Method for position estimation using generalized error distributions

A method for use in a wireless location system, comprising:

• obtaining field data, wherein said field data have baseline or location dependent values to be used in a signal correlation model;
• analyzing said field data to obtain (1) said signal correlation model and associated measurement parameters, (2) correlation matrix rules, and (3) a model for a priori position;
• computing weights for the measurements based on an estimated variability of the measurement;
• using the weights along with the correlation matrix rules to generate a covariance matrix, and computing an inverse covariance matrix;
• performing an iterative search over a geographical region to find a location with a maximum a posteriori (MAP) metric;
• determining that a stopping condition has been reached;
• and
• reporting the geographic position with the largest MAP metric;
• wherein said iterative search includes a resolution loop in which a geographic search space resolution is reduced in each iteration and new test points are generated via interpolation, and wherein said iterative search includes a MAP metric computation that uses the covariance matrix, an error model and a measurement parameter table.