A Real-Time Software-Defined Radio Two-Way Ranging Protocol

Author(s):

Mitchell J Grabner and Michael L Don

Abstract:

In this technical report, we develop a real-time software-defined radio two-way ranging (TWR) protocol on Ettus Research Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) devices using the USRP Hardware Driver application programming interface. TWR is useful in providing ranging and localization to low-power devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles and embedded sensor nodes that may be deployed in environments where global positioning system is unavailable. The TWR protocol is tested in both controlled and real-world environments, and the results are verified against simulation data. The protocol is capable of a 2-m range accuracy using a narrow bandwidth of only 2 MHz.