233 research outputs found
A review of closed-form Cramér-Rao Bounds for DOA estimation in the presence of Gaussian noise under a unified framework
The Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation has been extensively studied over the past four decades, with a plethora of CRB expressions reported for various parametric models. In the literature, there are different methods to derive a closed-form CRB expression, but many derivations tend to involve intricate matrix manipulations which appear difficult to understand. Starting from the Slepian-Bangs formula and following the simplest derivation approach, this paper reviews a number of closed-form Gaussian CRB expressions for the DOA parameter under a unified framework, based on which all the specific CRB presentations can be derived concisely. The results cover three scenarios: narrowband complex circular signals, narrowband complex noncircular signals, and wideband signals. Three signal models are considered: the deterministic model, the stochastic Gaussian model, and the stochastic Gaussian model with the a priori knowledge that the sources are spatially uncorrelated. Moreover, three Gaussian noise models distinguished by the structure of the noise covariance matrix are concerned: spatially uncorrelated noise with unknown either identical or distinct variances at different sensors, and arbitrary unknown noise. In each scenario, a unified framework for the DOA-related block of the deterministic/stochastic CRB is developed, which encompasses one class of closed-form deterministic CRB expressions and two classes of stochastic ones under the three noise models. Comparisons among different CRBs across classes and scenarios are presented, yielding a series of equalities and inequalities which reflect the benchmark for the estimation efficiency under various situations. Furthermore, validity of all CRB expressions are examined, with some specific results for linear arrays provided, leading to several upper bounds on the number of resolvable Gaussian sources in the underdetermined case
Performance Bounds for Parameter Estimation under Misspecified Models: Fundamental findings and applications
Inferring information from a set of acquired data is the main objective of
any signal processing (SP) method. In particular, the common problem of
estimating the value of a vector of parameters from a set of noisy measurements
is at the core of a plethora of scientific and technological advances in the
last decades; for example, wireless communications, radar and sonar,
biomedicine, image processing, and seismology, just to name a few. Developing
an estimation algorithm often begins by assuming a statistical model for the
measured data, i.e. a probability density function (pdf) which if correct,
fully characterizes the behaviour of the collected data/measurements.
Experience with real data, however, often exposes the limitations of any
assumed data model since modelling errors at some level are always present.
Consequently, the true data model and the model assumed to derive the
estimation algorithm could differ. When this happens, the model is said to be
mismatched or misspecified. Therefore, understanding the possible performance
loss or regret that an estimation algorithm could experience under model
misspecification is of crucial importance for any SP practitioner. Further,
understanding the limits on the performance of any estimator subject to model
misspecification is of practical interest. Motivated by the widespread and
practical need to assess the performance of a mismatched estimator, the goal of
this paper is to help to bring attention to the main theoretical findings on
estimation theory, and in particular on lower bounds under model
misspecification, that have been published in the statistical and econometrical
literature in the last fifty years. Secondly, some applications are discussed
to illustrate the broad range of areas and problems to which this framework
extends, and consequently the numerous opportunities available for SP
researchers.Comment: To appear in the IEEE Signal Processing Magazin
Statistical Performance Analysis of Sparse Linear Arrays
Direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation remains an important topic in array signal processing. With uniform linear arrays (ULAs), traditional subspace-based methods can resolve only up to M-1 sources using M sensors. On the other hand, by exploiting their so-called difference coarray model, sparse linear arrays, such as co-prime and nested arrays, can resolve up to O(M^2) sources using only O(M) sensors. Various new sparse linear array geometries were proposed and many direction-finding algorithms were developed based on sparse linear arrays. However, the statistical performance of such arrays has not been analytically conducted. In this dissertation, we (i) study the asymptotic performance of the MUtiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm utilizing sparse linear arrays, (ii) derive and analyze performance bounds for sparse linear arrays, and (iii) investigate the robustness of sparse linear arrays in the presence of array imperfections. Based on our analytical results, we also propose robust direction-finding algorithms for use when data are missing.
We begin by analyzing the performance of two commonly used coarray-based MUSIC direction estimators. Because the coarray model is used, classical derivations no longer apply. By using an alternative eigenvector perturbation analysis approach, we derive a closed-form expression of the asymptotic mean-squared error (MSE) of both estimators. Our expression is computationally efficient compared with the alternative of Monte Carlo simulations. Using this expression, we show that when the source number exceeds the sensor number, the MSE remains strictly positive as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) approaches infinity. This finding theoretically explains the unusual saturation behavior of coarray-based MUSIC estimators that had been observed in previous studies.
We next derive and analyze the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for general sparse linear arrays under the assumption that the sources are uncorrelated. We show that, unlike the classical stochastic CRB, our CRB is applicable even if there are more sources than the number of sensors. We also show that, in such a case, this CRB remains strictly positive definite as the SNR approaches infinity. This unusual behavior imposes a strict lower bound on the variance of unbiased DOA estimators in the underdetermined case. We establish the connection between our CRB and the classical stochastic CRB and show that they are asymptotically equal when the sources are uncorrelated and the SNR is sufficiently high. We investigate the behavior of our CRB for co-prime and nested arrays with a large number of sensors, characterizing the trade-off between the number of spatial samples and the number of temporal samples. Our analytical results on the CRB will benefit future research on optimal sparse array designs.
We further analyze the performance of sparse linear arrays by considering sensor location errors. We first introduce the deterministic error model. Based on this model, we derive a closed-form expression of the asymptotic MSE of a commonly used coarray-based MUSIC estimator, the spatial-smoothing based MUSIC (SS-MUSIC). We show that deterministic sensor location errors introduce a constant estimation bias that cannot be mitigated by only increasing the SNR. Our analytical expression also provides a sensitivity measure against sensor location errors for sparse linear arrays. We next extend our derivations to the stochastic error model and analyze the Gaussian case. We also derive the CRB for joint estimation of DOA parameters and deterministic sensor location errors. We show that this CRB is applicable even if there are more sources than the number of sensors.
Lastly, we develop robust DOA estimators for cases with missing data. By exploiting the difference coarray structure, we introduce three algorithms to construct an augmented covariance matrix with enhanced degrees of freedom. By applying MUSIC to this augmented covariance matrix, we are able to resolve more sources than sensors. Our method utilizes information from all snapshots and shows improved estimation performance over traditional DOA estimators
Estimation of Radio Channel Parameters
Kurzfassung
Diese Dissertation behandelt die Schätzung der Modellparameter einer
Momentanaufnahme des Mobilfunkkanals. Das besondere Augenmerk liegt zum einen
auf der Entwicklung eines generischen Datenmodells fĂĽr den gemessenen Funkkanal,
welches für die hochauflösende Parameterschätzung geeignet ist. Der zweite
Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung eines robusten Parameterschätzers
fĂĽr die Bestimmung der Parameter des entworfenen Modells aus Funkkanalmessdaten.
Entsprechend dieser logischen Abfolge ist auch der Aufbau dieser Arbeit.
Im ersten Teil wird ausgehend von einem aus der Literatur bekannten
strahlenoptischen Modell eine algebraisch handhabbare Darstellung von
beobachteten Wellenausbreitungspfaden entwickelt. Das mathematische Modell
erlaubt die Beschreibung von SISO (single-input-single-output)-
Ăśbertragungssystemen, also von Systemen mit einer Sendeantenne und einer
Empfangsantenne, als auch die Beschreibung von solchen Systemen mit mehreren
Sende- und/oder Empfangsantennen. Diese Systeme werden im Allgemeinen auch als
SIMO- (single-input-multiple-output), MISO- (multiple-input-single-output) oder
MIMO-Systeme (multiple-input-multiple-output) bezeichnet. Im Gegensatz zu
bekannten Konzepten enthält das entwickelte Modell keine Restriktionen bezüglich
der modellierbaren Antennenarrayarchitekturen. Dies ist besonders wichtig in
Hinblick auf die möglichst vollständige Erfassung der räumlichen Struktur des
Funkkanals. Die Flexibilität des Modells ist eine Grundvoraussetzung für die
optimale Anpassung der Antennenstruktur an die Messaufgabe. Eine solche
angepasste Antennenarraystruktur ist zum Beispiel eine zylindrische Anordnung
von Antennenelementen. Sie ist gut geeignet für die Erfassung der räumlichen
Struktur des Funkkanals (Azimut und Elevation) in so genannten Outdoor-
Funkszenarien. Weiterhin wird im ersten Teil eine neue Komponente des
Funkkanaldatenmodells eingefĂĽhrt, welche den Beitrag verteilter (diffuser)
Streuungen zur FunkĂĽbertragung beschreibt. Die neue Modellkomponente spielt eine
Schlüsselrolle bei der Entwicklung eines robusten Parameterschätzers im
Hauptteil dieser Arbeit. Die fehlende Modellierung der verteilten Streuungen ist
eine der Hauptursachen fĂĽr die begrenzte Anwendbarkeit und die oft kritisierte
fehlende Robustheit von hochauflösenden Funkkanalparameterschätzern, die in der
Literatur etabliert sind. Das neue Datenmodell beschreibt die so genannten
dominanten Ausbreitungspfade durch eine deterministische Abbildung der
Pfadparameter auf den gemessenen Funkkanal. Der Beitrag der verteilten
Streuungen wird mit Hilfe eines zirkularen mittelwertfreien GauĂźschen Prozesses
beschrieben. Die Modellparameter der verteilten Streuungen beschreiben dabei die
Kovarianzmatrix dieses Prozesses. Basierend auf dem entwickelten Datenmodell
wird im Anschluss kurz über aktuelle Konzepte für Funkkanalmessgeräte, so
genannte Channel-Sounder, diskutiert.
Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit werden in erster Linie AusdrĂĽcke zur Bestimmung
der erzielbaren Messgenauigkeit eines Channel-Sounders abgeleitet. Zu diesem
Zweck wird die untere Schranke für die Varianz der geschätzten Modellparameter,
das heißt der Messwerte, bestimmt. Als Grundlage für die Varianzabschätzung wird
das aus der Parameterschätztheorie bekannte Konzept der Cramér-Rao-Schranke
angewandt. Im Rahmen der Ableitung der Cramér-Rao-Schranke werden außerdem
wichtige Gesichtspunkte für die Entwicklung eines effizienten Parameterschätzers
diskutiert.
Im dritten Teil der Arbeit wird ein Schätzer für die Bestimmung der
Ausbreitungspfadparameter nach dem Maximum-Likelihood-Prinzip entworfen. Nach
einer kurzen Übersicht über existierende Konzepte zur hochauflösenden
Funkkanalparameterschätzung wird die vorliegende Schätzaufgabe analysiert und in
Hinsicht ihres Typs klassifiziert. Unter der Voraussetzung, dass die Parameter
der verteilten Streuungen bekannt sind, lässt sich zeigen, daß sich die
Schätzung der Parameter der Ausbreitungspfade als ein nichtlineares gewichtetes
kleinstes Fehlerquadratproblem auffassen lässt. Basierend auf dieser Erkenntnis
wird ein generischer Algorithmus zur Bestimmung einer globalen Startlösung für
die Parameter eines Ausbreitungspfades vorgeschlagen. Hierbei wird von dem
Konzept der Structure-Least-Squares (SLS)-Probleme Gebrauch gemacht, um die
Komplexität des Schätzproblems zu reduzieren. Im folgenden Teil dieses
Abschnitts wird basierend auf aus der Literatur bekannten robusten numerischen
Algorithmen ein Schätzer zur genauen Bestimmung der Ausbreitungspfadparameter
abgeleitet. Im letzten Teil dieses Abschnitts wird die Anwendung
unterraumbasierter Schätzer zur Bestimmung der Ausbreitungspfadparameter
diskutiert. Es wird ein speichereffizienter Algorithmus zur Signalraumschätzung
entwickelt. Dieser Algorithmus ist eine Grundvoraussetzung fĂĽr die Anwendung von
mehrdimensionalen Parameterschätzern wie zum Beispiel des R-D unitary ESPRIT
(Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Techniques) zur
Bestimmung von Funkkanalparametern aus MIMO-Funkkanalmessungen. Traditionelle
Verfahren zur Signalraumschätzung sind hier im Allgemeinen nicht anwendbar, da
sie einen zu groĂźen Speicheraufwand erfordern. AuĂźerdem wird in diesem Teil
gezeigt, dass ESPRIT-Algorithmen auch zur Parameterschätzung von Daten mit so
genannter versteckter Rotations-Invarianzstruktur eingesetzt werden können. Als
Beispiel wird ein ESPRIT-basierter Algorithmus zur Richtungsschätzung in
Verbindung mit multibeam-Antennenarrays (CUBA) abgeleitet.
Im letzten Teil dieser Arbeit wird ein Maximum-Likelihood-Schätzer für die neue
Komponente des Funkkanals, welche die verteilten Streuungen beschreibt,
entworfen. Ausgehend vom Konzept des iterativen Maximum-Likelihood-Schätzers
wird ein Algorithmus entwickelt, der hinreichend geringe numerische Komplexität
besitzt, so dass er praktisch anwendbar ist. In erster Linie wird dabei von der
Toeplitzstruktur der zu schätzenden Kovarianzmatrix Gebrauch gemacht. Aufbauend
auf dem Schätzer für die Parameter der Ausbreitungspfade und dem Schätzer für
die Parameter der verteilten Streuungen wird ein Maximum-Likelihood-Schätzer
entwickelt (RIMAX), der alle Parameter des in Teil I entwickelten Modells der
Funkanalmessung im Verbund schätzt. Neben den geschätzten Parametern des
Datenmodells liefert der Schätzer zusätzlich Zuverlässigkeitsinformationen.
Diese werden unter anderem zur Bestimmung der Modellordnung, das heiĂźt zur
Bestimmung der Anzahl der dominanten Ausbreitungspfade, herangezogen. AuĂźerdem
stellen die Zuverlässigkeitsinformationen aber auch ein wichtiges Schätzergebnis
dar. Die Zuverlässigkeitsinformationen machen die weitere Verarbeitung und
Wertung der Messergebnisse möglich.The theme of this thesis is the estimation of model parameters of a radio channel snapshot. The main focus was the development of a general data model for the measured radio channel, suitable for both high resolution channel parameter estimation on the one hand, and the development of a robust parameter estimator
for the parameters of the designed parametric radio channel model, in line with this logical work flow is this thesis.
In the first part of this work an algebraic representation of observed
propagation paths is developed using a ray-optical model known from literature. The algebraic framework is suitable for the description of SISO (single-input-single-output) radio transmission systems. A SISO system uses one antenna as the transmitter (Tx) and one antenna as the receiver (Rx). The derived expression for the propagation paths is also suitable to describe SIMO (single-input-multiple-output), MISO (multiple-input-single-output), and MIMO (multiple-input-multiple-output) radio channel measurements. In contrast to other models used for high resolution channel parameter estimation the derived model makes no
restriction regarding the structure of the antenna array used throughout the measurement. This is important since the ultimate goal in radio channel sounding is the complete description of the spatial (angular) structure of the radio channel at Tx and Rx. The flexibility of the data model is a prerequisite for the optimisation of the antenna array structure with respect to the measurement
task. Such an optimised antenna structure is a stacked uniform circular beam array, i.e., a cylindrical arrangement of antenna elements. This antenna array configuration is well suited for the measurement of the spatial structure of the radio channel at Tx and/or Rx in outdoor-scenarios. Furthermore, a new component
of the radio channel model is introduced in the first part of this work. It describes the contribution of distributed (diffuse) scattering to the radio transmission. The new component is key for the development of a robust radio channel parameter estimator, which is derived in the main part of this work. The ignorance of the contribution of distributed scattering to radio propagation is one of the main reasons why high-resolution radio channel parameter estimators fail in practice. Since the underlying data model is wrong the estimators produce erroneous results. The improved model describes the so called dominant propagation paths by a deterministic mapping of the propagation path parameters
to the channel observation. The contribution of the distributed scattering is modelled as a zero-mean circular Gaussian process. The parameters of the distributed scattering process determine the structure of the covariance matrix of this process. Based on this data model current concepts for radio channel sounding devices are discussed.
In the second part of this work expressions for the accuracy achievable by a radio channel sounder are derived. To this end the lower bound on the variance of the measurements i.e. the parameter estimates is derived. As a basis for this evaluation the concept of the Cramér-Rao lower bound is employed. On the way to
the Cramér-Rao lower bound for all channel model parameters, important issues for the development of an appropriate parameter estimator are discussed. Among other things the coupling of model parameters is also discussed.
In the third part of this thesis, an estimator, for the propagation path parameters is derived. For the estimator the 'maximum-likelihood' approach is employed. After a short overview of existing high-resolution channel parameter estimators the estimation problem is classified. It is shown, that the estimation of the parameters of the propagation paths can be understood as a
nonlinear weighted least squares problem, provided the parameters of the distributed scattering process are known. Based on this observation a general algorithm for the estimation of raw parameters for the observed propagation paths is developed. The algorithm uses the concept of structured-least-squares (SLS) and compressed maximum likelihood to reduce the numerical complexity of the estimation problem. A robust estimator for the precise estimation of the propagation path parameters is derived. The estimator is based on concepts well known from nonlinear local optimisation theory. In the last part of this chapter the application of subspace based parameter estimation algorithms for path
parameter estimation is discussed. A memory efficient estimator for the signal subspace needed by, e.g., R-D unitary ESPRIT is derived. This algorithm is a prerequisite for the application of signal subspace based algorithms to MIMO-channel sounding measurements. Standard algorithms for signal subspace estimation (economy size SVD, singular value decomposition) are not suitable
since they require an amount of memory which is too large. Furthermore, it is shown that ESPRIT (Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Techniques) based algorithms can also be employed for parameter estimation from data having hidden rotation invariance structure. As an example an ESPRIT
algorithm for angle estimation using circular uniform beam arrays (circular multi-beam antennas) is derived.
