Direction of Arrival Estimation Based on Distributed Sources Model in MIMO Channel Environment

In MIMO channel, the presence of scatters results in angular spread. The point source model corresponding to discrete direction of arrival (DOA) becomes restrictive and leads to DOA estimation errors. To compensate for this effect, the distributed source model is proposed. A first order Taylor series expansion of the steering vector is derived, which is similar to the point source model. The proposed method is a possible alternative to MUSIC for the central DOA estimation. The algorithm that has lower computational cost can be used for sources with different distribution functions in MIMO channel. Simulations clearly demonstrate that the proposed method is not only effective, but also enjoys better SNR performance compared with MUSIC