A Study on Low Complexity DOA Estimation Algorithms and Their Implementation

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation is widely used in radar and wireless communication systems, and precise estimation and low computation complexity are crucial in many applications. Traditional angle measurement algorithms often cannot meet this demand. In order to address this challenge, this paper extends a precise frequency estimation algorithm into DOA estimation, where the FFT-based bias correction algorithm (Candan2) and parabolic interpolation for spatial angle estimation is adopted. Comprehensive performance analysis considering the impacts of many factors is presented, results show the advantage of the proposed method in DOA estimation. Then, we focus on the implementation of these methods in an RFSoC of Xilinx. Firstly, the framework based on modular design method for FPGA is given, then the detailed design and explanation for some important modules are presented. Finally, through board-level execution, the paper provides an analysis of the algorithm's angle measurement performance, resource utilization, and processing time. These results indicate that this algorithm significantly enhances the angle measurement performance in engineering applications with minimal resource consumption and excellent real-time performance.