International Global Navigation Satellite Systems Association
IGNSS Conference 2018
Colombo Theatres, Kensington Campus, UNSW Australia
7 – 9 February 2018
Distributed Beamforming Architectures:
Taxonomy, Requirements & Synergies
Eamonn P Glennon
The Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER)
School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9385 6702, Email: e.glennon@unsw.edu.au
Andrew G Dempster
The Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER)
School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW, Australia
Phone: +61 2 9385 6890, Email: a.dempster@unsw.edu.au
Elias Aboutanios
The Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER)
School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW, Australia
Phone: +61 9385 5993, Email: elias@unsw.edu.au
ABSTRACT
The concept of distributed beamforming antenna systems has received some
attention in the literature, with the focus being on systems employing fixed
antenna geometries. Mobile fractionated systems comprise antenna
geometries that evolve over time, and therefore differ significantly from
these case studies. This paper considers mobile distributed beamformers by
first providing definitions for such systems, a taxonomic breakdown of the
types of distributed beamformers and finally considering the associated
system level requirements. These can be of assistance when determining if a
system being analysed is a distributed beamformer, thereby aiding in
determining whether the systems engineering is complete. Also discussed
are various synergies that are applicable for such systems. Finally, an
example case study is provided to illustrate some of the concepts and trade-
offs when considering such systems. The GNSS requirements of such a
system are also described.
KEYWORDS: Distributed beamforming, distributed antenna arrays, system
requirements, feasibility, GPS, CubeSats, UAVs
