Autonomous Positioning Algorithm for UE in Cellular Networks

Abstract

The positioning techniques in wireless cellular networks detect and receive signals transmitted by the user equipment (UE) through base stations (BS), then the network side uses the time difference of arrival (TDOA) values carried in the received signals to calculate UE’s position. However, if the network side doesn’t report the positioning information to the UE, UE will never know its positioning result. Besides, a BS can accurately locate the UE within its coverage area, the security issue of UE needs to be considered. In order to improve the autonomy and security of UE, in this paper, we propose an autonomous positioning algorithm for the UE in cellular networks. The UE uses TDOA measurements and multiple UE positioning results sent by the network side to inversely calculate the positions of the BS participating in the positioning. After that, the UE can use calculated BS position coordinates and TDOA values measured by UE itself to calculate its position independently. The simulation results show that the method is effective, and the error of the calculated BSs’ coordinates is within the acceptable range.