Derivative-constrained frequency-domain wideband DOA estimation

Abstract

In this paper, we present a new approach for wideband direction of arrival (DOA) estimation incorporating derivative constraints into the optimization problem. The Taylor series expansion of steering vector with respect to frequency exhibits the dependence of sensor snapshots on the derivatives of the array manifold matrix, suppression of which reduces the data to follow the narrowband data model. Two new formulations following a beamformer framework are developed based on this observation. While the first formulation estimates accurate source directions with apriori knowledge of the signal subspace dimension, the second formulation provides DOA estimates without estimating the number of sources. The coherent averaging at the reference frequency enables the two formulations to handle coherent sources. The effectiveness of the proposed formulations is illustrated with simulations.