Reliability metrics for parameter estimates which account for cumulative error

摘要

A method of producing a reliability metric for a parameter estimate derived from a signal using correlation analysis is described. The method begins by obtaining an indication of whether a non line of sight signal condition is present or likely and/or obtaining an indication of whether a multi-path signal condition is present or likely. Responsive to one or both of these indications, the method derives a reliability metric for the parameter estimate. In one embodiment, the parameter estimate is an estimate of time of arrival (TOA) of the signal, and the reliability metric is root mean square error (RMSE) of the time of arrival estimate. This embodiment obtains an indication of whether a non line of sight signal condition is present or likely based on a measure of the strength of the correlation function at the peak thereof. The measure of the strength of the correlation function at the peak thereof may be energy per chip divided by total received power (E_c/I₀) or may simply be the raw energy of the correlation function at the peak. The RMSE metric which is computed in this embodiment varies inversely with the peak strength of the correlation function.