A Message Passing based Adaptive PDA Algorithm for Robust Radio-based Localization and Tracking

Abstract: We present a message passing algorithm for localization and tracking in multipath-prone environments that implicitly considers obstructed line-of-sight situations. The proposed adaptive probabilistic data association algorithm infers the position of a mobile agent using multiple anchors by utilizing delay and amplitude of the multipath components (MPCs) as well as their respective uncertainties. By employing a nonuniform clutter model, we enable the algorithm to facilitate the position information contained in the MPCs to support the estimation of the agent position without exact knowledge about the environment geometry. Our algorithm adapts in an online manner to both, the time-varying signal-to-noise-ratio and line-of-sight (LOS) existence probability of each anchor. In a numerical analysis we show that the algorithm is able to operate reliably in environments characterized by strong multipath propagation, even if a temporary obstruction of all anchors occurs simultaneously.