Systems and methods for improving bearing availability and accuracy for a tracking filter

摘要

In an example system and method for improving bearing availability and accuracy in a traffic collision-avoidance system (TCAS), if only a single phase-difference value is received for one of two two-element antennas, a processor determines an expected maximum antenna element phase-difference value for the elements of the two-element antenna that did not receive a phase-difference value for a target signal source; estimates a phase-difference value for the two-element antenna that did not include a phase-difference value, based on the expected maximum antenna element phase-difference value and a previously determined predicted bearing value; and calculates bearing based on the estimated phase-difference value and a phase-difference value received from the other two-element antenna. The determination is based on previously received signals associated with the target signal source and based on elevation information of the target signal source and a predefined maximum antenna element phase-difference value for the respective antenna element pair.