Tethered Spinning Antenna for Virtual Phased Array Synthesis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing object locator systems face challenges in achieving accurate distance and direction measurements due to noise interference and signal corruption, especially with low-power transmissions.
Innovation Solution
A two-way tagging tracking and locating system using time of arrival (TOA) and Doppler shift measurements, combined with a tethered spinning antenna that simulates a virtual phased array antenna, allowing for enhanced distance and direction measurements by processing complex radio sequences and maintaining antenna orientation through aerodynamic stabilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If low-power transmissions are used to reduce energy consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but signal quality deteriorates due to noise and interference
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna performs periodic rotational scanning movements, transmitting and receiving signals at multiple angular positions. This periodic action allows the system to collect signal samples over time and synthesize a virtual phased array, improving signal quality through coherent integration while maintaining low instantaneous transmission power.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of a phased array antenna by rotating a single physical antenna around the user's head. This virtual phased array copy provides the signal processing benefits of multiple antenna elements without requiring multiple physical antennas, enabling improved signal quality through virtual array synthesis while using a single low-power transmitter.
2Device complexity
If a single antenna is used instead of a phased array, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms a static single-antenna configuration into a dynamic system by rotating the antenna around the user's head. This dynamic movement allows the single antenna to occupy multiple spatial positions sequentially, synthesizing the measurement capabilities of a phased array over time while maintaining mechanical simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds the time dimension to the spatial measurement process. By rotating the antenna through multiple angular positions over time and coherently integrating the signals, the system achieves three-dimensional location precision equivalent to a phased array without requiring multiple simultaneous antenna elements.
3Measurement precision
If the antenna is tethered and spun around the user's head, then direction measurement capability is improved, but mechanical stability worsens due to tether constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna executes periodic rotational movements around the user's head in a constrained circular path. This controlled periodic motion, while mechanically constrained by the tether, provides sufficient angular coverage to synthesize a virtual phased array and achieve accurate direction measurements through signal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The tethered rotating antenna system serves multiple functions: it acts as a mechanically simple mounting structure, provides the motion necessary for virtual phased array synthesis, and enables both distance and direction measurements. The aerodynamic stabilization structure simultaneously provides orientation control and drag-based speed regulation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach improves location accuracy and reduces noise interference, enabling precise distance and direction discrimination, even with low-power signals, and allows for post-correlation beam steering to enhance signal focusing and reduce multipath contamination.
Implementation Method 1
The system and method identifies various noise problems, and provides a new and novel system, method, and apparatus that is arranged to extract signals from a transmission using very low power in a small scale object location system with enhanced distance and location accuracy.
Implementation Method 2
The locator's antenna may be attitude stabilized in its nominally circular path by affixing the tether to a dense portion of the locator's antenna, and affixing a lightweight aerodynamic drag structure to a trailing portion of the locator's antenna, since the tether tension will have a constant ratio to the aerodynamic drag force regardless of velocity.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved two-way tagging tracking and locating system uses time of arrival (TOA), Doppler, and angle of arrival (AOA) in conjunction with remote tags and a locator. The locator's antenna is tethered to a central point, and moved in a constrained motion so that it describes a roughly circular horizontal path. The locator transmits and receives sets of complex radio sequences to/from the tag(s) so that the tag(s) emit signals which are phase, chip, and symbol coherent with the received locator signals. This enables the locator to determine the distances and Doppler shifts between itself and the tag(s) at various positions in its path such that, by post correlation processing of complex captured signal sequences, aims a virtual phased array antenna at the tag(s), resulting in enhanced distance and direction measurements. The angular position of the orbiting locator's antenna may be measured using an electronic compass packaged with the antenna.