Compressive Antenna Pattern Measurement: A Case Study in Practical Compressive Sensing

Compressive sensing has emerged as powerful signal processing technique that has been applied to many different types of measurement; enhancing systems in terms of power consumption, memory usage, resolution, and measurement speed. Although compressive sensing has experienced tremendous growth in theoretical research, successful commercial applications of compressive sensing have developed slowly. In many cases, alternative sensing strategies will outperform compressive sensing in real-world situations. In order to design a successful compressive sensing system, it is crucial to not only understand compressive sensing's strengths, but also its limitations. An intuitive introduction to compressive sensing is presented to describe how compressive sensing can be applied to practical measurement problems. The essential aspects of compressive sensing are explained, and common misunderstanding are addressed. Finally, compressive antenna pattern measurement is presented as case study, inspiring compressive sensing to be used in other applications in the automatic test community.