A new time-delay estimation: phase difference-reassigned transform

Time difference of arrival (TDOA) is an essential technology in localization, communication, and navigation. However, it remains a significant challenge to increase the precision of TDOA in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) situation. Therefore, this paper proposed a phase difference-reassigned synchro-squeezing transform (PDTR) algorithm to offer a precise TDOA estimator. Firstly, the partial derivative of the frequency variable of the short-term cross-power spectrum technique is employed to obtain two-dimensional delay information. Secondly, this spectrum can be reordered, utilizing the delay, and time-frequency points across the frequency axis can be accumulated to generate one-dimensional delay information. Finally, the delay associated with the most robust energy is selected to obtain the TDOA. Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the efficacy and robustness of the algorithm comprehensively. Initially, simulation validation is executed, which confirms the algorithm's effectiveness. Subsequently, the algorithm's robustness in low-SNR environments is experimentally tested. The results demonstrate that the stability of the PDRT algorithm changes slowly as the SNR decreases from 0 to - 20 dB, but the stability of the comparable algorithm decreases sharply.