Time-difference reassigned transform with application to time difference of arrival for impulsive signal

Abstract

Time difference of arrival (TDOA) is essential in localization, communication, and navigation. Under ambient noise interference, the impulsive signal is transmitted over a long distance and reaches the sensor with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Aiming to achieve a precise time delay estimation in scenarios with low SNR, this paper extends the time-reassigned extracting transform (TRET) theory to TDOA and proposes a time difference rearrangement extracting transform (TDRT) algorithm. The implementation process of the proposed algorithm comprises three steps. Initially, a rough two-dimensional time delay estimation is obtained by calculating the partial derivative of the short-time cross-power spectrum with respect to the frequency variable. Secondly, a rearrangement operation separates the signal's time-frequency (TF) points from the noise. Thirdly, a refined TDOA estimation is obtained by inverse Fourier transforming TF points extracted from the time-delay energy ridge. Simulation results show that the TDRT algorithm is effective in time delay estimation. Furthermore, experimental results prove that the performance of the TDRT algorithm outperforms comparable algorithms in low SNR environments.