System and method for enhancing the accuracy of a location estimate

A method for estimating the geo-location of a wireless transmitter emitting a signal that is received by a plurality of sensors in a geo-location system which further includes a geo-location estimation device which provides an overdetermined geo-location solution for the wireless transmitter, comprising the steps of:

• (a) at the sensors:
• (i) measuring an attribute of the emitted signal to thereby create a sensor signal;
• and
• (ii) sending the sensor signal to the geo-location estimation device;
• (b) at the geo-location estimation device:
• (i) receiving the plural sensor signals;
• (ii) associating with each sensor signal a separate initial predetermined weight value to thereby provide a plurality of initial estimation signals;
• (iii) determining an initial estimate of the geo-location of the wireless transmitter from the initial estimation signals;
• (iv) modifying the weight value associated with the dominant sensor signals relative to the weight value associated with the non-dominant sensor signals to thereby provide a plurality of refined estimation signals;
• (v) determining a refined estimate of the geo-location of the wireless transmitter from the refined estimation signals;
• (vi) repeating steps (b)(iv) through (b)(v) a predetermined number of times to thereby estimate the geo-location of the wireless transmitter.

A method for estimating the geo-location of a wireless transmitter emitting a signal that is received by a plurality of sensors in a geo-location system which further includes a geo-location estimation device which provides an overdetermined geo-location solution for the wireless transmitter, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a sensor signal for each of the plurality of sensors as a function of an attribute of the received signal at the respective sensor;
• (b) providing an initial weight value for each sensor signal;
• (c) estimating the initial geo-location of the wireless transmitter as a function of the sensor signals and the respective initial weight values;
• (d) determining the offset of each sensor signal from the estimated initial geo-location;
• (e) updating the weight value for at least one of the sensor signals as a function of the offset for the respective sensor signal;
• (f) estimating the updated geo-location of the wireless transmitter as a function of the sensor signals and the respective updated weight values;
• (g) determining the offset of each sensor signal from the updated geo-location;
• (h) repeating steps (e) through (g) a predetermined number of times to thereby estimate the geo-location of the wireless transmitter.

A method for estimating the geo-location of a wireless transmitter emitting a signal that is received by a plurality of sensors in a geo-location system which further includes a geo-location estimation device which provides an overdetermined geo-location solution for the wireless transmitter as a function of sensor signals determined from an attribute of the received signal at the plurality of sensors, comprising the steps of.

• (a) assigning a weight value for each sensor signal;
• (b) estimating the geo-location of the wireless transmitter as a function of the sensor signals and the weight values assigned to the sensor signals;
• (c) determining the offset of each received signal from the estimated geo-location;
• (d) updating the weight value for at least one of the sensor signals as a function of the offset for the respective sensor signal;
• (e) repeating steps (b) through (d) a predetermined number of times to thereby estimate the geo-location of the wireless transmitter.

A system for estimating the geo-location of a wireless transmitter emitting a signal that is received by a plurality of sensors in a geo-location system which further includes a geo-location estimation device which provides an overdetermined geo-location solution for the wireless transmitter as a function of sensor signals determined from an attribute of the received signal at the plurality of sensors, comprising:

• (a) means for assigning a weight value for each sensor signal;
• (b) means for estimating the geo-location of the wireless transmitter as a function of the sensor signals and the weight values assigned to the sensor signals;
• (c) means for determining the offset of each received signal from the estimated geo-location;
• (d) means for updating the weight value for at least one of the sensor signals as a function of the offset for the respective sensor signal;
• (e) means for repeating steps (b) through (d) a predetermined number of times to thereby estimate the geo-location of the wireless transmitter.