High-Accuracy 2-D AoA Estimation Using Lightweight UWB Arrays

Ultra-wide band (UWB) systems are gaining popularity for multi-robot localization benefiting from their high-accuracy ranging capabilities. However, current UWB systems fall short in determining orientations and realizing pair-wise localization for neglecting bearing information. Given the importance of bearing capabilities, especially when vision-based methods fail, this paper proposes a high-accuracy 2-D bearing estimation method using stereo UWB arrays. We propose a novel phase error calibration method that effectively mitigates various phase imperfections. This array is designed with antenna spacing larger than half the wavelength to diminish antenna coupling and enhance bearing accuracy. As regards the phase ambiguity issue arising from large antenna spacing, a distributed range-assisted phase ambiguity determination method is developed. Our bearing estimation method exhibits low complexity and is well-suited for the deployment on mobile robots with limited computational resources. The performance of the proposed method is validated on the practical platforms under dynamic scenarios, yielding root mean squared errors (RMSEs) less than 4° and 3° for azimuth and elevation angle estimation, respectively.