicable to the problem you want to solve, just a prospectus for investigation.

Answer 2

well, a similar question was sent via this link, you can definitely give it a chance ... https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/8690/signal-triangulation

Personally, I think if your target area really looks like 200 m X 200 m, you can take a look at RFID-based solutions. Passive RFID systems use something called a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) to determine how close an object is to an RFID reader. RSSI cannot tell you the exact range, but you will probably find out if it is approaching or far. I saw that RFID systems are used to identify truck loads in this area of ​​about the same size as your requirements.

The only caution is that if you use several tags for an object to direct the target, then the RFID will not be as accurate as the RSSI level from different tags will not give the final result.

The phased array system is very accurate, but expensive.

You can find some reference documents in this article . It has a good collection of radio frequency guides and orientation guides.

Answer 3

There are quite a lot of academic work on this subject, for example. search for scientists and products, for example. ekahau . The simplest option is probably a trilateration with hardware that reports the RSSI that you use to output the distance. The difference in signal arrival time is another level of accuracy and complexity.

Many of these methods are quite sensitive to the environment: an accuracy of 15 cm in open space, with enough receivers, is feasible. If you add walls, furniture and people, it gets harder. Then you need to browse the site for which the lighthouse looks in this place; add changes depending on where the user with the device is located (large bags with a radio module); and then interpolate between places.

You have an arduino tag for your question. I'm not sure what the significance of this is, but as above, check what data you can get from your equipment.

Answer 4

I’m not sure about RF and Antennas, BUT, having several cameras (whose relative position is known), looking at the same object, this can be achieved using the structure of motion