Direction-of-arrival estimation in closely distributed array exploiting mixed-precision covariance matrices

DOA (Direction of Arrival) estimation is a major problem in array signal processing applications. Recently, compressive sensing algorithms, including convex relaxation algorithms and greedy algorithms, have been recognized as a kind of novel DOA estimation algorithm. However, the success of these algorithms is limited by the RIP (Restricted Isometry Property) condition or the mutual coherence of measurement matrix. In the DOA estimation problem, the columns of measurement matrix are steering vectors corresponding to different DOAs. Thus, it violates the mutual coherence condition. The situation gets worse when there are two sources from two adjacent DOAs. In this paper, an algorithm based on OMP (Orthogonal Matching Pursuit), called ILS-OMP (Iterative Local Searching-Orthogonal Matching Pursuit), is proposed to improve DOA resolution by Iterative Local Searching. Firstly, the conventional OMP algorithm is used to obtain initial estimated DOAs. Then, in each iteration, a local searching process for every estimated DOA is utilized to find a new DOA in a given DOA set to further decrease the residual. Additionally, the estimated DOAs are updated by substituting the initial DOA with the new one. The simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed algorithm.

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is an essential part of array signal processing and also one of the main tasks in the field of sonar arrays. The most commonly method among DOA estimation problems is to perform subspace decomposition of the covariance matrix. Since traditional neural networks can’t handle real and imaginary numbers at the same time, the subspace decomposition method is not suitable for neural networks. Inspired by the extensive application of ResNet in the field of computer vision, this paper proposes a method of using the covariance matrix as an image processing, which uses a dual-channel matrix image containing the imaginary covariance matrix and the real covariance matrix as the input of the ResNet to estimate the DOA of the underwater acoustic array. It provides a new perspective for DOA estimation to solve the acoustic field problem. The ResNet algorithm is compared with the KNN algorithm and traditional MUSIC algorithm in terms of estimation accuracy and time. Simulation experiments prove that the ResNet algorithm has greater accuracy and shorter prediction time in a low signal-to-noise ratio environment.

In underwater acoustic signal processing, direction of arrival (DOA) estimation can provide important information for target tracking and localization. To address underdetermined wideband signal processing in underwater passive detection system, this paper proposes a novel underdetermined wideband DOA estimation method equipped with the nested array (NA) using focused atomic norm minimization (ANM), where the signal source number detection is accomplished by information theory criteria. In the proposed DOA estimation method, especially, after vectoring the covariance matrix of each frequency bin, each corresponding obtained vector is focused into the predefined frequency bin by focused matrix. Then, the collected averaged vector is considered as virtual array model, whose steering vector exhibits the Vandermonde structure in terms of the obtained virtual array geometries. Further, the new covariance matrix is recovered based on ANM by semi-definite programming (SDP), which utilizes the information of the Toeplitz structure. Finally, the Root-MUSIC algorithm is applied to estimate the DOAs. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms other underdetermined DOA estimation methods based on information theory in term of higher estimation accuracy.

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is widely used in the field of array signal processing. The model-based algorithms rely on domain knowledge and assumptions, facing limitations in estimating coherent sources and running on few snapshots etc. In contrast, deep learning approaches can learn from data, offering a promising alternative for DOA estimation. In this paper, a novel end-to-end model-based deep learning DOA estimation architecture (MD-DOA) is proposed to estimate the DOAs of multiple narrowband signals captured by a uniform linear array. Specifically, the multi-branch convolutional recurrent neural network with a residual link (MBCR2net) is developed to extract multi-scale features and learn correlation in received temporal signals. Subsequently, the weighted noise subspace network (WNSnet) is proposed to learn a more representative noise subspace from the one obtained by eigenvalue decomposition (EVD), developing the more precise subspace division. The matrix reshape process (MRP) then generates the pseudo covariance matrix (PCM) and captures the correlation in the weighted noise subspace. Notably, EVD and MRP are the model-based modules to preserve the interpretability. Finally, the PCM-based DOA-finding network (PDFnet) estimates the desired DOAs. MD-DOA integrates the model-based and data-driven advantages. It inherits the overall framework of the subspace-based methods while using the network to augment the covariance matrix estimation, subspace division and peak-finding process. Our proposed architecture can operate successfully in the presence of array mismatch, low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and few snapshots. It is also applicable to real-world measurements and demonstrates superior performance compared with other existing algorithms in this field.

