Optimization of MUSIC algorithm for angle of arrival estimation in wireless communications

Smart Antennas are phased array antennas with smart signal processing algorithms used to identify the angle of arrival (AOA) of the signal, which can be used subsequently to calculate beam-forming vectors needed to track and locate the intended mobile set. This concept is called space division multiple access (SDMA) which enables a higher capacity and data rates for all modern wireless communications by focusing the antenna beam on the intended user. This enables wide coverage and very low interference and also adding new applications like location based services. MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) is a well-known high resolution eigen structure method, extensively used to estimate the number of signals, and their angles of arrival. In this paper we investigate the possibility of optimization of some key parameters of the MUSIC algorithm that can enhance the performance of the estimation process. This leads to an increased accuracy in determining the directions of multiple users and beam-forming (Gross, 2005).