Sensor self-localization with beacon position uncertainty

We propose algorithms for distributed sensor self-localization using beacon nodes. These beacon nodes broadcast some information which describes their positions. The sensor nodes with unknown location information utilize these descriptions along with the characteristics of received signals to obtain estimates of their positions. Sensors with resolved positions, in the successive stages of the algorithm also broadcast their location information to other sensors so that they can resolve their own positions. Conditional upon the availability of probabilistic distributions of noise processes, we propose iterative and Monte Carlo sampling-based methods for obtaining sensor location descriptions. We also provide approximate hybrid Cramer-Rao bounds for distributed sensor self-localization and compare them with the proposed algorithms. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithms through extensive computer simulations. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.