Correlation-Beamformer: A New Architecture for Low-complexity Beamforming

Beamforming can suppress the signals from unexpected directions, and therefore it can be used to minimize multipath interference in positioning systems. Conventional beamformer typically relies on multiple radio frequency (RF) front-ends to form narrow beams. Although conventional beamforming has been widely used, it results in huge hardware complexity and the challenge of precise phase adjustment due to different responses of multiple RF front-ends. In this paper, we introduce a novel architecture called the correlation-beamformer. The correlation-beamformer can generate multiple beams simultaneously with only a switch and a single RF frond-end. Compared to conventional beamforming, the hardware complexity, cost, and power consumption of correlation-beamformer can be reduced significantly. Theoretical analyses and simulation results demonstrate that the correlation-beamformer can perform two-dimensional matched filtering across the time and space domains. This capability facilitates the acquisition and tracking of both timing and beam pointing angles, thereby enabling high-precision positioning even in environments with severe multipath.