A novel approach to radio direction finding and detecting the number of sources simultaneously: DMSAE algorithm

In smart antenna systems, The localization and direction of desired source(s) must he known. In this paper, we introduce a method called "DMSAE" (Direction finding of Multiple Sources by Alternating Eliminations) to find the radio directions of signals impinging on an arbitrary antenna array and the number of the signals. This method which is based on the Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR) algorithm, can not only detect the direction and the number of sources, simultaneously, but also has better resolution ability compared to the other conventional direction finding algorithms. This method can also detect very weak sources when other powerful sources exist in the environment. In this method an iterative approach is employed for the detection and elimination of all sources by a null steering algorithm.