Doppler Location Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

The research interest in the cooperation of tiny devices to monitor several kinds of magnitudes or the different events that may arise in a particular wide area has increased in the last years. This cooperation yields new – and robust – communication algorithms so that the information can flow from the sensors to a data sink, where it will be further processed. All these tasks can be simplified if the location of the nodes where known. Although there are positioning systems, which achieve a good acquiracy (such as GPS), they cannot be used in any environment (indoors or in places with dense foliage). This paper presents a location algorithm based on the Doppler effect. Thus, a wireless sensor network could locate and track a passing-by object. Unlike other Doppler location algorithms, the velocity of the emitter is supposed to be unknown and is estimated at the same time as its position.