548 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ACOUSTICS, SPEECH, AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. ASSP-32, NO.

3, JUNE 1984

A Comparison of Efficient Beamforming Algorithms

RONALD A. MUCCI, MEMBER, IEEE

Abstrucf-The domain and frequency domain concepts which aid in

the design and efficient implementation of a digital beamformer have
been described at various times in the literature. The numerous beam-
\
former structures that result are discussed with an emphasis on hardware
requirements and spectral areasof application. Time domain procedures
which include delay-sum, partial-sum, interpolation and shifted-side-
band beamforming, and frequency domain techniques which include
the application of discrete Fourier transformsandphase shift beam-
forming are considered. Hardware considerations areprimarily in the
areas of analog-to-digital conversion, data storage, and computational
throughput requirements.
Fig. 1. Time domain analog beamformer.

I. INTRODUCTION
I N a conventional beamformer the measurement of a propa-
gating, coherent wavefront, relative to ambient background
noise and spatially localized interferences is enhanced by co-
herent processing of data collected with an array of sensors,
i.e., by timedelaying and summingweighted sensor data as
shown in Fig. 1. Sophisticated beamformingapplications in-
volving large numbers of sensors frequently are implemented
digitally, due to the availability of relativelylow cost, small
size, and high speed digital circuitry, such as analog to digital
(A/D) converters, random access memory, andmicroprocessors.
Time domain and frequency domain techniques whichaid in
the design and implementation of a digital beamformer and in
the minimization of hardware requirements are discussed in
thispaper. Emphasis is placed onnonadaptive,conventional
procedures such as delay-sum, partial-sum, interpolation with
first order sampling, interpolationwithcomplex sampling,
shifted sideband, and phase shift beamforming. Adaptive pro-
cedures for noise cancellation [ l ] , [2] andprocedures based
on principal component [3] and maximum entropy [4] -[6]
concepts are not discussed.
The techniques presented have played an important role in
reducing the cost of beamforming in large sonar systems for
underwater applications [7], [8]. However, due to the versa-
tility of a digital,microprocessor based configuration, these
concepts are well suited to seismic applications, aeroacoustic
applications, andultrasonic imaging in medicalapplications
[9] , [ 101 . Due to recent advances in very large scale .integra-
tion (VLSI) and very high speed integratedcircuit (VHSIC)
technologies, these procedures are also being considered for
radar applications.
In the next section a concise description, summarizing each
technique, is presented in a manner that addresses important
issues relating to digital beamformer implementation and spec-
Manuscript received May 5, 1982; revised December 22, 1982 and
October 27, 1983.
The author is with Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., Cambridge, MA
02238.
tral areas of application. A summary and conclusions are pre-
sented in Section 111. An overview is presentedin Table I,
summarizing the beamformingproceduresexaminedand the
associated hardware considerations
and
spectral areas of
application.
11. DISCUSSIONOF BEAMFORMING TECHNIQUES
In a conventional time domain beamformer, the beam out-
put b ( t ) is given by
where NE denotes the number of sensors, the x, denote the
sensor outputs, the a, denote the constant gains applied to the
sensor outputs, and the r, denote the time delays required to
point or steer the beam to the specified direction.
The rn steering delays compensate for differences in propa-
gationtimes fromthe signal source tothe individualarray
elements or sensors. For distant sources, frequently the prop-
agating signal is modeled as a plane wave and the r, are pro-
portional to the projection of the sensor positionvector r,,
relative to a reference point, onto a unit vector K B pointing
in the direction of wave propagation 0 , i.e.,
where C denotes the speed of wave propagation in the medium
and denotes dot or inner product of two vectors. Generally,
the reference point is selected so that the minimum value of
r , is zero.
The spatial shading or weighting coefficients, the a,, are gen-
erally applied to the individual sensors to control the spatial
response or beam pattern achieved with the given array. Nu-
merous procedures for synthesis of the weighting coefficients
have been presented in the literature [ l 11 , [12] which provide
the designer withcontrol over mainlobe width andsidelobe
level. However, a reduction in the level of the sidelobes of the

0096-3518/84/0600-0S48$01.00 0 1984 IEEE

MUCCI: COMPARISON O F EFFICIENT BEAMFORMING ALGORITHMS 5 49

beam pattern generally produces an increase in the width of

the mainlobe.
In a discrete-time (i.e., digital) implementation of the beam-
forming process, the sensor data from NE sensors are sampled
in time, weighted, delayed, and summed to form the discrete-
time beam output b(kTo)given by

