An evaluation of estimators for receiver detection probabilities and unknown signal population size

Abstract

Imagine a signal acquisition system composed of a number of receivers or sensors concurrently scanning the same domain for signals. It is reasonable to expect that different signals will each be detected by a different subset of receivers over the scanning period. Using the data collected from the receivers, it is possible to es­timate the total signal population size including those signals not detected by any receiver. Additionally, it is possible to estimate the probability each individual receiver detects signals. Several estimators are developed for these quantities in the context of a model designed to represent the signal detection process. This model forms the basis for a simulation conducted to analyze the behavior of the estimators over a variety of conditions.