3-D Positioning Method for Anonymous UAV Based on Bistatic Polarized MIMO Radar

IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 10, pp. 815–827

Abstract

The Angle-of-Arrival (AoA)-based approach is an appealing solution for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) positioning, and has received significant interest recently. In this article, we propose a novel framework for UAV three-dimensional (3-D) positioning, the core of which is to measure the two-dimensional (2-D) Angle-of-Departure (2D-AoD) and 2D-AoA via a bistatic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. Unlike the existing positioning architectures, the MIMO radar is equipped with polarized array antennas. An estimator based on the parallel factor (PARAFAC) decomposition is developed. It first obtains the direction matrices via performing the PARAFAC decomposition of the array data. Thereafter, the rotational invariance characteristic is utilized to form a normalized polarization response vector, from which the 2D-AoD, 2D-AoA, and polarization status of the UAVs are achieved via incorporating the vector cross-product method and the least squares (LSs) technique. Finally, the 3-D positions of the UAVs are easily calculated via the location relationship between the 2D-AoD, 2D-AoA, and the coordinates of transmitting/receiving (Tx/Rx) array. The proposed framework is computationally friendly, and is capable of positioning anonymous UAV. Moreover, it is insensitive to the geometry of the Tx/Rx array, indicating that the proposed framework supports configurable Tx/Rx antennas. Simulation results are provided to verify our theoretical advantages.

Authors 5

1. Fangqing Wen

   China Three Gorges University

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Computer and Information Technology and the Hubei Key Laboratory of Intelligent Vision Based Monitoring for Hydroelectric Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China

2. Junpeng Shi

   National University of Defense Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Electronic Countermeasure, National University of Defense Technology, Hefei, China

3. Guan Gui

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China

4. Haris Gacanin Aachen Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

5. Octavia A. Dobre

   Memorial University of Newfoundland

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada