Ultra-Wideband Fast Acquisition System for Positioning in an Underground Mining Environment

A major application of wireless communications in confined indoor areas is positioning. Ultra-wideband (UWB) has been recently promoted as a very promising physical support for such use. However, fast and accurate timing acquisition of the ultra-short pulses transmitted in indoor environments is significantly challenging, and even more so in hostile areas such as underground mines. This paper presents an UWB fast acquisition system proposed for positioning in an underground mining environment. The parameters of the proposed UWB acquisition system are detailed and its effectiveness is confirmed by computer simulations.