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.

A positional relationship between devices that have transmitted and received signals is more accurately estimated.

An antenna device used for an arithmetic operation that is based on a signal received from a certain communication device, the antenna device comprising a first antenna, a second antenna, and a third antenna at positions meeting respective vertices of an equilateral triangle.

The present invention relates to a positioning method and system based on a Wi-Fi IoT device network, wherein positioning monitoring nodes in a subnet respectively receives, within an information receiving and transmitting range thereof, a data packet sent by a same positioning target device, records corresponding data packet receipt clock information, and provides the data packet receipt clock information and identification information of the positioning target device to the subnet master node; the subnet master node utilizes signal arrival time differences between a plurality of positioning monitoring nodes receiving the data packet from the same positioning target device, and mutual physical distances between the positioning monitoring nodes, to compute the distance differences of the positioning target device with respect to the plurality of positioning monitoring nodes, and determine a position of the positioning target device in a physical coverage range of the subnet. The present invention may achieve the real-time positioning and monitoring of a large number of targets in a large physical range.

A positioning method, as well as the system of base stations (T1,T2,T3) and detector (I) is based on measuring the propagation time difference of externally controlled electromagnetic pulses (F1,F2,F3) and the arrival signals of the controlled base station during a measurement cycle (t1+t2). In one embodiment, a reference clock is not required for measuring propagation time differences, but instead, accurate fixed distances between base stations can be used as a reference. System calibration is rarely performed. It checks the mutual locations of base stations. This may be partially automated. The positioning system does not require any sensors.

An aggregate cell of a cellular network includes a plurality of dispersed modular cells. The modular cells each include a cellular radio and collectively perform the function of a cellular base station. A distributed clock is established by transmitting timing beacons from one or more of the modular cells. Each modular cell receives the timing beacons. Each modular cell that transmits a timing beacon provides a transmission timestamp to a cell controller. Each modular cell that receives a timing beacon provides a reception timestamp to the cell controller. The cell controller schedules signal transmissions from the modular cells based on the transmission and reception timestamps.

A global resource locator (GRL) device can be used to track a physical asset. The GRL device can include a miniature atomic clock (MAC) and a processor communicatively coupled to the MAC. The processor can be configured to calculate a first location of the GRL device at a first time based on the MAC and determine that the first location is outside of a particular geofence. The processor can be configured to calculate a second location of the GRL device at a second time based on the MAC and determine that the second location is within the particular geofence. The processor can be configured to generate an event indicating the GRL device has crossed a border into the particular geofence based on the second location being inside of the particular geofence.

A direction finding system for radio direction finding of a target emitting at least one signal is described. The direction finding system comprises at least one receiver unit, at least one antenna assigned to the at least one receiver unit and a central processing unit connected to the at least one receiver unit. The at least one receiver unit is configured to measure an absolute receiving power or a relative receiving power of the at least one signal emitted by the target. The central processing unit is configured to determine the power level of the respective power received by the at least one receiver unit. The central processing unit is further configured to determine interpolated constant power contours in order to locate the target. In addition, a method for radio direction finding of a target emitting electromagnetic at least one signal is described.

A method for determining an instantaneous phase difference between time bases of at least two location anchors for a desired point in time (t), each of the location anchors having transmitting and receiving access to a joint broadcast transmission medium and a respective time base for measuring time, wherein a first of the location anchors broadcasts a first broadcast message at least twice; the first location anchor and at least a second of the location anchors receive the first broadcast messages; the second location anchor broadcasting a second broadcast message at least twice; and the second location anchor and at least the first location anchor receive the second broadcast messages. The location server calculates the instantaneous phase difference from a determined first and second clock model functions and from a time elapsed between a reference point in time and the desired point in time t.

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing base station localization. In one embodiment the system includes a network including a base station such as a 5G gNodeB (gNB); a Hetnet Gateway (HNG) in communication with the gNB, wherein the HNG includes a location server and wherein the HNG virtualizes and abstracts a collection of base stations and provides a complex network under its purview as a simple base station to a mobile packet core network; a plurality of Hyper Sync Network (HSN) nodes in communication with the gNB and the HNG, wherein the plurality of HSN nodes listen to User Equipments (UEs) to locate the UEs and to synchronize clocks on the gNB with the collection of HSN nodes or other gNBs; and an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) server in communication with the HNG and for reporting the location of a UE.

Techniques are provide for calibrating device timelines for use in passive positioning of user equipment (UE). An example method for passive positioning of a user equipment includes receiving a first positioning reference signal from a first device at a first time, receiving a second positioning reference signal from a second device at a second time, receiving a timeline difference value associated with the first device and the second device, and determining a time difference of arrival between the first positioning reference signal and the second positioning reference signal based at least in part on the timeline difference value.