Polarized RF Geolocation for Stealthy Munitions Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies for geolocation in GPS-denied environments, particularly in battlefield settings, face challenges such as high power consumption, visibility to enemies, and limited range, making them unsuitable for accurately locating remotely emplaced munitions (REMs) with high precision and stealth.
Innovation Solution
The combination of direction of arrival polarized RF geometrical cavity orientation sensor technology with a fully electronic Scanning Polarized RF Reference Source (SPRS) enables angular direction determination with high precision, using narrow band directional and polarized waves, and time of flight measurements to achieve centimeter-level geolocation accuracy over 10 km without strict time synchronization, while minimizing power consumption and visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high power beacons are used for geolocation, then location accuracy is improved, but visibility to enemies increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic pulsed transmission instead of continuous high power beacons. The reference source transmits signals at specific intervals, allowing the system to achieve necessary measurement accuracy through repeated measurements while keeping the average power and visibility significantly reduced compared to continuous transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the transmission parameters by using directional polarized waves with specific frequencies instead of omnidirectional high power beacons. This allows the system to maintain measurement precision through directional focusing of energy while reducing overall power consumption and enemy detection probability.
2Measurement precision
If multiple transmitters are positioned far apart for accurate geolocation, then location resolution is improved, but system complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the geolocation function into two parts: a single reference source that transmits signals and multiple orientation sensors on the REM that detect signal characteristics. This segmentation allows accurate geolocation to be achieved without deploying multiple transmitters, reducing system complexity while maintaining location resolution through the orientation sensing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The orientation sensor on the REM acts as an intermediary that measures the angular direction of incoming signals from the reference source. This intermediary measurement capability allows the system to achieve accurate geolocation with a single transmitter, eliminating the need for multiple widely spaced transmitters and reducing deployment complexity.
3Area of stationary object
If omnidirectional RFID readers and tags are used for positioning, then coverage area is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes from omnidirectional transmission to directional polarized wave transmission. This parameter change allows the reference source to concentrate energy in specific directions, reducing the power needed to achieve the same effective coverage area, thereby lowering power consumption while maintaining coverage capability.
4Measurement precision
If trilateration is used for geolocation, then location accuracy is improved, but time synchronization requirements become more stringent
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the time-based trilateration method with an orientation-based measurement approach. Instead of measuring time of flight with highly synchronized clocks, the system uses orientation sensors to measure the angular direction of incoming signals, eliminating the need for strict time synchronization while maintaining location accuracy through geometric orientation measurements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides accurate and stealthy geolocation of REMs with centimeter resolution, enabling continuous tracking and communication, reducing power usage by orders of magnitude, and allowing operation in all weather conditions with low probability of detection by enemies.
Implementation Method 1
a reference source transmits a signal and determines a range to the remotely emplaced object based on a time of flight of the signal
Implementation Method 2
an angular direction of the remotely emplaced object is determined based on the signal received at the orientation sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining a location of remotely emplaced objects. The method including: (a) scanning a field for one or more remotely emplaced objects with a reference source signal from a reference source; (b) detecting the signal at one or more orientation sensors associated with each of the one or more remotely emplaced objects; (c) determining an angular direction of each of the one or more remotely emplaced objects relative to the reference source based on the signal received at the one or more orientation sensors associated with each of the one or more remotely emplaced objects; (d) directing a range signal from the reference source towards each of the remotely emplaced objects at a corresponding determined angular direction; (e) in response to the range signal, transmitting a response signal from each of the remotely emplaced objects to the reference source; and (f) determining a range for each of the one or more remotely emplaced objects relative to the reference source at the determined angular direction based at least partially on the range and response signals.