Bias Analysis of Maximum Likelihood Target Location Estimator

This paper investigates the bias of the maximum likelihood target location estimate resulting from the Gaussian data measurement noise and sensor position errors. The bias components from them are interrelated, except when they are independent and identically distributed. The bias behaviors of time of arrival, time difference of arrival, and angle of arrival positionings are contrasted, and geometric conditions under which the location bias becomes zero are elaborated. We illustrate the developed results for bias compensation in improving the performance of target tracking.