UC San Diego

Range estimation is a widely used tool in many different disciplines and it can be achieved in a multitude of ways. This thesis outlines a new principle for range estimation that utilizes existing technologies and is inspired by previously established methods.

The main principle employs one pair of transmitter and receiver to send a continuous, passively-measured signal that contains all the information needed in order to determine the distance between them. This is done by retrieving the phase information inside the phase-modulated transmission signal and using it to calculate the time of arrival. All of this is achieved under the assumption that the clocks of transmitter and receiver are synchronized already.

Numerous simulations were run based on a model that was created just to test this principle. Simulations were successful and accurate to less than 1% once steady state was achieved. Physical testing was done using a microphone and speaker setup inside a DSP with less accurate results, but further work can be done to refine the system.