The master thesis is dealing with Internet host localization methods, more exactly with determining geographical position of the unknown Internet host connected to the network using RTT delay measuring. The first part is dealing with description of RTT delays that may occur in the network and tools for their measurement. The next is part of thesis is devoted to description of two kinds of localization methods. Ones that are using existing data to determine the position of Internet host also called passive methods, and others that are using RTT delay measurement, also called active methods. The main part is focused on GeoWeight method which is based on geographical localization estimation of Internet host. It is based on RTT delay measurement using the principles of CBG method, enhanced by introduction of the theory of weights according to the probability of the target Internet host. The last part is describing the application that was made to determine the geographic localization of the target Internet host using GeoWeight method. The application was afterwards tested by measuring RTT delay in PlanetLab experimental network. At the end the final measured results were compared with other localization methods (CBG, Octant, SOI, GeoIP).

This paper deals with methods of stations’ IP geolocation. It’s describes the methods of passive and active geolocation and it’s more focused on active searching methods, which usees measuring the latency in network. The factors causing delays in data transfer are discussed first, followed by discussion of the issue of measuring these delays. After that a brief description of PlanetLab experimental network, which nodes were used for delay measurment. Main topic is practical implementation of method Constraint-based Geolocation in Java programming language. Last but not least the measurement results of CBG algorithm are tested.

No description available.

The ability to find the location of a mobile user has become of utmost importance. The demands of first responders necessitates the ability to accurately identify the location of an individual who is calling for help. Their response times are directly influenced by the ability to locate the caller. Thus, applications such as Enhanced 911 and other location-based services warrant the ability to quickly and accurately calculate location. The FCC has also put in place a timeline for indoor location accuracy requirements that must be met by the mobile communications service providers. In order to meet these requirements, there are many means of performing indoor geolocation that require research; in this thesis two specific methods of identifying the location of a user will be investigated. In the first part, the indoor localization of a target, whose exact location is unknown, in a LTE network is studied. In this problem the time difference of arrival of the LTE uplink signals sent from the target to an observer are used as the means to estimate the target position. The two-dimensional location of a user is then estimated through the use of a nonlinear least-squares algorithm. To improve this approach, a cooperative localization technique in uplink LTE is proposed in which the User Equipment (UE) communicates with base stations as well as other handsets. Through simulated results it is shown that utilizing collaboration can improve location estimation and outperform non-collaborative localization. In the second part, the indoor localization of a target, focusing on its third dimension or elevation, is studied through the use of barometric pressure sensors in mobile handsets. Finding the third dimension of location, or the correct height above the ground level which equates to the floor in a building that a UE is on, cannot be performed with two-dimensional measurement models. For this problem, the pressure sensors are used to accurately find an immediate pressure measurement and allow for the altitude of a handset to be calculated. This altitude can be translated into an estimation for a specific floor of a building given the use of a ground floor pressure reference. Through simulation results it is then shown that the accuracy of third dimension or indoor-floor localization can be improved with the use of collaborative pressure sensors of other mobile handsets. / Master of Science

