Method and Apparatus for Determining a Lateral Vehicle Position

Abstract

A method for determining a lateral position of a vehicle passing a road and carrying a transponder uses at least two antennas mounted at different lateral positions and connected to a processor and comprises: triggering the transponder and recording signals from responses of the transponder by the processor, each signal being received via one of the antennas and recorded as i) a time of receipt at said one antenna and ii) the lateral position of said one antenna; generating by the processor a regression curve fitting all recorded signals; and determining by the processor the lateral position of the vehicle from the generated regression curve. An apparatus implementing said method is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for determining a lateral position of a vehicle passing a road and carrying a transponder, the method using at least two antennas mounted at different predetermined lateral positions of the road and connected to a processor, the method comprising: during the passing of the vehicle, wirelessly triggering the transponder and recording a multitude of signals from responses of the transponder by the processor, each signal being received via one of the antennas and recorded as i) a time of receipt of said signal at said one of the antennas and ii) the predetermined lateral position of said one of the antennas; generating by the processor a regression curve of lateral position versus time fitting all recorded signals; and determining by the processor the lateral position of the vehicle from the generated regression curve.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antennas are mounted at a same longitudinal position of the road.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined lateral positions of the antennas are equidistant.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antennas have the same antenna gain and directivity.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road comprises at least two lanes and wherein the lateral positions of the antennas are predetermined with respect to the lanes and the lateral position of the vehicle is determined with respect to the lanes.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said triggering is performed repetitively.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said regression curve is a linear function according to
x(t)=b.Math.t+a wherein $b=\frac{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}-\left(\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)}{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)}^2}\mathrm{and}a=\frac{1}{N}.Math.\left(\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right)-b.Math.\frac{1}{N}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)$ with x(t) lateral position x versus time t of the regression curve, a, b parameters of the regression curve, N number of all recorded signals, x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna, t.sub.i, j time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal received via the i.sup.th antenna, I number of all antennas, and J(i) number of all signals received via the i.sup.th antenna.

8. The method according to claims 1, wherein for each signal also iii) the signal strength of receipt is recorded and wherein, when generating said regression curve, each signal is weighted by its signal strength of receipt.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the regression curve is a linear function according to
x(t)=b.Math.t+a wherein $b=\frac{\begin{array}{c}\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-\\ \left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.v_{i,j}\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)\end{array}}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)}^2}\mathrm{and}a=\frac{1}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-b.Math.\frac{1}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)$ with x(t) lateral position x versus time t of the regression curve, a, b parameters of the regression curve, x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna, t.sub.i, j time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal received via the i.sup.th antenna, v.sub.i, j signal strength of receipt of the j.sup.th signal received via the i.sup.th antenna, I number of all antennas, and J(i) number of all signals received via the i.sup.th antenna.

10. An apparatus for determining a lateral position of a vehicle passing a road and carrying a transponder, the apparatus comprising: at least one transmitter for wirelessly triggering the transponder; and at least two antennas mounted at different predetermined lateral positions of the road; the apparatus being characterised by a processor connected to the antennas and configured to: during the passing of the vehicle, record a multitude of signals from responses of the transponder, each signal being received by one of the antennas and recorded as i) a time of receipt of said signal at said one of the antennas and ii) the predetermined lateral position of said one of the antennas; generate a regression curve of lateral position versus time fitting all recorded signals; and determine the lateral position of the vehicle from the generated regression curve.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the antennas are mounted at a same longitudinal position of the road.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined lateral positions of the antennas are equidistant.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the antennas have the same antenna gain and directivity.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the road comprises at least two lanes and wherein the lateral positions of the antennas are predetermined with respect to the lanes and the lateral position of the vehicle is determined with respect to the lanes.

15. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said transmitter is formed by at least one of said antennas.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said transmitter is formed by a transmit antenna separate from said antennas.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

[0054] The disclosed subject matter shall now be described in further detail by means of exemplary embodiments thereof under reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0055] FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the disclosed subject matter for determining a lateral position of a vehicle passing a road in a schematic top view;

[0056] FIG. 2 shows a method according to the disclosed subject matter carried out by the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a flow diagram;

[0057] FIG. 3 shows signals from responses of a transponder carried by the vehicle of FIG. 1 as recorded by the processor of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a diagram of lateral (antenna) position versus time together with a regression curve fitting said recorded signals;

[0058] FIG. 4 shows the signal strength of receipt as optionally recorded by said processor for an exemplary antenna of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in a diagram over time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 1 which determines a lateral position x.sub.v of a vehicle 2 passing a road 3 with one or more (here: three) lanes 4-6. The vehicle 2 may be any vehicle such as a car, a truck, a (motor-)bike, or the like and its lateral position x.sub.v is a position transverse to a driving direction 16 of the road 3, e.g., a lateral distance measured from an outer edge 8 (or any other reference, e.g., the centreline) of the road 3 in a coordinate system 7. Alternatively, the lateral position x.sub.v may be measured very “coarsely” as simply the lane 4-6 on which the vehicle 2 is located (here: lane 5).

[0060] The lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 is determined by means of a multitude of wireless or radio-frequency (RF) communications between the apparatus 1 and a transponder 9 carried by the vehicle 2. To this end, the transponder 9 may be any active or passive transponder known in the art such as a DSRC or RFID transponder, and the communications may be carried out by any method such as TDMA, TDM, 6C, SeGo, 6B, ATA, Title 21, etc. and any standards such as DSRC, Wifi, Zigbee, RFID, IEEE 802.1x or the like.

[0061] To perform the communications, the apparatus 1 comprises at least one transmitter 10 (here: formed by three transmit antennas 11) for triggering the transponder 9 and at least two (here: seven) antennas 12.sub.1, 12.sub.2, . . . , 12.sub.I, generally 12.sub.i, mounted at different predetermined lateral positions x.sub.1, x.sub.2, . . . , x.sub.I, generally x.sub.i, of the road 3. Instead of being formed by the separate transmit antennas 11 the transmitter 10 may as well be formed by one or more of the antennas 12.sub.i which are then used for the triggering. For determining the lateral position x.sub.v from said communications, the apparatus 1 further comprises a processor 13 connected to the antennas 12.sub.i. The antennas 11, 12.sub.i may be any antennas, be it directional or omnidirectional, monopole, dipole, phased array, etc., and the processor 13 may be any processing device known in the art.

[0062] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the antennas 12.sub.i are mounted on a support 14 (here: a gantry spanning the road 3) in a regular setup: Firstly, the antennas 12.sub.i are mounted on the support 14 at a same longitudinal position 15 in the direction of travel 16, i.e. the same y-position of the coordinate system 7. Secondly, the antennas 12.sub.i are mounted at equidistant lateral positions x.sub.i, i.e. with the same mutual distance d in the x-direction of the coordinate system 7 between each two adjacent antennas 12.sub.i, 12.sub.i+1. Thirdly, the antennas 12.sub.i each have the same antenna gain and directivity resulting in a same size (albeit a different position) of their respective coverage area 17.sub.1, 17.sub.2, . . . , 17.sub.I, generally 17.sub.i (only the coverage area 17.sub.4 of the fourth antenna 12.sub.4 being shown as a dotted area in FIG. 1).

[0063] In alternative embodiments (not shown), the antennas 12.sub.i may be mounted in a less regular setup, e.g., at different lateral (x-)positions x.sub.i, at different longitudinal (y-)positions, with unequal mutual distances d and/or they can have different antenna gains and directivities. It goes without saying that the antennas 12.sub.i may as well be mounted on different supports such as pillars next to the road 3, above the road 3 at a bridge or tunnel entry or ceiling, under the road 3, etc. Moreover, the size of the coverage areas 17.sub.i may be adapted to the specific application and, e.g., be larger in case of a high speed road and smaller in case of low speed roads.

[0064] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a method 18 using the apparatus 1 for determining the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 passing the road 3 shall now be described.

[0065] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the method 18 comprises four steps 19-22. In the first two steps 19, 20, a multitude of (response) signals 24.sub.i, j received at the antennas 12.sub.i from responses 23.sub.1, 23.sub.2, . . . , 23.sub.K, generally 23.sub.k, of the transponder 9 is recorded by the processor 13 during the passing of the vehicle 2. For this purpose, upon entering a communication zone of the antennas 11 of the transmitter 10, the transponder 9 (“TRX”) is wirelessly triggered by the transmitter 10 in step 19 to send a multitude of responses 23.sub.k thereto.