Strong interference will affect direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of weak desired signal and even cause DOA estimation failure. This paper investigates the weak signal DOA estimation for an antenna array under strong interference signals, and proposed a novel DOA estimation method for strong interference source suppression and weighted l1-norm sparse representation. A parallel adaptive beamforming algorithm based on power inversion is used to suppress strong interference and form new array data. To reduce spurious peaks in the spectrum under strong interference, a weighted matrix is determined by the optimized subspace algorithm for the subspace projection. Then, the DOA estimation, which is calculated by weighted l1-norm sparse representation, is formed by the weighted matrix and new array data. In this paper, the superiority of the proposed algorithm is illustrated by an example of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) video signal DOA estimation under strong interference signals. The simulated results of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signal indicate that the proposed algorithm shows merits of fewer snapshots, a sharper main lobe, a lower average noise spectrum value, higher DOA estimation accuracy and success rate. For validation, an outdoor experiment was conducted which demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is superior to other algorithms and can be used for DOA estimation of UAV video signals under strong WiFi interference. Both the simulations and experiments verify that the proposed algorithm can effectively suppress strong interference and achieve better DOA estimation performance for weak signals.

In the field of array signal processing, direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is a prime area of research. DOA estimation and adaptive beamforming (ABF) are the main issues in smart antennas, which dynamically find the direction of desired and interfering users and finds the optimum weights for beamforming. There are numerous spectral and eigen structure algorithms for estimating the direction of narrow band sources. However, in a complex multipath channel environment, received signals from different directions are fully or partially correlated, which prevents the applications of high resolution techniques to estimate the direction of incoming signals. Maximum likelihood (ML) is an efficient technique for DOA estimation in a low signal to noise ratio (SNR) and coherent channel environment. In this paper, we use particle swarm optimization (PSO) for estimating ML solution by optimizing complex non linear multimodal function over a high dimensional space in linear arrays. PSO-ML estimator has been compared with conventional DOA estimation techniques in uncorrelated, partially correlated and coherent channel environment. The performance of PSO-ML estimator and conventional algorithms are analyzed in varying partially correlated channel environment. The simulation results demonstrate that PSO based estimator gives superior statistical performance.

Recently, popular machine learning algorithms have successfully been applied to the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. An implementation of determination of DOA estimation is presented based on deep neural networks (DNNs) to reduce the computational complexity of traditional superresolution DOA estimation methods. The classical DOA estimation algorithms have limitations due to unforeseen effects, such as array perturbations. Instead of computing an inverse mapping based on the incomplete forward mapping that relates the signal directions to the array outputs, the DOA problem is approached as a mapping, which can be approximated using a suitable DNN trained with input output pairs. The neural network architecture is based on a multilayer perception and a group of parallel DNNs to perform detection and DOA estimation, respectively. Simulation results are performed to investigate the effect of network parameters on estimation accuracy so that they can be roughly determined in the case of one signal scenario. Based on a set of simulations and experimental measurements, the performance of the optimum network is also assessed and compared to that of the classical DOA estimation methods for multiple signals. It has been shown that the proposed method can not only achieve reasonably high DOA estimation accuracy, but also dramatically reduce the computational complexity and the memory space.

Within the last decade there has been a growing interest in developing techniques for the estimation of the direction of arrival (DOA) of wavefronts carrying wideband signals. The coherent signal-subspace method (CSM) is one of the most largely adopted technique and it is based upon the so-called focusing matrices. In the literature, several focusing matrices have been proposed and the most effective of them often require preliminary DOA estimation. Furthermore, classical design techniques do not take into account the fact that estimated DOAs may differ from the actual ones on which the manifold should be focused. In this paper we propose a novel focusing matrix design technique. It is shown that some classical methods leave room for further optimization of the available degrees of freedom, that are exploited here to create a CSM robust against DOA estimation errors and which does not require any preliminary DOA estimation

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation has become a major factor in the performance of smart antenna systems. Through DOA estimation techniques, it is possible to determine the angular position of signal sources and interferers in the cell environment. Nevertheless, in a multipath fading channel, electromagnetic waves interact with the environment in a very complex way, thus significantly degrading the performance of DOA estimation algorithms. This paper provides insight into how Root MUSIC enhances resolution on DOA estimation and has better performance than spectral MUSIC in the context of a linear equispaced array in a multipath macrocell environment. This improvement and its better precision result in a higher channel capacity, given that it allows to spatially separate closely spaced sources.

