Editing True-range multilateration (section)

== Applications ==

* Land [[surveying]] using the trilateration method
* [[Aerial survey]]ing
* Maritime archeology surveying<ref name="Mara">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iis6-Kz9YFA "Trilateration in Maritime Archeology"], YouTube, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2006.</ref>
* DME/DME RNAV aircraft navigation<ref name="Lilley">[https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/techops/navservices/gnss/library/documents/APNT/media/20120723APNT_DMEWhitePaper_dc.pdf "DME/DME for Alternate Position, Navigation, and Timing (APNT)"], Robert W. Lilley and Robert Erikson, Federal Aviation Administration, White Paper, July 23, 2012.</ref><ref name="Tran">"DME/DME Accuracy", Michael Tran, ''Proceedings of the 2008 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation'', San Diego, CA, January 2008, pp. 443–451.</ref> 
* Multiple radar integration (e.g., FAA [[ERAM]])<ref name="Wolff">[http://www.radartutorial.eu/02.basics/rp52.en.html "Radar Basics"], Christian Wolff, undated</ref>
* [[Celestial navigation]] using the altitude intercept method
* [[Intercept method]]—Graphical solution to the altitude intercept problem
* Calibrating laser interferometers<ref name="Schneider">[http://www.slac.stanford.edu/econf/C04100411/papers/054.PDF LaserTracer – A New Type of Self Tracking Laser Interferometer], Carl-Thomas Schneider, IWAA2004, CERN, Geneva, October 2004</ref>
* [[SHORAN]], [[Oboe (navigation)|Oboe]], [[Gee-H (navigation)|Gee-H]]—Aircraft guidance systems developed for 'blind' bombing
* JTIDS ([[Joint Tactical Information Distribution System]]) -- U.S./NATO system that (among other capabilities) locates participants in a network using inter-participant ranges
* USAF [[Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird|SR-71 Blackbird]] aircraft—Employs astro-inertial navigation 
* USAF [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2 Spirit]] aircraft—Employs astro-inertial navigation
* Experimental Loran-C technique<ref name="Grant" />

Navigation and surveillance systems typically involve vehicles and require that a government entity or other organization deploy multiple stations that employ a form of radio technology (i.e., utilize electromagnetic waves). The advantages and disadvantages of employing true-range multilateration for such a system are shown in the following table.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
|+ Advantages and disadvantages for vehicle navigation and surveillance
|-
! Advantages
! Disadvantages
|- 
||
* Station locations are flexible; they can be placed centrally or peripherally 
* Accuracy degrades slowly with distance from station (generally better than pseudo-range multilateration)
* Requires one fewer station than a pseudo range multilateration system
* Station synchronization is not demanding (based on speed of point of interest, and may be addressed by [[dead reckoning]]) 
||
* Often a user is required to have both a transmitter and a receiver
* Cooperative system accuracy is sensitive to equipment turn-around error
* Cannot be used for stealth surveillance
* Non-cooperative surveillance involves path losses to the fourth power of distance
|}

True-range multilateration is often contrasted with (pseudo range) multilateration, as both require a form of user ranges to multiple stations. Complexity and cost of user equipage is likely the most important factor in limiting use of true-range multilateration for vehicle navigation and surveillance. Some uses are not the original purpose for system deployment – e.g., DME/DME aircraft navigation.