SPEB Evaluation and Anchors Selection for UAV Positioning

Positioning is a crucial element of the new connected world and its integration with the current and future releases of the mobile system technology has been gaining interest since the introduction of the 5G verticals. In the application layer, positioning provides an additional and, in many case, fundamental value for the implementation of services in cases like terrestrial and non-terrestrial vehicles, industrial robots and many other advanced systems. Also the exploitation of the altitude, i.e. the non-terrestrial dimension of communications is currently one of the most significant trends in the evolution of mobile technologies. In this context, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and aerial platforms (APs) are two actors of great importance. In this work we address two issues that can be of interest for studying the space localization of UAVs and APs: (i) we present a study of a simplified formulation of the 3D Position Error Bound (PEB) and (ii) an investigation of the impact of the optimal selection of avaliable anchors or base stations. These results are applied to a realistic geometric scenario, the center of Milan city, and we present the numerical results regarding the potential role of the base stations currently deployed in that area.