Relative velocity estimation using multidimensional scaling

Localization is a fundamental challenge for any wireless network of nodes, in particular when the nodes are mobile. For an anchorless network of mobile nodes, we present a relative velocity estimation algorithm based on multidimensional scaling. We propose a generalized two-way ranging model, where the time-varying pairwise distances between the nodes are expressed as a Taylor series for a small observation period. The Taylor coefficients which are obtained by solving a Vandermonde system are in turn used to jointly estimate the initial relative position and the relative velocity of the nodes. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed solutions and the results are presented.