Methods for coherent antenna switching in aod positioning scheme

An apparatus of a station (STA), the apparatus comprising:

• processing circuitry arranged to:
• decode at least one packet from an access point (AP) comprising antennas and transmit chains, the at least one packet comprising:
• a header,
• a pair of correction symbols on a first tone from a single antenna among the antennas before and after switching of the transmit chains, and
• an angle of departure (AoD) symbol on a second tone from each of a different set of the antennas, including the single antenna, before and after the switching of the transmit chains;
• determine from the header a position within the at least one packet of each of the correction and AoD symbols, if the header comprises the position within the at least one packet of each of the correction and AoD symbols;
• estimate a phase change and an amplitude change based on the pairs of correction symbols;
• correct each AoD symbol after the switching of the transmit chains based on the phase and amplitude change to determine a corrected AoD symbol;
• and
• estimate an AoD from the AoD symbols before the switching of the transmit chains and the corrected AoD symbols;
• and
• a memory configured to store the phase and amplitude changes.

An apparatus of an access point (AP), the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of antennas and transmit chains associated with the antennas;
• and
• processing circuitry arranged to:
• encode for transmission to a station (STA):
• an announcement frame comprising:
• a position of correction and angle of departure (AoD) symbols within a packet,
• a number of correction and AoD symbols transmitted between each switching operation between the transmit chains,
• a number of intermediate symbols used for the switching operation,
• a codebook that maps tones to respective physical angles,
• calibration data for estimation of the correction and AoD symbols, and
• beamshape patterns for estimation of the correction and AoD symbols, and
• the packet, the packet comprising:
• a header that contains the position within the packet of each of the correction and AoD symbols,
• a pair of the correction symbols on a first tone from a single antenna among the antennas before and after the switching operation, and
• the AoD symbols on a second tone from each of a different set of the antennas, including the single antenna, before and after the switching operation;
• and
• decode, from the STA based on the correction and AoD symbols, a phase change and an amplitude change caused by the switching operation.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a station (STA), the one or more processors to configure the STA to:

• receive, from an access point (AP), an announcement frame comprising:
• a position of correction and angle of departure (AoD) symbols within a packet,
• a number of correction and AoD symbols transmitted between each switching operation between transmit chains of the AP, and
• a number of intermediate symbols used for the switching operation,
• receive the packet from the AP, the packet comprising:
• a header that contains the position within the packet of each of the correction and AoD symbols,
• a pair of correction symbols on a first tone from a single antenna among antennas of the AP before and after switching of the transmit chains, and
• an angle of departure (AoD) symbol on a second tone from each of a different set of the antennas, including the single antenna, before and after the switching operation;
• estimate a phase change and an amplitude change based on the pairs of correction symbols;
• correct each AoD symbol after the switching of the transmit chains based on the phase and amplitude change to determine a corrected AoD symbol;
• and
• estimate an AoD from the AoD symbols before the switching operation and the corrected AoD symbols.