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I need to track a point in space. The point is less than 2 m away, it has to be passive, no batteries, and no charging.

I don't always have a line of sight. I need to pinpoint it to about a centimeter. I need to sample it at a frequency of 10 Hz or more.

Can it be done at all? Does such a solution exist?

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    $\begingroup$ You listed a few things you can't do at the point, but it would be more useful to say something about what can be done there. Eg, can you attach an RFID chip or a tuned circuit with antenna? $\endgroup$ – James Waldby - jwpat7 Oct 25 '13 at 19:05
  • $\begingroup$ It's not a solution with no batteries, but you could check out Bluetooth Low Energy. Rangefinding on that technology is very well developed; Apple just announced a library to make it all happen on the iPhone. A BLE radio with a weeks worth of battery could be the size of a credit card, or so. $\endgroup$ – Chris Oct 27 '13 at 2:22
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    $\begingroup$ Interesting discussion here about some of the issues when trying to use use passive radios for position: rfidtoys.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=139 $\endgroup$ – kaliatech Nov 1 '13 at 17:28
  • $\begingroup$ There is an EU funded project underway called Technologies for Control of Advanced Tele-robots (TCAT). This is trying to do exactly what you ask. The results will be available next year. They are using antennas to accurately measure the distance to a small receiver. $\endgroup$ – Rocketmagnet Nov 29 '13 at 21:23

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