Robust time delay estimation with unknown cyclic frequency in co-channel interference and impulsive noise

Time delay estimation (TDE) has been an essential topic in both theoretical research and engineering practice. The effective models and solutions related to this work have been offered by pioneers, and preferable results are achieved. Nevertheless, in the environment of co-channel interference and impulsive noise, the traditional methods are degraded or even be unavailable. To solve these problems, a robust TDE method is proposed in this paper. On the one hand, the novel method designed in cyclostationary signal processing can suppress the co-channel interference effectively, and the cyclic frequencies of interference signals are not necessary. On the other hand, the novel method equipped with a nonlinear function can deal with impulsive noise and performs well compared to the traditional methods in Gaussian noise. In addition, theoretical analysis and comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared to the existing competitive methods. It is believed that the robust TDE method could be fully utilized in more engendering fields, and the technologies involved could also be taken into consideration in other research. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.