RadioDiff-Loc: Diffusion Model Enhanced Scattering Congnition for NLoS Localization with Sparse Radio Map Estimation

Abstract: Accurate localization of non-cooperative signal sources in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) environments remains a critical challenge with a wide range of applications, including autonomous navigation, industrial automation, and emergency response. In such settings, traditional positioning techniques relying on line-of-sight (LoS) or cooperative signaling fail due to severe multipath propagation and unknown transmit power. This paper proposes a novel generative inference framework for NLoS localization based on conditional diffusion models. By leveraging the physical insight that diffracted electromagnetic energy concentrates near building edges, we develop a sampling strategy that collects sparse received signal strength (RSS) measurements at the geometric vertices of obstacles--locations that maximize Fisher information and mutual information with respect to the unknown source. To overcome the lack of known transmission power, we normalize all sampled RSS values relative to the maximum observed intensity, enabling the construction of a power-invariant radio map (RM). A conditional diffusion model is trained to reconstruct the full RM based on environmental layout and sparse RSS observations. Localization is then achieved by identifying the brightest point on the generated RM. Moreover, the proposed framework is compatible with existing RSS-based localization algorithms, enabling a dual-driven paradigm that fuses physical knowledge and data-driven inference for improved accuracy. Extensive theoretical analysis and empirical validation demonstrate that our approach achieves high localization accuracy with significantly reduced sampling cost, offering a scalable and physically grounded solution for non-cooperative NLoS emitter localization.