Events Calendar

Synchronization and Localization in Wireless Networks

Speaker: Bernhard Etzlinger, Johannes Kepler University and Linz Austria

Talk Title: Synchronization and Localization in Wireless Networks

Abstract: Several widely-used radio localization systems, such as GPS and cellular localization, rely on time-of-flight measurements of data-bearing signals to determine inter-radio distances. For such measurements to be meaningful, accurate synchronization is required. Synchronization becomes more important in emerging applications for large cooperative wireless networks, and has led to active research in the area of synchronization and localization. State-of-the-art solutions either adopt a two-step, first synchronize then localize paradigm, or perform centralized, simultaneous localization and synchronization that impose stringent constraints on the network topology. In this talk, we introduce a framework for distributed simultaneous localization and synchronization that overcomes these limitations. The framework consists of a Bayesian factor graph formulation for cooperative simultaneous localization and synchronization, and is suited for wireless networks with mobile nodes and time-varying clock parameters. Building on this factor graph, a distributed belief propagation algorithm is developed that allows for real-time operation and is suitable for a time-varying network connectivity. While numerical results indicate a similar localization accuracy as achieved in perfectly synchronized networks, demonstrator implementations validate the robustness of the algorithm in practice.


Biography: Bernhard Etzlinger received the Dipl.-Ing. (M.Sc.) degree in mechatronics in 2010 and his Dr.techn. (Ph.D.) degree in technical sciences in 2016, both with distinction from the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria. Since 2016, he has been with the Institute of Communication Systems and RF-Systems, Johannes Kepler University Linz, where he is currently a postdoctoral researcher. In 2010, he worked at Fraunhofer FKIE, Wachtberg, Germany. During his Ph.D. studies, he was a visiting student with the Department of Signals and Systems, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, and with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Currently he is visiting scholar at the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California. Dr. Etzlinger is the recipient of the 2017 Upper-Austrian innovation prize for achievements on a secure communication interface for real-time power-line protection. He has also served as a TPC member for the 2017 VTC Spring Conference and as a session chair at the Asilomar Conference in 2015. Dr. Etzlinger's research interests include statistical signal processing for receiver design, cooperative network clock synchronization and localization, and wireless control systems.


Host: Urbashi Mitra, ubli@usc.edu, EEB 536, x04667

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 539

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Gerrielyn Ramos