A novel calibration method for RSS-based DoA estimation using ESPAR antennas

In this paper, we introduce a new calibration method that can successfully be used in direction of arrival (DoA) estimation using electronically steerable parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) antennas and employing power-pattern cross-correlation (PPCC) algorithm, which relies on received signal strength (RSS) values recorded at the antenna output port. Instead of the commonly used two-step approach, during which ESPAR antenna calibration is performed and then the overall DoA estimation accuracy is measured, a single setup, which allows simultaneous calibration and verification, has been proposed. Measurement results indicate that the new calibration method reduces the total time required for calibration and verification in RSS-based DoA estimation using ESPAR antennas, which makes this approach easily applicable in practical wireless sensor network (WSN) deployments saving the time and associated costs required for system implementations, where the number of WSN nodes can easily reach hundreds.