Source localization from quantized time of arrival measurements

In this paper, we consider the localization of a source from quantized measurements of time of arrivals (TOA) or time difference of arrivals (TDOA). Applications include, as particular examples, acoustic source localization from a network of microphones under communication constraints, and the localization of a base station using a geolocalized mobile station using timing advance measurements. We use a maximum likelihood approach, based on an efficient implementation of the EM algorithm. Contrary to previously reported work, our technique takes into account not only the measurement noise, but also the presence of outliers (for example, non line of sight propagation) and the quantization. We illustrate our findings using simulated data and real field measurements.