Optimum Discrete Beamforming via Minkowski Sum of Polygons

Abstract

This letter casts the problem of optimum discrete beamforming as the computation of the Minkowski sum of convex polygons, which is itself a convex polygon. The number of vertices of the latter is at most the sum of the number of vertices of the original polygons, enabling its efficient computation. This original and intuitive formulation confirms that the optimum beamforming solution can be found efficiently.