FOMP algorithm for Direction of Arrival estimation

Uniform linear array (ULA) geometry does not perform well for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation at directions close to the array endfires. Shirvani and Akbari solved this problem by displacing two elements from both ends of the ULA to the top and/or bottom of the array axis. Shirvani-Akbari array (SAA) presents a considerable improvement in the DOA estimation of narrowband sources arriving at endfire directions in terms of DOA estimation accuracy and angular resolution. In this paper, all new proposed SAA configurations are modelled and also examined, numerically. In this paper, two well-known DOA estimation algorithms, multiple signal classification (MUSIC) and minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR), are used to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed arrays using total root mean square error (RMSE) criterion. In addition, two new scenarios are proposed which divide angular search to two parts, directions close to array endfires as well as middle angles. For middle angles, which belong to (−70∘≤𝜃≤70∘), ULA is considered, and for endfire angles, the angles which belong to (−90∘≤𝜃≤−70∘) and (70∘≤𝜃≤90∘), SAA is considered. Simulation results of new proposed scenarios for DOA estimation of narrowband signals show the better performance with lower computational load.

For direction of arrival (DoA) estimation, the data-driven deep-learning method has an advantage over the model-based methods since it is more robust against model imperfections. Conventionally, networks are based singly on regression or classification and may lead to unstable training and limited resolution. Alternatively, this paper proposes a two-branch neural network (TB-Net) that combines classification and regression in parallel. The grid-based classification branch is optimized by binary cross-entropy (BCE) loss and provides a mask that indicates the existence of the DoAs at predefined grids. The regression branch refines the DoA estimates by predicting the deviations from the grids. At the output layer, the outputs of the two branches are combined to obtain final DoA estimates. To achieve a lightweight model, only convolutional layers are used in the proposed TB-Net. The simulation results demonstrated that compared with the model-based and existing deep-learning methods, the proposed method can achieve higher DoA estimation accuracy in the presence of model imperfections and only has a size of 1.8 MB.

We propose a Taylor expansion multiple signal classification (TE MUSIC) method for joint direction of departure (DOD) and direction of arrival (DOA) estimation in a bistatic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) array. First, using a Taylor expansion of the steering vector, a two-dimensional (2D) search in the conventional MUSIC method for MIMO arrays is reduced to a two-step one-dimensional (ID) search in the proposed TE MUSIC method. Second, DOAs of the targets can be achieved via Lagrange multiplier by a ID search. Finally, substituting the DOA estimates into the 2D MUSIC spectrum function, DODs of the targets are obtained by another ID search. Thus, the DOD and DOA estimates can be automatically paired. The performance of the proposed method is better than that of the MIMO ESPRIT method, and is similar to that of the 2D MUSIC method. Furthermore, due to the ID search, the TE MUSIC method avoids the high computational complexity of the 2D MUSIC method. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

The direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is a key issue in array signal processing, and there are many well-known methods, e.g., Capon, MUSIC, Root-MUSIC and some other DOA estimation algorithms in the literature. Nevertheless, the effective DOA estimation for closely spaced multiple sources with large power differences is still a difficult problem due to the deteriorated resolution for the low power sources. In this paper, a novel DOA estimation method called Capon-MUSIC algorithm is proposed, which has a much higher resolution for closely spaced multiple sources with obvious power differences. Finally, some numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Based on the extended noise subspace, the case of weak signal direction of arrival (DOA) estimation in presence of strong jamming is studied, and a novel approach is given in this paper. Under the condition knowing the number of strong interferences, first, the method forms the extended noise subspace, then, uses the conventional multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm to constrain the strong interferences effectively and estimates weak signals' DOA information accurately based on the extended noise subspace. The method does not require the angle information of strong interferences and it has the same computation burden as conventional MUSIC. Theoretic analysis and computer simulation demonstrate the method is effective and feasible.