Method and apparatus for ranging finding, orienting, and/or positioning of single and/or multiple devices

A system comprising:

• a transmitter operable to transmit a signal formed at least in part by a series of pulses having a pulse strength that varies across said series in accordance with a designated pulse strength profile;
• a receiver;
• and
• a signal processor operatively coupled to said receiver, said signal processor processing received pulses as a function of a received pulse strength profile thereof to output a range value representative of a distance traveled by said series of pulses between said transmitter and said receiver.

A signal processor for operative coupling to one or more receivers for processing a transmitted signal received thereby to identify a distance traveled by the transmitted signal, the transmitted signal comprising a series of pulses having a transmitted pulse strength that varies across the series in accordance with a designated pulse strength profile, the signal processor operable to:

• access a received pulse strength profile of received pulses in said series;
• identify those of said received pulses having a received pulse strength above a designated threshold;
• and
• correlate said identified pulses with a value representative of the distance, said value pre-calibrated as a function of a relative change between said received pulse strength profile and said designated pulse strength profile over distance.

A method for identifying a distance traveled by a signal between an emitter and a receiver, comprising:

• generating a signal formed at least in part by a series of pulses having a pulse strength that varies across said series in accordance with a designated transmission pulse strength profile;
• transmitting said signal via the emitter;
• receiving at least a subset of said series of pulses at the receiver;
• detecting a received pulse strength profile of said received pulses;
• and
• correlating said detected pulse strength profile with a distance traveled by the signal between the emitter and the receiver.