IR-UWB-Based Non-Line-of-Sight Identification in Harsh Environments: Principles and Challenges

Impulse radio ultrawideband ranging has recently received significant attention due to the high accuracy it can achieve. Although most research efforts have focused on ranging in indoor and outdoor environments, other environments such as harsh industrial environments introduce unique challenges. This paper discusses the impact of propagation characteristics of harsh industrial environments on ranging accuracy, and also discusses principles and challenges of non-line-of-sight identification in industrial scenarios. To illustrate these challenges, a measurement campaign using 802.15.4a radios was conducted in a Heavy Machines Laboratory. The results show that the non-line-of-sight condition can be accurately identified if adequate models for such an environment are used.