Robust Recursive Beamforming in the Presence of Impulsive Noise and Steering Vector Mismatch

This paper proposes a new method for robust beamforming in the presence of impulsive noise as well as steering vector mismatch. In our proposed method, the idea of M-estimation is firstly incorporated into the traditional orthonormal PAST (OPAST) algorithm for subspace tracking to combat the hostile effect of impulsive noise. Taking advantage of the subspace principle, we show that the steering vector mismatch can be recursively and robustly estimated in closed form. Then, by making use of the estimated steering vector, the problem of robust beamforming in the presence of impulsive noise is formulated. The solution of this problem is analytically derived and the resultant robust beamformer is shown to have a similar form to the Capon beamformer, whereas the array covariance matrix and the steering vector are robustly estimated. Different from conventional methods, the impulsive noise and the steering vector mismatch are simultaneously handled by extending the traditional OPAST algorithm, and hence the proposed method has low complexity and it is feasible to nonstationary scenarios with moving sources. Simulation results demonstrate the validity and superiority of the proposed method over conventional methods in impulsive noise environment with steering vector mismatch.