A system and method applicable for determining the positions of radio tags based on triangulation and respective radio tag signals transmitted from each radio tag, where each of a set of base stations is configured to transmit a radio base signal including an identifier that uniquely identifies the base station, and other base stations of the set of base stations receive the radio base signal and forward received base station messages to a central control unit which determines a position for any added base station using triangulation and known positions for base stations already included in the system, in order to facilitate expanding the number of base stations in the system.

A system for synchronizing communications in a radio ranging process involves transmitting calibration signals according to a predetermined schedule of nominal transmission times. Timing offsets are determined. A start time is determined for a transmission of a ranging signal. The start time is earlier than a nominal start time of the ranging signal by at least the largest timing offset. Another system for synchronization involves a radio device transmitting a calibration signal to a second radio device and receiving a calibration response signal from the second radio device. A time-of-flight value is determined in dependence on a time of departure of the calibration signal and a time of arrival of the calibration response signal. A ranging signal is transmitted at a time determined in dependence on the determined time-of-flight value. A ranging response signal is received and processed to determine a range value.

A positioning method includes acquiring configuration information from a ranging data frame structure. The configuration information includes a time offset. The time offsets of at least two different positioning devices differ from on another. The method includes determining a time domain position of a first time unit in the ranging data frame according to the time offset and sending a ranging message on the first time unit to a plurality of anchor devices within a preset range of the positioning device, the ranging message being used by a server to determine a position of the positioning device according to differences in times at which the ranging message is received by each of the plurality of anchor devices.

Traditional “low-to-high waveform change” timing markers, in navigation or GPS signals, can be easily naturally or maliciously altered and require unshareable, high-resolution, high-capacity channels, often not government available. Whereas, message text format methods include proven error correction, redundancy, encryption, jam-resistance, concealability, spoof-resistance, multiuser, delayable messaging, channel efficiency, and downstream authentication. Herein, “virtual timing markers” exploit message format strengths and more. Because many navigating platforms also communicate voice, messages, or data, platforms and multiuser messages can simultaneously and unintrusively share the same transmission signal, which reduces onboard hardware, needed channel capacity, radio frequencies, costs, and infrastructure. FAA mandated, airliner collision avoidance broadcasts of their GPS location can unintrusively commingle navigation messages with aforementioned strengths as precise derivative GPS timing markers on existing, prolific broadcasts having 1000× greater power levels. “Relayed transmission pathways” can eliminate cumbersome traditional nanosecond synchronization of navigation transmitters or exploit inclusion of happenstance neighborhood transmitters. Additional features.

According to an example embodiment, there is provided a base station apparatus configured to store an initial planned location of the apparatus, to receive first messages from a master base station, each first message comprising a first timestamp indicating a transmission time of the first message, and to transmit second messages, each second message comprising a second timestamp indicating a transmission time of the second message and a location estimate of the apparatus, to receive second messages from peer apparatuses, and to receive third messages from the master base station, and configured to to determine a location of the apparatus by performing an iterative process, wherein each iteration comprises determining an updated location estimate of the apparatus based on a received first message, received at least one second message and a received third message, and determining a quality criterion of the updated location estimate of the apparatus.

Systems, methods, and software can provide high-accuracy position estimation for mobile user equipment (UE) configured for use within a service area covered by a plurality of radio units, e.g., O-RUs, with known position including coordinates. A channel estimate can be derived for a channel between a given UE and each of a plurality of radio units based on a sounding reference signal (SRS) received from the UE and used to select a subset of the radio units. The shortest delay can be calculated for the given UE to each O-RU in the subset, forming a set of uplink-time-difference-of-arrival (UL-TDOA) measurements; position of the given UE in the service area can be estimated based on the UL-TDOA measurements. The O-RU synchronization error can be estimated for each O-RU in the subset using estimated positions of the given UE and corresponding UL-TDOA measurements.

There is described an upstream device for translating clock domain for non-synchronized sensors comprising a communication component, a memory component, and a processor. The communication component detects a report received from a sensor that includes a beacon receive time in a sensor clock domain and a current report transmit time in the sensor clock domain. The memory component provides a previous report receive time in the aggregator clock domain and a previous report transmit time in the sensor clock domain. The processor identifies a current report receive time in an aggregator clock domain based on the report detected by the communication component. The processor also determines a beacon receive time in the aggregator clock domain based, at least in part, on the beacon receive time in the sensor clock domain, the current report transmit time, the current report receive time, the previous report receive time, the previous report transmit time.

An electronic device may receive a first signal from a first transmitting device at a first time. The electronic device may receive a second signal from a second transmitting device at a second time. The electronic device may access location information for the first transmitting device and the second transmitting device. The electronic device may receive a message from a second electronic device having a known distance relationship to the first transmitting device and the second transmitting device, wherein the second electronic device is configured to receive the first signal, the second signal, and the message including timing information of the signals. The electronic device may determine the position of the electronic device using the location information and the timing information, wherein the position is dependent on the known distance relationship.

A system for recognizing the location of a subject, comprises a server, signal transceivers, and a tracking device. The server transmits a request and stores a map file. The signal transceivers respectively communicate with the server to receive the request, and broadcast a reference signal to the other signal transceivers. The tracking device bidirectionally communicates with the signal transceivers, and periodically sends a tracking signal. After each of the signal transceivers obtains the first received signal strength indicator corresponding to the received reference signal and the second received signal strength indicator corresponding to the received tracking signal, each transmits the first signal strength indicator and the second signal strength indicator to the server. The server determines relative position information for the at least one tracking device within the map file according to the first signal strength indicators, the second signal strength indicators, and location information from the signal transceivers

A wireless network including user equipment (UE) and base stations is configured to perform position determination with low latency and synchronized to a common time within a wireless network. The UE and base stations are configured to perform positioning measurements at a specific time point or within a window around the time point in a measurement period. The time point may be relative to a timing event within the wireless network, such as the beginning or end of a positioning reference signal window or a specific message in a layer 1 or layer 2 transmission. A location server may be provided with the positioning measurements or a position estimate from the UE and provide the position estimate to an external client within the measurement period.