Joint cmWave-Based Multiuser Positioning and Network Synchronization in Dense 5G Networks

Mike Koivisto*, Jukka Talvitie*, Mário Costa†, Kari Leppänen†, and Mikko Valkama*

* Tampere University of Technology, Finland
† Huawei Technologies, Finland

In general, the expected fifth generation (5G) com- munication networks allow for highly-accurate direction of arrival (DoA) and time of arrival (ToA) estimation, thus providing a convenient environment for device positioning, if designed properly. However, utilizing ToA measurements for positioning requires a tight synchronization not only between the target devices but also among the network elements. In this paper, we propose a joint positioning and synchronization solution building on the premises of the envisioned cmWave-based 5G ultra-dense networks (UDNs) and time-varying clock offset models. In addition to device location estimates, also relative clock offsets and skews are estimated and tracked within the proposed extended Kalman filter (EKF) based solutions, which can be further used by a network operator in synchronizing the active network elements and devices within the network. Based on the extensive simulations and numerical evaluations, accurate positioning performance can be achieved while tracking the clock parameters under the time-varying clock errors.

Published in the proceedings of IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference Workshop 2018


Videos and Demonstrations


 

Joint 3D Positioning in Multiuser Network

Example demonstration of joint 3D device positioning and network synchronization on the top of the METIS Madrid Map. The pedestrian UEs are moving along the sidewalks of the map whereas the vehicle UE is moving along the streets of the considered map. The continuous tracking of the UEs is carried out by fusing either only direction of arrival (DoA) estimates or both DoA and time of arrival (ToA) estimates from two closest line of sight transmission and reception points (TRPs) in DoA-only or Pos&Sync extended Kalman filter (EKF), respectively.