Infrastructure-based indoor geolocation systems utilizing a regular grid arrangement of sensors are being investigated for many applications in indoor wireless networks. One of the factors affecting the Quality of Estimation (i.e. location estimation accuracy) of these systems is node density. In this dissertation we study the effects of node density on indoor geolocation systems based on time of arrival (TOA). The effects of node density on the performance of various indoor communication networks (e.g. wireless LANs) in the presence of realistic indoor radio propagation models has been analyzed and reported in the literature. However, we have noted the lack of an equivalent analysis on the effects of node density on the performance of infrastructure-based indoor geolocation systems. The goal of this dissertation is to address this knowledge gap. Due to the complicated behavior of the indoor radio channel, the relationship between the node density and Quality of Estimation (QoE) is not straightforward. Specifically, QoE depends on factors such as the bandwidth used to make the TOA-based distance measurements, the existence of undetected direct path (UDP) conditions, and coverage. In this dissertation, we characterize these dependencies. We begin by characterizing the Quality of Estimation for closest-neighbor (CN), least-squares (LS) and weighted LS techniques in the presence of different node densities and a distance measurement error (DME) model based on ray tracing (RT) that was recently proposed in the literature. Then, we propose a new indoor geolocation algorithm, Closest Neighbor with TOA Grid (CN-TOAG), characterize its performance and show that it outperforms the existing techniques. We also propose an extension to this algorithm, known as Coverage Map Search (CMS) that allows it to be used in suboptimal coverage conditions (which we refer to as partial coverage conditions) that may prevent other TOA-based geolocation techniques from being used. We treat the partial coverage case by defining coverage probabilities and relating them to the average radius of coverage and dimensions of the indoor area. Next, we characterize the effects of node density on the performance of the CN-TOAG algorithm using a DME model based on UWB measurements, and show that node density and partial coverage are intimately linked together. Since this second DME model also allows for the effects of UDP conditions (which affect the quality of the link or QoL), we also characterize the effects of varying UDP conditions on the performance. Finally, we conclude the dissertation by presenting an analysis of fundamental performance bounds for infrastructure-based indoor geolocation, specifically focusing on the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB).

Currently there is a need to design, develop, and deploy autonomous and portable indoor geolocation systems to fulfil the needs of military, civilian, governmental and commercial customers where GPS and GLONASS signals are not available due to the limitations of both GPS and GLONASS signal structure designs. The goal of this dissertation is (1) to introduce geolocation systems; (2) to classify the state of the art geolocation systems; (3) to identify the issues with the state of the art indoor geolocation systems; and (4) to propose and assess four WPI indoor geolocation systems. It is assessed that the current GPS and GLONASS signal structures are inadequate to overcome two main design concerns; namely, (1) the near-far effect and (2) the multipath effect. We propose four WPI indoor geolocation systems as an alternative solution to near-far and multipath effects. The WPI indoor geolocation systems are (1) a DSSS/CDMA indoor geolocation system, (2) a DSSS/CDMA/FDMA indoor geolocation system, (3) a DSSS/OFDM/CDMA/FDMA indoor geolocation system, and (4) an OFDM/FDMA indoor geolocation system. Each system is researched, discussed, and analyzed based on its principle of operation, its transmitter, the indoor channel, and its receiver design and issues associated with obtaining an observable to achieve indoor navigation. Our assessment of these systems concludes the following. First, a DSSS/CDMA indoor geolocation system is inadequate to neither overcome the near-far effect not mitigate cross-channel interference due to the multipath. Second, a DSSS/CDMA/FDMA indoor geolocation system is a potential candidate for indoor positioning, with data rate up to 3.2 KBPS, pseudorange error, less than to 2 m and phase error less than 5 mm. Third, a DSSS/OFDM/CDMA/FDMA indoor geolocation system is a potential candidate to achieve similar or better navigation accuracy than a DSSS/CDMA indoor geolocation system and data rate up to 5 MBPS. Fourth, an OFDM/FDMA indoor geolocation system is another potential candidate with a totally different signal structure than the pervious three WPI indoor geolocation systems, but with similar pseudorange error performance.

