Performance Evaluation of DOA Algorithms for Non-uniform Linear Arrays
in a Weather-Impacted Environment
Abstract
Spectrum scarcity has necessitated the migration of radio frequencies
from the lower to the higher frequencies. This has resulted in radio
propagation challenges due to the adverse environmental elements
otherwise unexperienced at lower frequencies. A re-design and
re-evaluation of the performance of traditional lower frequency
technologies and algorithms for implementation at higher frequencies
especially for non-uniform linear antenna arrays are therefore
necessary. Specifically, the performance of Direction of Arrival (DOA)
algorithms for non-linear antenna arrays on weather impacted
environments needs to be quantified and new algorithms developed to
counteract the migration challenges. This work investigates the
performance of Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR), Multiple
Signal Classification (MUSIC) and the proposed Advanced-MUSIC (A-MUSIC)
non-uniform linear array (NLA) algorithms on a weather-impacted wireless
channel. The results indicate that the developed NLA achieves better DOA
estimation than the conventional NLA albeit at a reduced performance for
both, in a weather-impacted scenario.