Target localization using information fusion in WSNs-based Marine search and rescue
Xiaojun Mei, Dezhi Han, Yanzhen Chen, Huafeng Wu, Teng Ma
Abstract
Marine search and rescue (MSR) is considered the last line of defense for human life at sea. Recently, a prospective MSR strategy based on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has been developed, and distress-stricken individuals can be located utilizing various localization methods. Nevertheless, the accuracy cannot satisfy the requirement of related departments, especially when employing a single measurement localization technique, such as received signal strength (RSS)-based technology, in a dynamic and complicated ocean environment. To this end, a scheme inspired by information fusion is developed, which incorporates RSS and time of arrival (TOA) information. The maximum likelihood (ML)-based localization problem is then converted into a hybrid measurement alternative nonnegative constrained least squares (HM-ANCLS) framework. Moreover, the paper develops a two-step linearization localization approach (TLLA) to determine the target location. The first step proposes a slight computation method (SCM) that relies on an active set approach to address the framework. In the second step, the paper presents an error correction approach based on the first-order Taylor series expansion to refine the solution. In addition, the paper conducts the Cramér-Rao low bound (CRLB) and the computational complexity of the hybrid scheme. Simulations reveal that TLLA outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches in various situations.