Enhanced vehicle navigation unit with wifi 802.11 ranging and communication capabilities

Abstract

This paper discusses the implementation of a modified IEEE 802.11 transceiver that is employed to enhance the positioning capabilities of a traditional vehicle on-board navigation unit (OBU). In this paper, we propose to use the current wireless local access network (WLAN) as enhancing infrastructure for ubiquitous localisation and positioning. We describe the architecture of a localisation receiver built around a FPGA that is capable of measuring the signal round trip time and thus distance between itself and visible WiFi access points. The proposed system has great potentials to enhance the performance of traditional hardware solutions often based on GNSS plus INS traditionally used as fundamental component in an intelligent transportation system. The proposed system offers vehicle-to-vehicle communication and ranging capabilities using the current IEEE 802.11 standard. This paper describes the details of the WLAN ranging estimation method, possible integration approaches with a GPS plus INS system and an analysis of the proposed system’s positioning performance in a crowded urban environment.