The Feasibility of Radio Direction Finding for Swarm Localization

Abstract : The US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is investigating technologies to assist in swarm localization. One promising technology is radio direction finding (RDF). RDF has been used since World War I and has many applications both in the military and private sectors, but compact commercial systems suitable for deployment on small swarm agents do not exist. This has led ARL to begin development of a custom RDF system using small, standalone, software-defined radios (SDRs). First, basic RDF theory is presented. Next, a laboratory experiment to evaluate RDF using a SDR is developed. Finally, experimental data are presented supporting the feasibility of RDF for swarm localization.

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