Experimental multilevel NLOS characterization for UWB network localization

Network localization is a new paradigm gaining interest in social, commercial, and military sectors. Ultrawide bandwidth (UWB) technology is promising for high-accuracy indoor localization due to the property of UWB signals. However, in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions measurements are significantly biased, thus, high accuracy localization is challenging. We present a method for multilevel NLOS characterization, based on waveform measurements and their features, and we analyze its impact on localization error for both cooperative and non-cooperative localization algorithms. The results enable a system designer to understand the benefits of cooperation and NLOS characterization on the localization performance.