NE
b(kTo)= a,x,(kTo - M, Ti) (3)
n=l

where Fi(= l/Ti) and Fo (= lJTo) denote the input and out-
put sampling rates, respectively, the a, and x, are as pre-
viously defined, and M, is an integer such that
T, - Ti/2 <M, Ti < T , + TJ2, (4)
i.e., the exact steering delays, the r,, are approximated by an
integer number of increments of the input sampling interval
Ti. This process is depicted in Fig. 2.
In order to permit reconstruction of the desired waveform,
the beam output b ( k T o ) must be computed at the Nyquist
rate [13] or greater; for low-pass signals, this minimum rate
required to avoid objectionable frequency aliasing is twice the
highest frequency of the signal spectrum. However, an input
sampling rate F j , significantlygreater than that required for
waveform reconstruction, is needed t o achieve acceptable ap-
proximations totheexact steeringdelays; frequently,the
input sampling rate is five to ten times that required for wave-
form reconstruction.
Delay-Sum Beamformer
In a delay-sum beamformerimplementation,the digitized
sensor data, sampled at the rate of Fj samples/s, are buffered
or stored prior to beamforming. When the last data sample re-
quired for b(kTo) arrives, the beam output can be computed.
The obvious disadvantages of this direct approach to imple-
mentation are as follows.
1) The sensor data must be sampled at a rate much greater
than the Nyquist rate to approximate the time delays required
for beam steering.
2 ) Large amounts of memoryor storagearegenerally
needed to achieve long delays associated with large arrays and
high input sampling rates.
3) The cable bandwidth required for transmission of high
data rates may be difficult to achieve if a large physical dis-
tance separates the A/Dconverters and the beamformer.
The costsassociated with achieving the required A/D con- where maxe. (7,) denotes the maximum delay corresponding
version throughput of N E F ~samples/s and the required stor- to the jth beam. Hence, the total number of partial sums ST
age of NE maxe (7,) Fi words, where maxe (7,) denotes the required to form NB beams is given by
maximum delayrequiredforbeamsteering,generally repre-
sent an appreciablepercentage of the overall cost ofimple-
menting adelay-sum beamformer. This is especially true if
ten or more bits of accuracy are required for input data rep-
Fig. 2. Discrete-time, delay-sum beamformer.
i.e., only the value of b(kTo) required at the time intervals
kTo are computed.
Partial-Sum Beamformer
The significant amount of memory needed in a conventional
delay-sum beamformer to store the sensor data for the pur-
pose of beam steering is reduced considerably in a partial-sum
or sum-delay beamformer whichutilizes the sensor data im-
mediately after sampling, as shown in Fig. 3.
The partial-sum technique can be explained as follows. Let
b(kTo) denote the beam output at time kTo and let Mnl Ti
denote the maximum delay, i.e., Mnl Ti > M,Tj for n = 1,
, NE. At time kTo - M,, Ti, the partial sumP(kTo)is ini-
tialized by shading and summing all sensors which are to be
delayed Mnl Ti s. If Mn2 Ti is the maximum of the remaining
delays, at time kTo - Mn2 Ti the partial sum P(kTo) is in-
cremented by the shaded sum of all sensors which are to be
delayed Mn2 Ti s. At time kTo the continuation of thisprocess
will produce a partial sum P(kTo) which is equal to b(kTo),
i.e., all sensor data will have been correctly delayed, shaded,
and summed in the partial sum storage element.
In order to produce a beam output at times k T o , it is neces-
sary to initialize a partial sum every To s. Conceptually, this is
similar to apipeliningprocess.However,since the initializa-
tion and accumulation process is repeated in exactly the same
way for every output sample of a given beam, the control of
the data flow in the pipeline is relatively simple.
The number of partial sums Sj which must be maintained for
a given beam pointing in direction Bi is given by
Sj = ma+. (7,)/T0
J (5)
J
NE
s,=k si
j= 1

resentation. Since the requirements are proportional to F j , a NB maxe (7, )/To (6)
reduction in the input sampling rate can produce significant
hardware savings. It is important to note, however, that the where maxe (7,) denotes the maximum delay required for all
computationaloperations necessary to performthe shading beams. The amount of memory generally required to store the
and summing generally can be performed at the output Sam- sensor data for a conventional delay-sum beamformer is equal
pling rate Fa, where Fo is consistent with the Nyquist rate, to N E maxe (r,)/Tj. Hence, if NE > N E and To is significantly
 550 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ACOUSTICS, SPEECH, AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. ASSP-32, NO. 3, JUNE 1984

BEAM COMPLETE
I
,ADDRESS
READ
ADDRESS
j
ADDRESS
1 ]RELATIVE 4 PARTIALSUM I
COEFFICIENT ABSOLUTE ADDRESS

DATA BEAM
SUM
STORAGE OUTPUT
MEMORY
2' x NE WORDS
' -
F, = T,-'

Fig. 3. Discrete-time, partial-sum beamformer.

greaterthan Ti, an appreciable savings inmemory can be x7l11

achieved with the partial-sum technique.

