Measuring uncertainty in DOA-based signal localization

The QRAAT (”Quail Ridge Automated Animal Tracking”) system provides ecologists and animal biologists with high resolution animal tracking data. It is comprised of a network of radio receivers deployed across the Quail Ridge Reserve in Napa County, California, and uses radio telemetry to simultaneously track a variety of animals including small field mice, birds, and foxes. QRAAT improves the state of the art of small species tracking by automating the process, allowing the collection of movement data at any time scale while separating the researcher from the study environment. This article presents our direction-of-arrival mode of signal source estimation and provides a statistical treatment of location estimate uncertainty. We evaluate via simulation the performance of our measurements, as well as the QRAAT system over all. Our results reveal a method of measuring uncertainty that works well under a variety of conditions captured in our model.