DOA estimation in MIMO radar using temporal spatial virtual array with MUSIC algorithm

This paper introduces a new direction of arrival (DOA) estimation method for Doppler radars with Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, which have been used in various applications, for example, detection and classification of indoor human activities. To improve DOA estimation accuracy, the temporal-spatial virtual array based on Doppler shift of a moving target has been proposed; hereafter we call it as the conventional method. The estimation accuracy based on the conventional method depends on the velocity and the angle of the single target on which we focus. Thus, it is difficult to implement the method if there are multiple targets in the search area. The proposed method we describe in this paper provides accurate DOA estimation by using output signals of Doppler filter with adaptive PRI control technique, even if there are multiple targets. The performance of the proposed method is compared with that of the conventional method via computer simulations. The simulations show that the new DOA estimation method performs better than the conventional method.