Student project: Towards Sub-Millimeter UWB Ranging Using Advanced UWB Hardware and Phase-Based Signal Processing

*Important for non-EU students: You'll need to be registered at a Dutch university to meet immigration requirements.

This project will investigate the achievable limits of phase-based UWB ranging using recent hardware platforms, with the long-term objective of approaching millimeter-level accuracy.

What you will do

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology is widely used for accurate distance measurement and indoor localization. Conventional UWB ranging methods, such as double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR), typically achieve sub decimeter-level accuracy. More accurate distance estimation is possible by exploiting the carrier-phase information contained in the complex channel impulse response (CIR).

Recent research by Ma et al. (2024), Push the Limit of Highly Accurate Ranging on Commercial UWB Devices, demonstrated a median ranging error of only 0.77 mm using commercial hardware.  At Imec-NL, we are able to achieve 1.5cm with a similar setup. One possible explanation for the performance difference is the RF and antenna implementation. The existing imec experiments use compact UWB modules with integrated antennas, whereas Ma et al. employ Decawave DW1000-based modules made on an own PCB connected to external 3 dBi wire antennas. Differences in antenna characteristics, multipath susceptibility, phase stability, RF front-end implementation, and calibration may significantly influence the achievable ranging accuracy.

Newer Qorvo development platforms, including the QM35825 DK05 and QM33120 development kit, offer an opportunity to investigate whether improved hardware combined with imec's existing phase-based processing algorithms can substantially reduce ranging errors.

The goal of this MSc project is to evaluate whether the existing imec phase-based ranging pipeline can be transferred to newer Qorvo platforms and whether the resulting system can approach the sub-millimeter ranging performance.  Our hypothesis that the antenna configuration could explain much of the performance gap, but has not yet been demonstrated. The thesis should test that hypothesis alongside hardware-dependent phase noise, calibration, multipath, and ambiguity resolution.

Main tasks:

• Study existing phase-based UWB ranging approaches, particularly Ma et al. and the imec probabilistic fusion framework.
• Review the hardware architectures and available low-level measurement interfaces of the DW1001C, QM35825, and QM33120 platforms.
• Investigate the influence of antenna configuration on ranging accuracy and carrier-phase stability.
• Adapt the existing imec phase-based processing pipeline to the measurements obtained from the newer Qorvo hardware.Recommendations for future hardware and signal-processing developments toward sub-millimeter UWB ranging

What we do for you

You will be working on cutting-edge research on a topic that is relevant to both academic and industrial research groups. To help you in this journey, we offer a flexible environment where you can be the leader of your own research while at the same time having the support of experts to complete your tasks. As part of the team in IMEC-Netherlands, you will have opportunities to learn from some of the best minds.

IMEC has in-house experts in ranging and localization signal processing who can help you in shaping this research project.

Who you are

• You are a MSc student in Electrical Engineering or Embedded Systems.
• You are available for a period of at least 9 months.
• Prior experience and affinity with wireless systems: theory and hardware.
• You are familiar with MATLAB and Python.
• Experience in C is a plus.
• You are entitled to do an internship in the Netherlands.
• You are self-starter and able to work independently.
• Good written and verbal English skills.
  
  

Interested

Does this position sound like an interesting next step in your career at imec? Don’t hesitate to submit your application by clicking on ‘APPLY’.
Should you have more questions about the job, you can contact jobs@imec.nl.