Themicroprogrammabledigitalbeamformerdeveloped by
RaytheonCompany [14], incorporatesthepartial-sumcon-
cept and is configured as shown in Fig. 3. An incremental
counter is used in conjunction with programmable microcode
to address the partial-sum memory in an ingenious manner. It K ELEMENT CHARGE COUPLED DEVICE
is worth noting that as a result of its programmability, this off-
the-shelfbeamformermodule canbeused innumerous ap-
plications involving variousarraygeometries andit can be
CHARGEMOTION
CLOCKING 1
RATE Fs
C , f n F ~ ' I - C , , I l n - l )t F
Q~, (-n' ]F s - ' )

easily modified to accommodate on-line changes in the num- Fig. 4. Charge coupled device beamformer implementation: @ ( T ) de-
ber of beams, number of sensors, shading, beam steering, etc. notes change proportional to signal amplitude x&).
The partial-sum concept also has been used in conjunction
with chargecoupled devices(CCD's) forbeamformingpur-
poses as shown in Fig. 4. The CCD's are operated as a series of
storage elements which can be clocked in a delay line manner.
x (nT)
INTERPOLATION
i ,InT. 1
1
A charge which is proportional to the sensor voltage is injected
into an element of this delay line by properly illuminating the
photosensitive exposed surface of the storage element. The in-
jected charge combines (adds) with an existing charge which is
I I
DELAY- SUM
OR PARTIAL-SUM

I BEAMFORMER c
DIGITAL
I

I
blkT,)

the accumulation of previously injected charges that are being

clocked ortransferredalongthedelayline. By thetimethe I
F, = T-'
charge (partial sum) reaches the end of the delay line, a charge
Fig. 5. Interpolation beamforming for low-pass applications.
accumulates that is proportional to the beam output. Spatial
shadingcan be accomplishedbycontrolling theamount of
charge injected with a translucent optical mask that covers the duces estimates of the sensor data, at a higher sampling rate
photosensitive surfaces of the delay line elements. F j , from which the time delays can be realized with sufficient
accuracy for beam steering. Although the interpolation can be
Interpolation Beamforming-Low-Pass Applications
accomplished in various ways, it can be performed with com-
Althoughthepartialsumconceptreducestheinputdata putational efficiency byzeropaddingthe originalsequence,
storagerequirements,generallya high input samplingrate is x, ( k T o ) ,and passing the resulting sequence u, (kTi),through
still requiredforbeamsteering.However, if temporalinter- a finite impulse response (FIR) digital low-pass filter as shown
polation of the sensor data is performed in conjunction with in Fig. 6 [ 161 , [I71 . That is, first K-1 zeros are inserted be-
the beamforming operation, as shown in Fig. 5, the sensor data tween samples of the original sequence obtained at the Nyquist
needonly be sampledat the Nyquist rate. Using thisap- rate in order to realize an effective sampling rate which is K
proach,commonly referred to as interpolation beamforming timesgreater.Next,the low-pass filtering is performedwith
[151 , anappreciable savings in A/D convertercircuitryand an FIR digital filter which is characterized by a nonrecursive
connectingcablebandwidthfordatatransmission canbe input-output relationship such that
realized.
Spatialinterpolation,forthepurposeof achieving thede-
sired beam steering resolution, also can be performed by prop-
n=l
erly combining the outputs of a set of preformed beams. Due
to the linearity of both spatial and temporal interpolation pro- where x k and y k denote the kth samples of the filter input and
cesses a close examination will reveal ahostofsimilarities. output sequences, respectively, and the h, denote the Nc filter
However, the presentdiscussionfocuses on theconceptof coefficients.
temporal interpolation of sensor data. Conceptually,the FIR filter is implemented as shown in
Thetemporalinterpolationprocess,simplystated,pro- Fig. 7. Thedesiredfilterbandpassand stopbandcharacter-
MUCCI: COMPARISON O F EFFICIENT BEAMFORMING ALGORITHMS
I t
FILTER
t ZERO
PAD
v (rnTi)
I 1
Fig. 6 . Two-step interpolation process.
I
FIR FILTER IMPLEMENTATION
Fig. 7. Finite impulse response, nonrecursive digital filter.
istics can be obtained through the proper design or synthesis
of the filter coefficient set.
This two-step process incorporatinga nonrecursivefilter
structure offers thefollowing advantages.
1) An interpolation filter with a linear phase response can
be achieved withasymmetric set of coefficients;generally
approximately 5K (i.e, five timestheinterpolationfactor
K ) coefficients are sufficient to achieve the filterresponse
required.
2) Acomputationally efficientfilter implementation can
be realized bynot performing the calculations involving the
padded zeros.
3) Various algorithms have been presented in the literature
for synthesizing FIR filter coefficients
for interpolation
[18] -[21].
The optimumplacementoftheinterpolation filter also is
an important consideration. Since both the interpolation and
beamforming operations are linear, the placement of the two
processes can be interchanged as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
Theappropriate piacement oftheinterpolation filters de-
pends upon the beamforming scenario [ 151 . For example, if
NB beams are formed simultaneously, each requiring the data
of NE sensors, thenapproximately 2NEN,F0 arithmetic
operations(additionsandmultiplications) per second are
required forprebeamforminginterpolation assuming compu-
tations involving padded zeros arenotperformed.Approxi-
mately 2NBN,F0 calculationspersecondarerequired
postbeamforming interpolation assuming the upsampled input
551
INTERPOLATION
H(f)
I
totheinterpolation filterconsistsprimarily ofnonzeros.
Hence, if NE and NB differ significantly, one approach will be
computationally more efficient than the other since the same
N , filtercoefficientsare used forprebeamformingorpost-
beamforming interpolation.
Whether the partial-sum or deiay-sum concept is used is also
a consideration in the placement of the interpolation filters.
For example, if postbeamforming interpolation is performed
in conjunctionwith delay-sum beamforming, the input data
storage requirementsareproportional tothe lower input
sampling rateconsistentwiththe Nyquist frequency. How-
ever, if postbeamforming interpolation is used in conjunction
with partial-sum beamforming,thenthe partial-sumstorage
requirements are proportional to the higher sampling rate re-
quired for beam steering, since the reduction in the sampling
rate occurs at the output of the interpolation filter.
Filter dynamic range and arithmetic quantization errors are
also aconsiderationin filter placement, since eachofthe
postbeamforming interpolation filters
must accommodate
peak amplitudes correspondingto the coherent addition of the
weighted signals of the NE sensors whereas the prebeamform-
ing interpolation filters need only accommodate peaks corre-
sponding to data of a single channel.
Although additional circuitry is required t o perform the in-
terpolation, the cost can be minimized by proper design and
configuration, and generally is offset by significant savings in
A/Dconverter circuitry,datastorage,anddata transmission
bandwidth.
Interpolation Beamforming-Bandpass Applications
The techniques discussed previously are concerned pri-
marily with the implementation of beamformers for low-pass
frequency applications. Additional savings in A/D converters,
connecting cable bandwidths, data storage, and computational
throughput can be realized inbandpass applications 1221.
Such savings result from the sampling of the bandpass sensor
data at a rate consistent with the signal bandwidth rather than
at a rate consistent with the highest frequency; these savings
can be appreciable if the bandwidth is significantly less than
the center frequency of the band.
In order to avoid objectionable frequency aliasing, complex
sampling procedures must be used to sample thebandpass
for sensor data. Three sampling proceduresthatarefrequently
used,analytic signal sampling, second-order sampling,and
 552 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ACOUSTICS, SPEECH, AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. ASSP-32, NO, 3, JUNE 1984

r
INTERPOLATION AID (nTl
FILTER
. CONVERTER
0

BEAMFORMER
0

CONVERTER

Fig. 8. Interpolation beamforming with prebeamforming interpolation.

CONVERTER

F I L T E RB E A M F O R M E R

Fig. 9. Interpolation beamforming with postbeamforming interpolation.

Second-Order Sampling: Second-order sampling is an alter-

nate technique which eliminates the need for the Hilbert trans-
form. Second-order sampling of x ( t ) yields two sequences of
uniformlyspaced samples which areinterleaved, i.e., x ( m T )
and x(rnT+ a), where (Y denotes a temporal offset and T de-
notesthe samplinginterval.The original waveform can be
reconstructed from the two staggered sequences if a # T/2,
andthe sampling rate is greater thanthe signal bandwidth.
However, an idealbandpassfilter is required with relatively
complexfrequency transfercharacteristics for the interpola-
tion process [ 2 2 ] ,[ 2 3 ] .
Quadrature Sampling (251, [26/: This procedure character-
izes a bandpass signal x ( t ) with uniformly spaced samples of
its quadrature components, Le., x ( t ) can be expressed as

x ( t ) = x z ( t )cos 27-rfot- X Q ( t ) sin 27rfot (8)

where xz(t) and x e ( t ) denotethe in-phase andquadrature

LOWPASS
FILTER
LOWPASS
FILTER
I Thus, it is evident that the signal can be recovered from the
I- - -L s-i n2
wt
- ---_----I
bs I
(C)
Fig. 10. Complex sampling procedures for bandpass applications.
quadrature sampling [ 2 3 ] , are shownin Fig. 10. Each is
briefly reviewed here. For more detail see [22]- [ 2 6 ] .
Analytic Signal Sampling: The analytic signal is formed by
removing the negative frequencycomponents of the signal.
This can be done with the aid of the Hilbert transform. The
Fourier transform of' the sampled analytic signal consists of
replicas of the positive frequency spectra of the original band-
pass signal repeated every F, Hz where F, denotes the sam-
pling rate in complex samples/s. If F, is greater than the width
of the signal passband, the positive spectra do not overlap and
the.signa1 content is preserved.
components of x ( t ) andfo denotes the center of thepassband.
If x ( t ) occupies a frequency band of width W Hz, then xr(t)
and XQ(t)occupy the frequency band from - W / 2 to W / 2 and
each can be sampled at a rate of W samplesls without aliasing.
sequences x z ( m T ) and xQ(mT) where T < W-'. However,
exact reconstruction of x ( t ) requires ideal low-pass filters.
Generally, aninterpolation process is used inconjunction
with the sampling procedure to obtain estimates of the data at
the times required for beam steering since the sensor data are
sampled at a relatively low rate. Descriptions of the frequency
characteristics ofthe bandpass interpolationfilters, which
are functions of the sampling procedure, are contained in
~ 2 1 ~, 3 1 .
As discussed for low-pass applications, the
additional
circuitry required for interpolation can be minimized by per-
forming the filtering either prior to or subsequent to beam-
forming as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. Also, either the partial-
sum or delay-sum concept can be employed.
It is important to note that the beamformer output is com-
MUCCI: COMPARISON OF EFFICIENT BEAMFORMING ALGORITHMS 553

- SAMPLING
k,(mT)
PROCEDURE
ZERO

ZERO
PAD
-_
COMPLEX
INTERPOLATION
FILTER
1
$,(mT,I

.. .
COMPLEX
SHADE,

. .. DELAY.,
AND SUM
BEAMFORMER
I
PAU
COMPLEX COMPLEX
xN,(t) INTERPOLATION
GNE(mTi)
t- SAMPLING
PROCEDURE
FILTER ZERO
PAD

Fig. 11. Interpolation beamforming with complex sampling and prebeamforming interpolation.

ciated with frequency translation for the differences in signal

arrival times at each sensor. For beam steering purposes, the
complex data, Le., the X h
,, frequently are sampled at a rate of
:
PROCEDURE

COMPLEX
ten or more times the highest signal frequency after transla-
SHADE.
tion. However, if the band has been translated down in fre-
quencybya significant amount,thenthis sampling rate is
proportionately less than the sampling rate needed in a con-
ventionaldigital approach.Therefore,themaximumreduc-
tion insampling rate andassociated hardware savings occur
whenthe sensor data arebasebandedand sampled,forex-
Fig. 12. Interpolation beamforming with complex sampling and post-
beamforming interpolation. ample, at five times the signal bandwidth. However, in certain
applications it might be more important to operate atan inter-
plex, and hence. only needs to be computed at a rate consistent mediate frequency rather than at baseband to avoid contami-
with the signal bandwidth rather than with the highest fre- nationordistortionofthedatabythe signal conditioning
quency of the originalbandpass signal. Hence,a significant electronics that occur near dc.
reduction in the computational throughput required to shade It is important tonotethatthe accuracy of thebeam-
and sum the sensor data can also be realized when the signal dependent phase shifts,the 27rf, T,, affectsperformance.
bandwidth is much less than the center frequency of the band. However, frequently a total of 16 bits is sufficient for repre-
sentation of the real and imaginary parts of exp { - i 2 n f , ~ ~ } ,
Shifted Sideband Beamformer and since the phase shifts are achieved independently of the
Another technique, which is intended primarily for bandpass time delays,thisaccuracy is not affected by the input sam-
applications and is commonly referred to as shifted sideband pling rate.
beamforming, forms beams using frequency translated, single There is a grating lobephenomenon associated withthe
sideband, complex sensor data [27]. Since the sensor data is shifted sidebandbeamformer which occurs for certain array
translated down in frequency, the signals are less rapidly vary- geometries, e.g., planar and linearrays ofuniformly spaced
ing functions of time than the original signals, and hence they sensors. These grating lobes occur when,duetothe coarse
can be aligned more coarsely in time in the beam steering op- time delay quantization, small groups of two or more adjacent
eration. This results in a lowering of the input sampling rate sensors receive the same steeringdelay. The net effect is an
required for beam steering and an associated hardware savings equivalent sparse array of subgroups of two or more adjacent
in the areas of A/D conversion, data transmission bandwidth, sensors whichspatiallyundersamples the wave. Fig. 13 is a
and input data storage. beam pattern demonstrating this effect fora line array of
h

The sampled beam output, b(mT,), is merely the frequency twenty-two equispaced sensors. The sensor data have been
translation of the conventionalbeam output, i.e., translated from 11 kHz to 1 kHz and sampled atarateof
15K samples/s. As a result of the quantization associated with
a sampling rate of 15K samples/s for a beam pointing direction
45 degrees from broadside, pairs of sensors receive the same
NE
-i 2 nfqrn time delays. This produces the grating lobes shown in Fig. 13
= a,&(nT, - M n T i ) e
n=l corresponding to the beam pattern or spatialresponse for a
frequency of 11 kHz. The grating lobes roll off as a result of
where the Xhn denote the sensor data translated down in fre- the spatial directivity achieved by combining the outputs of
quency by an amount f q , and Ti and T, denotetheinput the individualsensors in forming the subgroups. For a more
and output sampling rates, respectively. The phase shift by detailed discussion of this and a comparison with phase shift
27rfq7, compensates in the phase modulation process asso- beamforming see [28] .
5 54 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ACOUSTICS, SPEECH, AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, VOL. ASSP-32, NO. 3, J U N E 1984

i.e., the Fourier transform of the beam output steered to di-

rection e,, B ( f , d,), is the weighted linear combination of
the Fourier transform of the received waveforms. In (IO), the
a, denotethe shading coefficients,the .,(e,)
-10 PHENOMENON ATING-LOBE
denotethe
-
m delays required to steer the beam in the directionO m , the phase
1
w
n shifts,the 2nFr,(8,), are thefrequency domain counter-
2- -20
z part t o the timedelaysrequired for beamsteering, and the
2 X , denote the Fourier transforms of the received waveforms,
i.e.,X,(f)=F(x,(t)}.
-30
Only approximationstothe Fourier transformoperations
canbeapplied to beamforming in practice since calculation
of the transform requires knowledge of the waveform for all
-40
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 time. However, two beamforming procedures which are com-
THETA (deg) monly employed and based on the above concept will be dis-
Fig. 13. Beam pattern forshiftedsidebandbeamformingwith a line cussed in the remainder of thissection. Thefirstapproach
array consisting of 22 equispaced omnidirectional sensors: The sensor
data are sampled at 15 kHz. The beam is steered 45 from broadside, results from the directapplication of discreteFouriertrans-
the center of the band is 10 kHz, and the single frequency pattern is form (DFT) techniques and is applicable to low-pass and band-
shown for a frequency of 11 kHz. pass conditions.The second approach, commonly known as
phase shift beamforming, is applicable to narrow-band signals
The shifted sideband beamformer can be implemented digi- only.
tally as shown in Fig. 14. Both frequency translation of the DFT Beamforming Techniques / 2 9 / , ( 3 0 / : A discrete-time
sensor data andbeam dependent phase correctionforeach implementationofthefrequencydomain beamforming pro-
input channel are required.However, the cost ofthisaddi- cedure above involves the application of discrete Fourier trans-
tionalcomplexity can be offsetbyhardware savings asso- form (DFT) techniques. If theK-pointDFT of the sample
ciated with a lower input sampling rate. There is also a savings sensor data is given by
in thecomputationalthroughputrequiredfor beamforming
since the resulting beamoutput is translateddown infre- K
-iZnjk/K
quency and can be computed at a relatively low rate.These X,(i)= XnWi)e (1 1)
k=l
savings can beappreciablewhen the signal bandwidth issig-
nificantly less than the center of theoriginal band. where X, ( j ) is an estimate ofX, (27rjFi/K) and Fj denotes the
Althoughashifted sideband beamformer can beimple- input sampling rate, then the frequency domain representation
mentedwithoutinterpolation,afurtherreductioninthe of the beam output, B ( j , e,), is given by
input sampling rate can be realized if interpolation is used in NE
conjunctionwiththeshifted sideband concept. With inter- B ( j , e,) = a,x,(j) e -i27rjrn(Om)FilK (12)
n=l
polation, the complex sensor data only need to be sampled at
arateofapproximately twice the highest signal frequency This procedure can be implemented as shown in Fig. 15.
after translation, or at a rate consistent with the bandwidth Note that generally the inverse Fourier transform is not re-
if complex sampling proceduresareused.Estimates ofthe quired. In fact,oftenthefrequency domainbeam output
data at the times required for beam steering are obtained with representation is highlyconducive to postbeamformingpro-
the interpolation process. As with the other beamformer im- cessing objectives, such as signal detection,localization, and
plementations,theinterpolation canbe performed prior to classification [7J .
or subsequent to beamforming, and in conjunction with the Clearly, one advantage of this approach is thattheinput
partial-sum or delay-sum concept in order to minimize hard- sampling frequency Fi does not have an impact on beam steer-
ware cost. ing resolution, i.e., Fi must only satisfy the Nyquist criterion.
Beam steering is accomplished by theproper selection of
Frequency Domain Beamforming r, (e,) in the phase shifting operation subsequent to comput-
Frequency domain beamforming concepts are the result of ing the DFT of the sampled sensor data. Therefore, the sensor
the application of Fourier transform techniques to the beam- data can be sampled at a low rate which is comparable to the
forming process. Due tothe linearity of the beamforming sampling rate requiredfor interpolationbeamforming. The
process and certain properties of the Fourier transform [ 2 9 ] , other obvious advantage is that the DFT can be computed ef-
theFouriertransformofthe beam output can be obtained ficiently using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm [31],
from the Fourier transform of thesensor outputs as follows: ~321.
One of the major disadvantages of this approach is asso-
B ( f , e m ) = F I b ( t , )0, ciated with the physical constraint on K, the size of the DFT.

=F {5,=I I
a,x,[t- 7n(om)l
Since no actual time delays are inserted in this beamforming
procedure,andthedatatransformed are of finite duration
KIFi, the DFT of each sensor output will act on a different
NE
temporal region of the signal portion of the received data as a
= a,Xn(f)e-'*~fGl(Om) (10) result ofthe propagation delay across thearray. Hence, the
n=l transform size must be consistent with the array size and signal
MUCCI: COMPARISON O F EFFICIENT BEAMFORMING ALGORITHMS
x, It1
FREQUENCY TRANSLATION BY W I
. r
'-'L-g--& r/i
Fig. 14. Shifted sideband beamformer.
...
Fig. 15. Discrete-time, single beam, full bandfrequencydomain
beamformer.
bandwidth, e.g., the maximum propagation delayacross the
array should be less than ten percent of the duration of data
transformed, KIFi, where Fj is a function of signal bandwidth.
Since the DFT of each sensor is required, this can have a sig-
nificant impact on input storage requirements even though the
input may besampledata rate consistent with the Nyquist
criterion. Note that as a result of this temporal misalignment
of sensor data, B ( j , e,) is only an approximation of the DFT
of the sampled sequence of b ( t , e,) except in the limit as K
becomes very large.
There is also aspatialaspect of the frequency domain ap-
proachthat canbe exploited,Forcertainarraygeometries
(e.g., see [ 3 2 ] )the steeringdelays have a linear dependence
on n, i.e.,
T n ( e , > = %de,> (13) domain concepts to be considered.
and the expression for the beam output B ( j , e,) is in the
form of a discrete Fourier transform [see (1 l)] , i.e.,
NE
-iznjng(e,)F;fK
B(j,e,)= anxn(j)e
n=l
n=l
C0SW.i-u. A
'i&'MNETi
cos W,TNE
where
g(tJ,)FiNE/K=m for m = l ; * . , N E . (15)
For a line array of uniformly spaced sensors g(B,) is pro-
b(kTI
portional to the cosine ofthe beam pointingdirection e m ,
measured from the array axis passing through the sensors, i.e.,
and
where d denotes the intersensorspacing.
The majoradvantage ofthespatial aspect of frequency
domain beamforming is that a computationally efficient FFT
algorithm can be used to compute the multidimensional DFT
over space and time. However, for the computational saving
to be significant, thenumberof sensors, i.e., NE, mustbe
large, e.g., 100 ormore, and highly composite (factorable).
Also, the application produces beams with a fixed set of non-
uniformly spaced pointing directions
which satisfy (17).
Hence, if not all NE beams are required, or the resulting 0,
require spatialinterpolation to achieve the desired setof
beams, there may be little or no computational savings.
Phase Shift Beamfomer (331, (341 : The phase shift beam-
former is the second important technique based on frequency
Since this is a frequency
domain approach, the steering delays are realized with phase
shifts and consequently the beam steering resolution is not a
function of the input sampling rate for a digital implementa-
tion. However, this approach is intended primarily for narrow-
band applications.
The phase shift beamformer results from the approximation
of each linear phase shift 2nf7,(8,) by a constant phase shift
2nf07,(0,) which is frequentlymatched to the center fre-
quency of the narrow band of interest, i.e.,
 COMPLEX COMPLEX
SAMPLING ;,irnT) MULTIPLY BY
PROCEDURE a,exp(-iwdr, I

for f o - A f < f < f o + A f and sufficiently small A f. The

time domain equivalent is obtainedby taking the inverse
Fourier transform of B ( f , O m ) , i.e.,
w , 0,) = F-' M f , e,)) Fig. 16. Phase shift beamformer.

Nu
ings in A/D converters, data transmission, and input data storage
generally offset the additional complexity required for inter-
Hence,the phaseshift beamformer can be implemented polation. The application of frequency domain concepts was
digitally by merely sampling the narrow-band sensor data at a shown to eliminate the need for a high input sampling rate
rate consistent with the bandwidth of interest and summing also. Although the DFT's required for a discrete-timeimple-
the sampled data, shaded bythe beam dependent weighting mentation can be performedefficientlywith an FFT algo-
-iznfoTn(Om) rithm, a large amount of input data storage is generally re-
an e , as shown in Fig. 16. quired for frequency domain beamforming.
Note that the phase shift beamforming concept is related to
For bandpass applications, both interpolation with complex
the DFT approach, described previously, in the following way.
sampling and shiftedsidebandbeamformingwere shownto
Each bin of the DFT of the sensor data, which represents a
reduce theinput sampling requirements significantly and,
narrow frequency band, is phase shifted by a constant phase
hence, the input data storage requirements, data transmission
2 7 ~ 4 ~ ~ ( 0 which
,) dependsonthe beam pointingdirection
bandwidth,andcomputationalthroughput.Finally,for very
and is matched to the center frequency fi of the jth bin. If a
narrow bandpass applications, the frequency domain approach,
beam is formed, using only a single frequency bin from each
commonly referred to as phase shift beamforming, was shown
sensor, then the phase shift beamformer structure results. The
t o be very efficient. Since beam steering is accomplished with
phase shift beamformer is also equivalent to the shifted side-
constant phase shifts, the input sampling rate and input data
band beamformer when thepropagation delayacross the
storage requirements are minimized. However, for other than
entire array is less than one half of the sampling interval [28],
very narrow bandpass applications, performance of the phase
1.e.,
shift beamformer degrades rapidly and it becomes advisable to
max [.rn(O,)] < TJ2. (20) consider interpolation with complex sampling or shifted side-
Althoughthe phase shift beamformer requires a relatively band techniques. These results are summarized in Table I.
It is worth noting that frequently an optimum method of
small amount of analog or digital circuitry to implement, good
implementation is not easily determined. Generally,system
resultsare achieved foronly very narrowfrequencybands
specifications such as the number of sensors, the number of
since degradation in the beam pattern occurs atfrequencies
beams formedsimultaneously, beamsteering resolution,the
otherthanbandcenter.Forexample,errors in the beam
pointing direction are shown in [ 2 8 ] to occur for frequencies frequency band(s) ofinterest,postbeamforming processing,
dynamic range, faulttolerance,etc.,contributeto decisions
other than band center such as line arrays and planar arrays.
affecting the implementation. For example, incertain band-
For other array geometries such as conformal arrays, there is a
pass applications the bandwidth is not significantly less than
loss in array gain due to the phase errors at frequencies other
thecenterfrequency,andinterpolation beamforming with
than band center.
first-order sampling may be the most cost effective approach.
111. SUMMARY A N D CONCLUSIONS In certain low-pass applications, the savings in A/D circuitry
and associated hardware may not offset the additional com-
Various important concepts, which aid in the efficientim-
plexity requiredfor interpolation, andpartialsumbeam-
plementationof discrete-time beamformers, were presented
forming may be the most cost effective approach. The intent
and the associatedhardware considerations, primarilyin the
of this paper was to provide an overview and understanding of
areas of A/D conversion, input data storage, and beamformer
important concepts which in themselves should not affect the
computationalthroughput, were discussed. The delay-sum
overall system objectives or performance, but rather, will aid
technique was shown to require alarge amount of data storage
the system designer in the design of a cost effectivebeam-
and a high input sampling rate for most applications. Although
former architecture and subsequent implementation.
theinputdata storage requiremeilt is reducedsignificantly
with the partial-sum approach, this approach requires partial-
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
sum memory and addressing,and also a high input sampling
rate equal to that requiredfordelay-sumbeamforming. The Theauthor wishes to acknowledge theimportant recom-
interpolation beamformer was shown to eliminate the need for mendations provided by the reviewers and incorporated into
a high input sampling rate, and in most applications, the sav- this paper.
MUCCI: COMPARISON O F EFFICIENT BEAMFORMING ALGORITHMS 557

TABLE I
BEAMFORMING
TECHNIQUES
AND ASSOCIATED
HARDWARECONSIDERATIONS
AND SPECTRAL
AREAOF APPLICATION:
H-HIGH; M-MODERATE; L-Low

Spectral Characterization Hardware Considerations

Beamforming Bandpass Narrowband

Lowpass Additional Data Analog to
Technique Digital Storage2 Computation 1
Converter‘ Complexity 3
Delay-sum
* * H H -
Partial-sum * * L L-M H

Interpolation * L L-M L-M

Interpolation with * L L M
Complex Sampling

Shifted-sideband * * L-M L-M L-M

Discrete Fourier * * L H M
Transform

Phase-shift * L L L
1

‘A low sampling rate is consistent with the Nyquist sampling criterion. A high sampling rate indicates five times the
Nyquist criterion for low-pass applications and many moretimes this rate for bandpass applications.
2Low data storagerequirementsareconsistent with the number of sensors and a sampling rate consistent with the
Nyquist sampling criterion. High data storage requirements in excess of five times the low rate are common for delay-sum
and full band Fourier transform techniques.
3Amount of additional circuitry required relative to delay-sum approach.

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AND SIGNAL
PROCESSING, VOL. ASSP-32,
NO. 3, JUNE 1984
Ronald A. Mucci (S’71-M’75) received the B.S.
degree in electrical engineering from Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, the M.S.
degree in electrical engineering from the Univer-
sityof Michigan, AnnArbor, andthe Ph.D.
degree in electrical engineering from the Univer-
sity of Rhode Island, Kingston.
He was a member of the Technical Staff of
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ,
from1967to1969. From 1969to1978 he
was employed by Raytheon Co., Portsmouth,
RI. Presently he is with Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., Cambridge,
MA. His technical interests are in the area of digital signal processing
with specific applications in adaptivebeamforming,targettracking,
image processing, and parameter and spectral estimation.
Dr. Mucci is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu.