A gain factor controlled SUMPLE algorithm and system

In order to enhance signals with very low signal-to-noise ratio, a large array of sensors can be used to combine the received signals. SUMPLE, one of important signal combining approaches, uses less hardware and processing power while at the same time providing very low combining loss for weak signals. However, the combining loss of SUMPLE increases when a sensor in an array fails, and the weight amplitude of the sensor cannot drop to zero to automatically compensate for its failure. An enhanced SUMPLE algorithm is proposed in this paper. The gain factor of the explicit time delay and gain estimator is used to detect the failed sensor, and the corresponding weight amplitude is set to zero to minimize the combining loss. Mathematical model and performance analysis for a failed sensor in an array are presented. Simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm performs better than the traditional state-of-the-art counterparts.