[0066] In a first “active transponder” embodiment, the transponder 9 may be triggered only once during the passing of the vehicle 2 in order to “wake-up”, and subsequently send the responses 23.sub.k one after the other. In a second “passive transponder” embodiment, the transponder 9 may be triggered repetitively, once for each response 23.sub.k to be sent. The number of responses 23.sub.k sent in a certain time period by an “active” transponder 9 or the number of triggerings of a “passive” transponder 9 per time period, respectively, may be adapted to the specific application and, e.g., be higher in case of a high speed road and lower in case of a low speed road.

[0067] Each response 23.sub.k of the transponder 9 is wirelessly received by one or more of the antennas 12.sub.i as a respective signal 24.sub.i, j, with i=1 . . . I, j=1 . . . J(i), and J(i) denoting the number of all signals received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i, from this one response 23.sub.k. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, the first response 23.sub.1 sent by the transponder 9 is received by the second to fifth antennas 12.sub.2-12.sub.5 (indicated by their respective predetermined lateral positions x.sub.2-x.sub.5) as their respective first (receive) signals 24.sub.2, 1, 24.sub.3, 1, 24.sub.4, 1, 24.sub.5, 1 caused by this response 23.sub.1.

[0068] The receive signals 24.sub.i, j from the responses 23.sub.k are recorded by the processor 13 in step 20. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the processor 13 records each signal 24.sub.i, j as i) the time of receipt t.sub.i, j of this signal 24.sub.i, j at the respective antenna 12.sub.i and ii) the predetermined lateral position x.sub.i of this antenna 12.sub.i, i.e., 24.sub.i, j=(t.sub.i, j, x.sub.i). Thus, when the vehicle 2 has passed the road 3 over the RF coverage areas 17.sub.i of the antennas 12.sub.i, for each antenna 12.sub.i a total number J(i) of times of receipt t.sub.i, 1, t.sub.i, 2, . . . , t.sub.i, J is recorded along with the lateral position x.sub.i of this antenna 12.sub.i as a series of signals 24.sub.i, j for this antenna 12.sub.i.

[0069] The processor 13 may record the (I series of) signals 24.sub.i, j in any form, e.g. as a number of individual doublets (t.sub.i, j, x.sub.i), as a list of times of receipt t.sub.i, j per lateral antenna position x.sub.i, or as a matrix the columns of which stand for times of receipt t.sub.i, j and the rows of which stand for lateral positions x.sub.i.

[0070] The times of receipt t.sub.i, j may be recorded in different ways and temporal granularities, e.g., each as a timestamp indicating an absolute or relative receiving time; in particular in the granularity of sampling periods or time frames covering multiple sampling periods. For example, each time of receipt t.sub.i, j may be recorded as a unique index of the respective sampling period or time frame in which the respective signal was recorded. Optionally, the times of receipt t.sub.i, j may be recorded according to their order of recording, i.e., each time of receipt t.sub.i, j as a unique index, etc. Furthermore, the lateral positions x.sub.i may be recorded in different ways and spatial granularities, e.g., each as an absolute or relative distance in the coordinate system 7, as (integer or fractional) lane numbers, as antenna indices (in particular in case of equidistant antennas 12.sub.i), etc.

[0071] From the signals 24.sub.i, j recorded in steps 19 and 20, the processor 13 determines the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 in subsequent steps 21 and 22. To this end, in the step 21, the processor 13 generates a regression curve 27 (“CRV”) of lateral position versus time (FIG. 3) fitting all recorded signals 24.sub.i, j. The regression curve 27 approximates the recorded signals 24.sub.i, j by regression analysis. Therefor, the processor 13 may employ any regression analysis known in the art such as linear or non-linear regression with any residual measure such as (weighted) least squares, generalised least squares, random sample consensus (RANSAC), etc.

[0072] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the regression curve 27 is a linear function 28 according to

x(t)=b.Math.t+a   (1)

wherein the parameters are determined by a least squares residual measure as

[00003]$\begin{array}{cc}b=\frac{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}-\left(\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)}{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)}^2}\mathrm{and}& \left(2\right)\end{array}$$\begin{array}{cc}a=\frac{1}{N}.Math.\left(\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right)-b.Math.\frac{1}{N}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)\mathrm{or}\mathrm{equivalently}& \left(3\right)\end{array}$$\begin{array}{cc}a=\frac{\begin{array}{c}\left(\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2\right)-\\ \left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}\right)\end{array}}{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}\right)}^2}& \left(3^{\prime }\right)\end{array}$

with

[0073] x(t) lateral position x versus time t of the regression curve 27,

[0074] a, b parameters of the regression curve 27,

[0075] N number of all recorded signals 24.sub.i, j,

[0076] x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0077] t.sub.i, j time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0078] I number of all antennas 12.sub.i, and

[0079] J(i) number of all signals 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i.

