Improved TDOA For CDMA By Error

Pattern Detection And Correction.

S.R.Praveen Kumar
R.Anusha Rajagopalan
III Year Electronics and Communication Engineering,
KCG College Of Technology, Chennai

Abstract: The need for Position Locators for cell And the intersection of the two hyperbolas results in the
phones has been stressed in the recent past. Though position location estimate of the source. This method is also
E911 and position location service has been sometimes called a hyperbolic position location method.
implemented in GSM, it has still remained a dream
in CDMA, as gross errors were produced during
implementation. This paper discusses about using
TDOA as a PL technique stating the advantages it
enjoys with CDMA. It was found that whenever
error occurred they occurred in amounts larger than
the total expected value of time difference. This error
was found to follow a particular pattern. As another
step towards the increasing the accuracy we have
suggested a correction procedure and discussed its
impact on the calculation.

I. Introduction

A. Introduction and Motivation : The use of Position Fig. 1 Hyperbola drawn based on delay estimate
Locators are stressed from the recent past. After the between two base stations.
FCC ruling that E911 must be made mandatory for
every cell phone operator, its pace of research has been
in leaps and bounces. In this advent, as yet another step
towards improved calculation we have tried to provide
some error correcting procedures. These procedures
spring from the fact that errors when they occur, occur
more than the actual expected value, and quite
interestingly seem to follow a pattern in a overwhelming
majority of cases. Thus the pattern being know Error
Correction can be easily.

