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Range based Algorithms for Precise Localization of Terrestrial Objects using a Drone
Pervasive and Mobile Computing
  • Francesco Betti Sorbelli
  • Sajal K. Das, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Cristina M. Pinotti
  • Simone Silvestri, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

In this paper we propose two algorithms, called DIR and OMNI, for precisely localizing terrestrial objects, or more simply sensors, using a drone. DIR is based on the observation that, by using directional antennas, it is possible to precisely localize terrestrial sensors just applying a single trilateration. We extend this approach to the case of a regular omnidirectional antenna and formulate the OMNI algorithm. Both DIR and OMNI plan a static path for the drone over the deployment area, which includes a set of waypoints where distance measurements between the drone and the sensors are taken. Differently from previously proposed best-effort approaches, our algorithms prove that a guaranteed precision can be achieved by considering a set of waypoints, for each sensor, that are at a distance above a certain threshold and that surround the sensor with a certain layout. We perform extensive simulations to validate the performance of our algorithms. Results show that both approaches provide a comparable localization precision, but DIR exhibits a shorter path compared to OMNI, being able to exploit the directional antennas.

Department(s)
Computer Science
Research Center/Lab(s)
Intelligent Systems Center
Second Research Center/Lab
Center for High Performance Computing Research
Comments
The work has been partially supported by GEO-SAFE (H2020-691161), "RISE" Fondazione CR-PG (code 2016.0104.021), "Project Static Path Planning for Drones to Secure Localization" granted by Fondo Ricerca di Base 2015 University of Perugia , the NATO Science for Peace and Security grant G4936, NSF grant CNS-1545050, and "GNCS-INdAM".
Keywords and Phrases
  • Directive antennas,
  • Drones,
  • Ultra-wideband (UWB),
  • Best effort,
  • Directional Antenna,
  • Extensive simulations,
  • Localization precision,
  • Range-based,
  • Static paths,
  • Terrestrial localization,
  • Trilateration,
  • Omnidirectional antennas,
  • IR-UWB
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2018 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
8-1-2018
Publication Date
01 Aug 2018
Disciplines
Citation Information
Francesco Betti Sorbelli, Sajal K. Das, Cristina M. Pinotti and Simone Silvestri. "Range based Algorithms for Precise Localization of Terrestrial Objects using a Drone" Pervasive and Mobile Computing Vol. 48 (2018) p. 20 - 42 ISSN: 1574-1192
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sajal-das/108/