[0080] In the last step 22 of the method 18, the processor 13 determines the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 from the regression curve 27 generated in step 21. To this end, the processor 13 uses one or several function values of the regression curve 27 or its regression parameters and determines the lateral position x.sub.v therefrom.

[0081] In one embodiment, the processor 13 determines the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 as the lateral position of the regression curve 27 evaluated at one or more time points of interest, e.g., at the time when the vehicle 2 is at a predetermined longitudinal position such as the gantry 14.

[0082] In another embodiment, the processor 13 determines the lateral position x.sub.v as a temporal average of the lateral position of the regression curve 27. As an example, the processor 13 may employ the linear function 28 of equation (1) and calculate an average over time according to

[00004]$\begin{array}{cc}{x}_v=\frac{1}{T}\underset{0}{\overset{T}{\int }}\left(b.Math.t+a\right)\mathrm{dt}=\frac{b.Math.T}{2}+a,& \left(7\right)\end{array}$

[0083] wherein T denotes a time of passing of the vehicle 2, e.g., the time between the first and the last received signal 24.sub.i, j.

[0084] In a further embodiment, the processor 13 determines the current lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 at a time point of interest as an extrapolation lateral position of the regression curve 27 for that time point.

[0085] After determining the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2, the processor 13 may provoke further actions based on the determined lateral position x.sub.v. For instance, the processor 13 may activate a camera (not shown) directed at the determined lateral position x.sub.v for license plate number recording, HOV lane inspection, initiating of toll collection, etc.

[0086] Generally, the lateral positions x.sub.i, x.sub.v, (and consequently the lateral position over time of the regression curve 27) may be (pre-)determined in any length unit, e.g., in metres, centimetres, etc. In a “lane-based” embodiment, the lateral positions x.sub.i of the antennas 12.sub.i and the lateral position x.sub.v of the vehicle 2 are predetermined and determined, respectively, with respect to the lanes 4-6, i.e., each lateral position x.sub.i, x.sub.v is given as an integer (or fractional) lane number. Consequently, the lateral position x.sub.v is directly determined as the lane 4-6 on which the vehicle 2 is located, here: lane 5 in FIG. 1, when the lateral position x.sub.v determined for the recorded signals 24.sub.i, j of FIG. 3 by equation (7) lies between 4.5 and 5.

[0087] With reference to FIG. 4, an optional embodiment incorporating also the signal strength of receipt v.sub.i, j of the signals 24.sub.i, j in the steps 20 and 21 shall be described. Therein, in step 20 for each signal 24.sub.i, j also iii) the signal strength of receipt v.sub.i, j is recorded by the processor 13. FIG. 4 exemplarily shows the received signal strengths of receipt v.sub.4, j of the signals 24.sub.4, j received via the fourth antenna 12.sub.4. The signal strengths of receipt v.sub.i, j may be recorded as any measure of signal strength known in the art, e.g., as a received signal strength indication, RSSI, value according to an IEEE 802.1x standard or the like.

[0088] The recorded signal strengths of receipt v.sub.i, j are then considered in the step 21 of generating the regression curve 27 in that each signal 24.sub.i, j is weighted by its signal strength of receipt v.sub.i, j when approximating all recorded signals 24.sub.i, j by means of the regression curve 27. For this purpose, a variety of weighting procedures, e.g., linear or non-linear weightings, may be combined with a variety of regression analyses, e.g., linear or non-linear regression. In one embodiment the regression curve is a linear function according to

x(t)=b.Math.t+a   (4)

and each signal strength of receipt v.sub.i, j occurs in a linear fashion when determining the regression parameters according to

