A robust estimation based localization algorithm for WSNs

In practical applications, the ranging distance between sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) usually contain gross error. It will seriously affect the accuracy and reliability of localization result. We introduce differential robust estimation theory, use the IGG III weight factor function, and design a robust estimation based localization algorithm. The proposed algorithm can handle the different measurement data contains different amplitude error properly, and get more accurate positioning results. The simulation results show that, the localization results estimated by the proposed algorithm and that estimated by the traditional least-squares (LS) algorithm keep a good equivalence when there is no gross error in the ranging distance; and when the ranging distance contain gross error, by means of choosing threshold, the proposed algorithm achieve higher accuracy than traditional LS algorithm, and show robust property for parameter estimation.