B. Time Difference Of Technique-TDOA:

TDOA techniques are based on estimating the
difference in the arrival times of the signal from the
source to multiple receivers. This is usually
accomplished by taking a snapshot of the signal at a
synchronized time period at multiple receivers. The
cross-correlation of the two versions of the signal at
pairs of base stations is done and the peak of the cross- Fig 2. Location estimate got at intersection of three
correlation output gives the time difference for the hyperbolas ( 3 dimensional estimate )
signal arrival at those two base stations. A particular
value of the time difference estimate defines a
hyperbola between the two receivers on which the
mobile may exist. If this procedure is done again with
another receiver in combination with any of the
previously used receivers, another hyperbola is defined 1
 II. CDMA For TDOA
C. CDMA- An Overview : Code Division Multiple Access.
In the mid-l980s, several researchers saw the
potential for a technology primarily used in military
applications to also be used for cellular
communications. This technology, spread spectrum
communications, which involve transforming
narrowband information to a wideband, signal for
transmission, was seen as a mean of addressing
potential capacity limitations of TDMA systems
(which result from the fact that the number of users on
any single frequency is restricted by the number of
available time slots). A spread spectrum system
operates by transforming the narrowband information of
an individual user into wideband information by using
high frequency codes, each unique for that particular
user. By assigning different users unique codes, a
multiple-access system is possible, Le., code division
multiple access (CDMA). Moreover, in a CDMA
system, frequency reuse limitations seen in FDMA and
TDMA systems are not quite so critical, as multiple
mobile stations and base stations can occupy the same
frequencies at once.
Qualcomm Incorporated in San Diego,
California, developed the first CDMA cellular system
for widespread deployment in the early 1990s,
culminating with the standardization of Qualcomm's
CDMA solution by the Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA) in 1992.
D. Advantages for TDOA in CDMA: The most
obvious advantage of CDMA for TDOA techniques is that
CDMA Interim Standard-95 (IS-95) is a wideband system
when compared with other standards like Advanced
Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), IS-136 or Global System
for Mobile communications (GSM). This is because a key
limitation of conventional cross-correlation is that the time
resolution of the TDOA estimate, in the presence of multi-
path, is limited to approximately 1/B, where B is the
bandwidth of the received signal. For example, when
receiving a 1 MHz signal, the time delays can only be
resolved to within 1s or within 300 meters. In this respect,
IS-95 is the most well suited standard among all the
standards in use nowadays, as it is the most wideband of
all. However, the accuracy can be further increased by
increasing the sampling rate of the incoming signal. This
happens because as the sampling rate increases, the
quantization error in timing estimates decreases, which
results in more accurate TDOA measurements. Another
advantage of CDMA standard is its inherent multi-path
rejection capability. For any PL system to be practical, it
must be able to resolve different multi-path components
. If we use only the earliest arriving signal components for
cross-correlation, we can minimize the timing errors due
to multiple signal reflections. Hence, CDMA is most
suitable here as it not only resolves but takes advantage of
different multi-path components by employing a rake
receiver on both links.
E. Disadvantages in CDMA: The single biggest problem
that the TDOA method faces in CDMA is the power
control operation of the IS-95 standard. To achieve
maximum capacity, it is crucial for the CDMA systems
that all the signals must be received at approximately the
same power levels Hence the IS-95 standard uses open
loop and closed loop power control mechanisms to keep
the power levels from the mobiles constant at the base
station. In practice the power levels are distributed with a
variance of 1 to 2 dB around the desired mean Hence,
when a mobile is closer to its controlling base station, it
transmits at a lower transmit power than a mobile farther
away from the base station. As a result, for the mobile that
is closer to the base station, its signal is received at a very
low power at the other two base stations participating in
the TDOA PL. This happens because of the simultaneous
effects of increased path loss and reduced transmit power.
Hence, the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) at the other base
stations drops rapidly as the mobile comes closer to its
home cell site. This results in poor PL accuracy when the
mobile is close to the controlling base station. Another
problem that the TDOA method faces in CDMA systems
is that the signals of all users are spectrally and temporally
overlapping.
Hence, it is not possible to use directly
generalized or cyclic cross-correlation techniques to find
the desired user's peak at the Cross-correlation output
among the peaks of other users.
F. What we can do we can undo :: Shown below is a
functional diagram explaining the basic principle of how
CDMA works.. Here a simple 2 message case is
considered. Suppose the messages are m1(t) and m2(t),
with one bit interval Tb, they are product multiplied with
orthogonal codes. (Codes when cross correlated among
them would yield zero), then added and sent to the
antennae for transmission. And Tc is the chip interval of
the running orthogonal code, where Tc << Tb as for
the condition for spreading the message into wideband.
The received code A is product multiplied by appropriate
orthogonal code. The integrator adds up the signal
power over one bit interval Tb of the base-band
message. If the output of the integrator is greater than
0, then the decision is a 1; if the integrator output is
less than 0, then the decision is a -1.
2
 III. The Error Pattern Detection
F.Where can Error Occur : Errors mostly occur
due to noise that the signal encounters when it gets
transmitted over the channel. In CDMA, apart from
having AWGN (Additive White Gaussian Noise), the
data of the other users in the cell also are present. But
applying orthogonal code technique has greatly reduced
the errors to a negligible effect. Hardware have been
developed to that extend that errors have been reduced
to a nil effect at least in the Home Cell of the User.
CDMA technique requires information form
all users to be at the same power level for its operation.
So the user’s mobile that is near the BS of the home cell
is notified to transmit at a lower power so as to be par
with the user who is near the border of Home Cell. This
is called .Near-Far Effect.
So for such a user the snap-shot developed for
calculating time delay would be error free in Home
Cell’s BS.. But in other BS taking part in calculation
would end up with errors as the power transmitted being
low gets lost in the noise provided by the channel. One
possible solution is that to increase the power of the
desired Signal Of Interest (SOI) and to apply Multiple
Access Interference (MAI) cancellation techniques. So
the snapshot constructed at the neighboring BS can be
made with very low Bit Error Rate (BER). Typical BER
is about 0.005% for IS-95 used by most of the operators.
So having more than one bit error is 0.00065% which
means we get no errors or one bit error in 99.9% cases.
So the bottom line is that the snapshot formed
at the Home Cell is error free (in a overwhelming
majority of cases) and the snapshot in neighboring cells
will have at most one or two bit error.
IV Improved TDOA Estimation:
G .Its Implication:
The snap shot of the desired user has to be
recovered first. In the process if a wrong bit decision is
made, then a whole portion of snap shot equal to one bit
duration which has a number of chips equal to the
spreading gain is replaced with the wrong polarity. As a
result, if such wrong replacements cause a cross-
correlation error, the wrong peak occurs exactly at
multiples of bit times away. In such case the total delay
time output would be larger than the expected value and
the error would occur as multiples of bit duration. Once
we know that the error has occurred we can apply the
correcting procedure discussed.
H. .Formulas Used:
Spreading Gain = Chipping Rate/User Data Rate
C=speed of light (3 x 108)
Mcps – Million chips per second
3
 V References
I.Correction Procedure : In the IS-95 CDMA
[1]. T. S. Rappaport, J. H. Reed and B. D. Woerner,
system, the chip rate is 1.2288 Mcps and the spreading \Position Location Using Wireless Communications on
gain is 128, hence, the bit duration is about 104.16 µs. Highways of the Future", IEEE Communications
On the other hand the maximum possible value for a
Magazine, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 33{41, October 1996.
TDOA measurement between any two base stations
(BS) is equal to the time it takes for the radio signal to
[2].George A. Mizusawa, \Performance of
travel between those two base stations. This TDOA
Hyperbolic Position Location Techniques for
estimate may occur when a mobile unit is very close to Code Division Multiple Access", MPRG-TR-
the controlling base station. In our case, the base 96-29, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
stations are separated by a distance of 8.66 km
24061-0350, August 1996.
(assuming a hexagonal layout with a major radius of 5
km). Hence the propagation time between any
[3] CDMA RF System Engineering, Samuel C. Yang
two BS which is also the maximum possible TDOA is
28.86 µs. This is much less than a bit duration which is [4].. R. E. Ziemer and R. L. Peterson, Digital
104.16 µs. Hence, if we find a TDOA estimate that is Communications and Spread Spectrum Systems,
higher than the maximum possible TDOA, then we can
Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.
assume that there is an error in the TDOA estimate and
we can most probably correct it by subtracting from it
[5]. R. M. Buehrer, N. S. Correal and B. D. Woerner,
an appropriate multiple of the bit duration and thus
\Analysis of Selective Interference
reducing it to an amount within the maximum possible Cancellation for Cellular CDMA", IEEE Transactions
TDOA. on Communications, 1996.
In standard measurements the snapshot used
would be of 12 bits length. So even is more than one bit
[6]. Third-Generation CDMA Systems
for Enhanced Data Services, Giridhar Mandvam d
error occurs (though chances are very less) there would
JerseyLai
still be enough correlating bits to give the peaks.

J.. Conditions for the Application of Improved TDOA

Estimation: In summary, the
improved TDOA estimation described above is
Applicable, if the following conditions are satisfied

1. A CDMA code-on-pulse system is used.

2. Snap Shots that have been composed by respreading
the decoded data are used for cross-correlations.
3.The bit duration and the base station separations are
such that the maximum possible TDOA is less than
a bit duration.

K. Recommendations:

Position Location can be made reliable and

accurate with improved TDOA techniques. It is also
recommended that the user to transmit a little higher
Power and to use MAI techniques to avoid interference.

L.Conclusion:
It is observed that this method keeps the errors
below the required threshold in almost all cases and
gives highly consistent and better results than the
unmodified simple TDOA estimation..