Emitter location via Kalman filtering of signal time difference of arrival

Abstract

A relatively simple time domain method is developed to calculate the time of arrival for radar signals. The error present in the estimate of the time of arrival for a single pulse and a burst of pulses are developed and the effects of SNR, PRF, pulsewidth, and sampling frequency are examined. Time of arrival is used with multiple sensors and the Kalman filter to estimate the location of the emitter. Algorithms estimate the location of an emitter given the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) of a single pulse as well as the TDOA of bursts of pulses received as the emitter scans past the receivers. The algorithms were tested on simulated data.