Target localization using TDoA measurement and accelerometer sensor with unknown propagation speed

Target detection on the surface of water using wireless sensor networks (WSNs) should be able to collect information as much as possible. The previous studies are only able to collect speed and direction of the target. In addition to previous studies, we collect not only speed and direction but also real time location of the target. In this paper, we propose a target localization algorithm based on Time Different of Arrival (TDoA). The proposed algorithm takes into account grid topology of sensors because it is more tractable. The algorithm is validated using experiments to compute the mean average error (MAE); in these experiments, the estimated and real location coordinates were compared. The experimental results achieved the smallest MAE at 0.25 m. The experimental results indicated that the MAE is inversely proportional to the distance between the sensors. Moreover, the MAE of the x-axis is always greater than that of the y-axis is well explained using the principle of the Abbe error.