ITR: Collaborative Research: (NHS+ASE)-(dmc+int+soc): A Wireless Local Positioning System for Mobile Remote Monitoring

George Mason University, Fairfax VA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract This ITR proposal focuses on developing wireless systems capable of positioning mobiles remotely in complex mobile environments that are encountered in emerging applications, such as homeland security, law enforcement, defense command and control, multi-robot coordination, and traffic alert such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian collision avoidance. The proposed wireless local positioning system (WLPS) has two main components: 1) a base station deployed in a mobile (e.g., vehicles, robots or handhelds) that serves as a Dynamic Base Station (DBS); and 2) a transponder (TRX) installed in wireless mobile handhelds, robots and vehicles that act as Active Targets. Such a framework offers attractive features including high probability-of-detection performance, low-cost transceiver designs and infrastructure-less operation. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity is to initiate a multi-disciplinary effort to address the key challenges in wireless mobile positioning with seamless network connectivity. Based on the DBS-TRX structure, various wireless communications and networking technologies will be exploited to establish a paradigm of contiguous, accurate and mobility-aware positioning with non line-of-sight coverage. In addition, a laboratory will be set up to provide a cost-effective tool to test and evaluate wireless positioning schemes in simulated practical environments, as well as to assess the impacts of WLPS on location-critical tasks such as wireless sensor network cooperation and routing. The broader impacts of the proposed activity benefit location-dependent applications that are critical to human welfare but hindered by the restrictive operation conditions of current positioning systems. WLPS has multiple potential applications that would benefit society, ranging from improved localization technology for national and homeland security (NHS) to economic prosperity (ASE) with better highway safety for both drivers and pedestrians. The laboratory developed will serve as an educational test bed for engineering students and researchers. With its broad range of applications, its rich technical components and multi-disciplinary nature, the proposed WLPS research will help promote the integration of research with education and outreach activities at all levels.