Performance Analysis of a Beamforming Prototype Based on Software-Defined Radio

This article presents the development of a phased array beamforming prototype based on Software Defined Radio (SDR). The design and implementation are carried out from the basic concepts of electromagnetism applied to antennas, and from the communications theory; subsequently, the performance of the beamforming prototype is carried out using a proposed performance factor. It also measures the normalized power radiation antenna pattern for different electromagnetic energy radiation orientations and different antenna arrays: 4-element uniform linear array (ULA); 4-element ULA with reflector; and 4-element uniform circular array (UCA).