Guaranteed Boxed Localization in MANETs by Interval Analysis and Constraints Propagation Techniques

In this contribution, we propose an original algorithm for self-localization in mobile ad-hoc networks. The proposed technique, based on interval analysis, is suited to the limited computational and memory resources of mobile nodes. The incertitude about the estimated position of each node is propagated in an interval form. The propagation is based on a state space model and formulated by a constraints satisfaction problem. Observations errors as well as anchor nodes imperfections are taken into account in a simple and computational- consistent way. A simple Waltz algorithm is then applied in order to contract the solution, yielding a guaranteed and robust online estimation of the mobile node position. Simulation results on mobile node group trajectories corroborate the efficiency of the proposed technique and show that it compares favorably to particle filtering methods. © 2008 IEEE.