Experimental Characterization of UWB Beamformers Based on Multidimensional Beam Filters

Ultrawideband (UWB) communication systems can benefit significantly by employing adaptive spatial filtering, or beamforming, using an array of UWB antenna elements. Previously, the authors have reported on a multidimensional and low-complexity beamforming technique that predicted significant improvements in communication system performance based on computational models of the radio channel. Here, the authors utilize a low-complexity spatial filter in conjunction with measured UWB signals using an experimental antenna array to demonstrate a significant improvement in system bit error rate using a real UWB channel in a multi-user environment.