[00005]$\begin{array}{cc}b=\frac{\begin{array}{c}\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-\\ \left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.v_{i,j}\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)\end{array}}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)}^2}\mathrm{and}& \left(5\right)\end{array}$$\begin{array}{cc}a=\frac{1}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-b.Math.\frac{1}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)\mathrm{or}\mathrm{equivalently}& \left(6\right)\end{array}$$\begin{array}{cc}a=\frac{\begin{array}{c}\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.v_{i,j}\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-\\ \left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right).Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.t_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)\end{array}}{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{v}_{i,j}.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}^2.Math.v_{i,j}\right)-{\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{t}_{i,j}.Math.v_{i,j}\right)}^2}& \left(6^{\prime }\right)\end{array}$

with

[0089] x(t) lateral position x versus time t of the regression curve 27,

[0090] a, b parameters of the regression curve 27,

[0091] x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0092] t.sub.i, j time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0093] v.sub.i, j signal strength of receipt of the j.sup.th signal 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0094] I number of all antennas 12.sub.i, and

[0095] J(i) number of all signals 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i.

[0096] It shall be mentioned that in the above-mentioned embodiments with a less regular antenna setup, e.g., with antennas 12.sub.i having a different antenna gain and/or directivity, the gain and/or directivity can be taken into account as well when generating the regression curve 27 in step 21 to compensate for any irregularity, e.g., caused by different antenna efficiencies, unequal lateral positions of the antennas, etc.

[0097] In all of the abovementioned embodiments, subsequent data sanity, integrity and/or error checks may be conducted. For instance, a confidence level L may be computed by the processor 13 based on the generated regression curve 27 and the recorded signals 24.sub.i, j. The confidence level L can be any measure indicating the accuracy of fitting the recorded signals 24.sub.i, j by the regression curve 27, e.g., a correlation coefficient, a coefficient of determination such as an R.sup.2 or adjusted R.sup.2 value, etc. Hence, in case of an unsatisfying confidence level, another regression curve 27, e.g., according to a different fitting function, may be subsequently employed to obtain a higher confidence level therewith.

[0098] In an exemplary variant, the confidence level L is a correlation coefficient and computed by the processor 13 from all the recorded lateral positions x.sub.i and the regression curve 27 evaluated at each recorded time of receipt t.sub.i, j, for example according to

[00006]$\begin{array}{cc}L=\frac{N.Math.\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.x\left(t_{i,j}\right)\right)-\left(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}x\left(t_{i,j}\right)\right).Math.\left(\underset{i=1,.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right)}{\begin{array}{c}\sqrt{N.Math.\underset{i=1,.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i^2.Math.J\left(i\right)-{\left(\underset{i=1,.Math.I}{.Math.}{x}_i.Math.J\left(i\right)\right)}^2}.Math.\\ \sqrt{N.Math.\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{x\left(t_{i,j}\right)}^2-(\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{\left(x\left(t_{i,j}\right)\right)}^2}\end{array}}& \left(7\right)\end{array}$

with

[0099] L confidence level,

[0100] x(t.sub.i, j) . . . lateral position x of the regression curve 27 evaluated at the time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0101] x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0102] I number of all antennas 12.sub.i, and

[0103] J(i) number of all signals 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i.

[0104] In another exemplary variant, the confidence level L is a coefficient of determination and computed by the processor 13 from all the recorded lateral positions x.sub.i and the regression curve 27 evaluated at each recorded time of receipt t.sub.i, j, for example according to

[00007]$\begin{array}{cc}L=1-\frac{\underset{\begin{array}{c}i=1.Math.I\\ j=1.Math.J\left(i\right)\end{array}}{.Math.}{\left(x_i-x_i\left(t_{i,j}\right)\right)}^2}{\underset{i=1.Math.I}{.Math.}{\left(x_i-\overline{x}\right)}^2.Math.J\left(i\right)}& \left(8\right)\end{array}$

with

[0105] L confidence level,

[0106] x(t.sub.i, j) . . . lateral position x of the regression curve 27 evaluated at the time of receipt of the j.sup.th signal 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0107] x.sub.i predetermined lateral position of the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i,

[0108] x an average of the lateral antenna positions x.sub.i over all the recorded signals 24.sub.i, j,

[0109] I number of all antennas 12.sub.i, and

[0110] J(i) number of all signals 24.sub.i, j received via the i.sup.th antenna 12.sub.i.

[0111] The presently disclosed subject matter is not restricted to the specific embodiments described in detail herein but encompasses all variants, combinations and modifications thereof that fall within the scope of the appended claims.