Conceptual Architecture of a Retrodirective Antenna System with Beamforming Capabilities

As antenna arrays can achieve high directivity, they improve the performance of a receiver in terms of signal detection and offer the support for the implementation of advanced techniques like direction-of-arrival estimation, source localization, beamforming and user tracking. In the context of the RDAntenna project which aims to prototype an adaptive retrodirective system, we proposed a comprehensive solution which identifies the target user and changes the radiation pattern of the access point to improve the user's quality of the transmission. This paper presents the framework of the project and the conceptual solution for an adaptive retrodirective system using an array of antennas controlled by Software Defined Radios, able to perform beamforming operations.