Iterative approach for anchor configuration of positioning systems

With anchor positions and measurements of distances between an object and anchors, positioning algorithms calculate the position of an object, e.g. via lateration. Positioning systems require calibration and configuration prior to operation. In the past, approaches employed reference nodes with GPS or other reference location systems to determine anchor positions. In this article, we propose an approach to determine anchor positions without prior knowledge. We evaluate our approach with simulations and real data based on the Decawave DW1000 radio and show that the error is proportional to the mean error of the distance estimation.