"Recently considerable attention has been paid to indoor geolocation using wireless local area networks (WLAN) and wireless personal area networks (WPAN) devices. As more applications using these technologies are emerging in the market, the need for accurate and reliable localization increases. In response to this need, a number of technologies and associated algorithms have been introduced in the literature. These algorithms resolve the location either by using estimated distances between a mobile station (MS) and at least three reference points (via triangulation) or pattern recognition through radio frequency (RF) fingerprinting. Since RF fingerprinting, which requires on site measurements is a time consuming process, it is ideal to replace this procedure with the results obtained from radio channel modeling techniques. Localization algorithms either use the received signal strength (RSS) or time of arrival (TOA) of the received signal as their localization metric. TOA based systems are sensitive to the available bandwidth, and also to the occurrence of undetected direct path (UDP) channel conditions, while RSS based systems are less sensitive to the bandwidth and more resilient to UDP conditions. Therefore, the comparative performance evaluation of different positioning systems is a multifaceted and challenging problem. This dissertation demonstrates the viability of radio channel modeling techniques to eliminate the costly fingerprinting process in pattern recognition algorithms by introducing novel ray tracing (RT) assisted RSS and TOA based algorithms. Two sets of empirical data obtained by radio channel measurements are used to create a baseline for comparative performance evaluation of localization algorithms. The first database is obtained by WiFi RSS measurements in the first floor of the Atwater Kent laboratory; an academic building on the campus of WPI; and the other by ultra wideband (UWB) channel measurements in the third floor of the same building. Using the results of measurement campaign, we specifically analyze the comparative behavior of TOA- and RSS-based indoor localization algorithms employing triangulation or pattern recognition with different bandwidths adopted in WLAN and WPAN systems. Finally, we introduce a new RT assisted hybrid RSS-TOA based algorithm which employs neural networks. The resulting algorithm demonstrates a superior performance compared to the conventional RSS and TOA based algorithms in wideband systems."

Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) location estimation is central to an OFDM based Precision Personnel Locator system being developed at WPI. Here we describe a component of the effort towards characterizing the performance of such a system and verifying the functionality of hardware and software implementations. The performance degradations due to noise in the received signal and misalignments between transmitter and receiver clock and heterodyne frequencies are investigated. This investigation involves development of a MATLAB simulator for the entire system, experimental measures using a prototype implementation and linearized analytic analysis of specific subsystems. The three types of characterizations are compared, confirming agreement, and analytic results are used to demonstrate construction of a system engineering design tool.

This diploma thesis is concerned with practical realization of CBG (Constraint-based Geolocation) algorithm, which is one of the IP (Internet Protocol) geolocation technique. IP geolocation determines the localization of a computer workstation location on the basis of on its IP address. The factors causing delays in data transfer are discussed first, followed by discussion of the issue of measuring these delays. The detailed explanation of IP geolocation follows where its contexts as well as the active geolocation techniques (techniques based on delay measurement mentioned above) are described. After that a brief description of PlanetLab experimental network, which was used for geolocation techniques measuring, is presented followed by a section explaining the creation of reference points and targets, which are another necessary prerequisite for practical realization of the method. Then the practical realization is explained in the form of CBGfinder program and its verification on the basis of artificial input data along with an actual example of IP geolocation of a point in the Internet are provided. Last but not least the measurement results of CBG algorithm are introduced, based on the analysis of Bestline parameters of one of the PlanetLab nodes measured in the period of one month, followed by a discussion of the inaccuracy of geological position and the computation speed. The cumulative distribution function as well as the kernel density estimation are also described. Final part of the thesis consists of discussion on measured results compared to results of other geological techniques results implemented by colleagues of the author of this diploma thesis. The results are compared on the basis of average inaccuracy of geological position estimations and its median, computation time, cumulative distribution function and kernel density estimation are also taken into regard.

This thesis covers the topic of determination of geographical location of a host in internet network while utilizing measurement of the end to end delay and implementation of Constraint-Based Geolocation. Gradually I go through issue of the delay in computer networks and ways how to measure it. Next chapter describes a few ways to geolocate host in internet network with emphasis on the CBG method. Another chapter is dedicated to describing a way to project spherical coordinates to the two dimensional space, which has been used in implementation of geolocation method. Chapter about implementation builds upon the facts given in previous chapters while functions of the program written in the JAVA programing language are being explained. Two similar geolocation methods were implemented. By comparing the results gained by implementation, new method of geolocation is proposed and devised. It combines properities of both previous methods. There are results of the implemented methods and their comparation to the one of the source documents used in creation of this thesis in summary section.