In the final part of this work a maximum likelihood estimator for the new component of the channel model is developed. Starting with the concept of iterative maximum likelihood estimation, an algorithm is developed having a low computational complexity. The low complexity of the algorithm is achieved by exploiting the Toeplitz-structure of the covariance matrix to estimate. Using
the estimator for the (concentrated, dominant, specular-alike) propagation paths and the parametric estimator for the covariance matrix of the process describing the distributed diffuse scattering a joint estimator for all channel parameter is derived (RIMAX). The estimator is a 'maximum likelihood' estimator and uses the genuine SAGE concept to reduce the computational complexity. The estimator provides additional information about the reliability of the estimated channel parameters. This reliability information is used to determine an appropriate model for the observation. Furthermore, the reliability information i.e. the estimate of the covariance matrix of all parameter estimates is also an important parameter estimation result. This information is a prerequisite for further processing and evaluation of the measured channel parameters
Maximum Likelihood-based Gridless DoA Estimation Using Structured Covariance Matrix Recovery and SBL with Grid Refinement
We consider the parametric data model employed in applications such as line
spectral estimation and direction-of-arrival estimation. We focus on the
stochastic maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) framework and offer approaches
to estimate the parameter of interest in a gridless manner, overcoming the
model complexities of the past. This progress is enabled by the modern trend of
reparameterization of the objective and exploiting the sparse Bayesian learning
(SBL) approach. The latter is shown to be a correlation-aware method, and for
the underlying problem it is identified as a grid-based technique for
recovering a structured covariance matrix of the measurements. For the case
when the structured matrix is expressible as a sampled Toeplitz matrix, such as
when measurements are sampled in time or space at regular intervals, additional
constraints and reparameterization of the SBL objective leads to the proposed
structured matrix recovery technique based on MLE. The proposed optimization
problem is non-convex, and we propose a majorization-minimization based
iterative procedure to estimate the structured matrix; each iteration solves a
semidefinite program. We recover the parameter of interest in a gridless manner
by appealing to the Caratheodory-Fejer result on decomposition of PSD Toeplitz
matrices. For the general case of irregularly spaced time or spatial samples,
we propose an iterative SBL procedure that refines grid points to increase
resolution near potential source locations, while maintaining a low per
iteration complexity. We provide numerical results to evaluate and compare the
performance of the proposed techniques with other gridless techniques, and the
CRB. The proposed correlation-aware approach is more robust to
environmental/system effects such as low number of snapshots, correlated
sources, small separation between source locations and improves sources
identifiability.Comment: Submitted to the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing (Previous
submission date: 29-Oct-2021
Contributions aux bornes inférieures de l’erreur quadratique moyenne en traitement du signal
A l’aide des bornes inférieures de l’erreur quadratique moyenne, la caractérisation du décrochement des estimateurs, l’analyse de la position optimale des capteurs dans un réseau ainsi que les limites de résolution statistiques sont étudiées dans le contexte du traitement d’antenne et du radar
Exploiting Sparse Structures in Source Localization and Tracking
This thesis deals with the modeling of structured signals under different sparsity constraints. Many phenomena exhibit an inherent structure that may be exploited when setting up models, examples include audio waves, radar, sonar, and image objects. These structures allow us to model, identify, and classify the processes, enabling parameter estimation for, e.g., identification, localisation, and tracking.In this work, such structures are exploited, with the goal to achieve efficient localisation and tracking of a structured source signal. Specifically, two scenarios are considered. In papers A and B, the aim is to find a sparse subset of a structured signal such that the signal parameters and source locations maybe estimated in an optimal way. For the sparse subset selection, a combinatorial optimization problem is approximately solved by means of convex relaxation, with the results of allowing for different types of a priori information to be incorporated in the optimization. In paper C, a sparse subset of data is provided, and a generative model is used to find the location of an unknown number of jammers in a wireless network, with the jammers’ movement in the network being tracked as additional observations become available
A polynomial rooting approach to super-resolution array design
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