TDOF-based Localization of a Radio Receiver Using Stimulated Unintentional Emission

Sammanfattning

Countermeasures are required to address the constantly evolving technology of electronic warfare, such as Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIEDs) which are a constant threat to the lives of military personnel as well as civilians. Due to poor construction in some radio controllers used to trigger the Improvised Explosive Device (IED), the phenomenon of Stimulated Unintentional Emission (SUE) can be used as a method for detecting and locating such devices. In this master’s thesis, a Time-Difference-of-Flight (TDOF)-based localization approach that utilizes range estimates to the RCIED receiver is developed. The range estimates depend on the transmitted and received stimulation signals. These estimates are obtained by calculating the correlation between the signals, followed by interpolation in order to improve the time resolution of the measurement. The time differences are thereafter converted into distance estimates used in the localization process. The localization results of Monte Carlo simulations based on the collected range estimates indicate that SUEmeasurements can be used for TDOF-based localization. However, these simulations also demonstrate the importance of measurement data and how it is utilized, with regard to the number of samples per measurement position, as well as geometric placement and the number of measurement positions around the radio controller.