Correlation based detection and localization of R/C electronic devices using array detectors

Detection and identification of multiple radio controlled (RC) devices emitting unintended passive emissions has attracted much attention due to its importance in many security applications. This paper describes and analyzes major challenges in detection of multiple independent radio controlled (RC) sources in real life environment. A time based correlation method is proposed for array detectors to identify the line of sight (LOS) and non-line of sight (N-LOS) signals from RC devices. A normalized error correlation function has been implemented to improve the estimation of angle of arrival (AOA) in the presence of strong non-line of sight (N-LOS) signals. Experimental results for angle of arrival (AOA) detection of emissions from super heterodyne receivers have been presented for different scenarios.