Single Base-station 3D Positioning Method using Ultrasonic Reflections

In context awareness applications the locations of people, devices or objects are often required. Ultrasound technology enables high resolution position measurements indoors. A disadvantage of state-of-the-art ultrasonic systems is that several base stations are required to estimate a 3D position. Since fewer base stations leads to lower cost and easier setup, a novel method is presented that requires just one base station. The method uses information from acoustic reflections in a room, and estimates 3D positions aided by an acoustic room-model. The method has been verified within an empty room. It can be concluded that ultrasonic reflection data contains valuable information on the 3D position of a device.