A Quadratic Constraint Total Least-squares Algorithm for Hyperbolic Location

A novel algorithm for source location by utilizing the time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements of a signal received at spatially separated sensors is proposed. The algorithm is based on quadratic constraint total least-squares (QC-TLS) method and gives an explicit solution. The total least-squares method is a generalized data fitting method that is appropriate for cases when the system model contains error or is not known exactly, and quadratic constraint, which could be realized via Lagrange multipliers technique, could constrain the solution to the location equations to improve location accuracy. Comparisons of performance with ordinary least-squares are made, and Monte Carlo simulations are performed. Simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm has high location accuracy and achieves accuracy close to the CramerRao lower bound (CRLB) near the small TDOA measurement error region.