Method for privacy-preserving uwb localization

A system for Ultra-wideband (UWB) UWB localization, comprising:

• a plurality of physical UWB anchors, wherein the plurality of physical UWB anchors is part of a vehicle;
• a physical UWB tag, wherein the physical UWB tag is part of a mobile device;
• a controller in communication with the plurality of physical UWB anchors and the UWB tag, wherein the controller runs a virtual UWB sensor, and the controller is programmed to:
• receive, by the virtual UWB sensor, a ranging request from a physical UWB tag, wherein the physical UWB tag is part of a mobile device;
• in response to receiving the ranging request, generate, by the virtual UWB sensor, at least one unique identifier, wherein the unique identifier identifies the physical UWB anchors, wherein the physical UWB anchors are part of a vehicle;
• communicate, by the virtual UWB sensor, the at least one unique identifier to the UWB tag;
• in response to receiving the at least one unique identifier by the UWB tag, establish a communication between the physical UWB tag and the virtual UWB sensor;
• in response to establishing communication between the virtual UWB sensor and the physical UWB tag, command, by the virtual UWB sensor, at least one of the physical UWB anchors to activate;
• and
• perform double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) between the UWB tag and the at least one of the physical UWB anchors that has been activated to locate the mobile device relative to the vehicle.

A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• receive, by a virtual UWB sensor, a ranging request from a physical UWB tag, wherein the physical UWB tag is part of a mobile device;
• in response to receiving the ranging request, generate, by the virtual UWB sensor, a unique identifier, wherein the unique identifier identifies a plurality of physical UWB anchors, wherein each of the plurality of physical UWB anchors is part of a vehicle;
• communicate, by the virtual UWB sensor, the unique identifier to the UWB tag;
• in response to receiving the unique identifier by the UWB tag, establish a communication between the physical UWB tag and the virtual UWB sensor;
• in response to establishing communication between the virtual UWB sensor and the physical UWB tag, command, by the virtual UWB sensor, at least one of the plurality of physical UWB anchors to activate;
• and
• perform double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) between the UWB tag and the at least one of the plurality of physical UWB anchors that has been activated to locate the mobile device relative to the vehicle.