Improved method for estimating angle of arrival in multipath conditions using the 'MUSIC' algorithm

The paper presents an improved method of estimating the angle of arrival (AOA) of a signal from a cellular radio mobile handset using a uniform linear antenna array at the base station receiver. The method is based on the 'MUSIC' algorithm. In multipath fading conditions this method can provide a biased estimate of angle of arrival due to the effect of the scattered signals. The new method incorporates a priori information concerning the distribution of the scatterers to reduce the bias in the estimate and provide a more accurate angle of arrival estimate. The new method incorporates the effect of angular spread by scaling the spatial signature of the source according to the decorrelation of the received signal across the antenna elements. The paper develops the concept of the new method and its performance is verified for an eight-element antenna array using a Monte-Carlo simulation of a DCS 1800 system.