An Iterative Implementation-Based Approach for Joint Source Localization and Association Under Multipath Propagation Environments

We address the problem of joint source localization and association (JSLA) under a multipath propagation environment for sensor arrays. Taking into account inaccurate prior information in practical applications, we propose a JSLA algorithm based on the iterative implementation of the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) framework with semi-unitary and sparsity constraints and the subspace technique. The proposed algorithm exploits benefits of both spatial signals' sparse characteristic and coherence structure when localizing unknown sources in a mixed interference environment. In contrast with previous works, the proposed algorithm can associate the incident paths to each source from the complex propagation environment with improved association performance even under low signal-to-noise ratio conditions. Neither additional decorrelation preprocessing nor prior information pertaining to the multipath propagation is required. Both simulations and real data experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm.