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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.08.24.746702

Absolute measures of time-difference-of-arrival positioning error in underwater acoustic telemetry setups

Campbell, J. A.·Lundberg, P.·Hölker, F.
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Abstract

This brief communication presents two solutions for calculating absolute measures of error from time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) positioning in underwater acoustic telemetry arrays. First, a Monte Carlo estimation of TDOA positioning error is derived. Next, a computationally inexpensive, approximate solution to the Monte Carlo method is presented. This approximate solution is achieved by solving the Jacobian of a closed-form TDOA positioning model. The positioning error covariance matrix returned from either method can then be used to report the accuracy of TDOA positions or utilized in state-space positioning models. Finally, calculations of the expected radial error are shown which serves as a simple summary statistic for reporting positioning error in real units.

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Campbell, J. A., Lundberg, P., Hölker, F.. 2026-08-25. Absolute measures of time-difference-of-arrival positioning error in underwater acoustic telemetry setups. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.24.746702

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