Smartphone-based Infrastructure-less Ranging in tactical edge networks

Modern position and navigation systems rely heavily on the Global Positioning System (GPS). However, position information may not be accurate or available when soldiers are operating in environments where GPS is denied, degraded, or unavailable. On the other hand, Smartphones have various powerful features such as low cost, maturity, familiarity of use, and readiness for advanced commercial communication, position and navigation technologies. It is thus desirable to explore the possibility of leveraging Smartphones to assist in enhancing situation awareness in environments where GPS is not reliable. One of the primary implementation barriers is that current Smartphones require network infrastructures which are however not available in many cases in the GPS-denied environments. To address this issue, current Smartphones need to be customized to enable the ad hoc networking capability. Further, advanced RF ranging approaches are needed on customized Smartphones to achieve the high-quality ranging performance over the ad hoc network of Smartphones. In this effort, IAI propose to develop a SmartPhone-based Infrastructure-less Ranging (SPIR) scheme for tactical networks. SPIR leverages state-of-the-art technologies on Smartphone programming, communication and networking, electronics, and RF ranging. It will significantly improve the reliable situation awareness for dismounted soldiers on the battlefield.