Ultra-wideband range estimation: Theoretical limits and practical algorithms

Abstract

The high time resolution of ultra-wideband (UWB) signals enables wireless devices to perform accurate range estimation. In order to realize UWB systems with accurate ranging capabilities, both theoretical limits on range estimation and practical algorithms that approach those limits should be investigated. This paper provides a survey of various UWB ranging algorithms and discusses their performance and complexity tradeoffs. In addition, theoretical limits on range estimation are discussed in terms of Cramer-Rao and Ziv-Zakai lower bounds. Index Terms- Ultra-wideband (UWB), time-of-arrival (TOA) estimation, ranging, Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB), Ziv-Zakai lower bound (ZZLB). ©2008 IEEE.