Beamdirection can be estimated using the so-called direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation methods. In 2008, the United States NTIA began a major effort to assist consumers in the purchase of digital television converter boxes. Through this effort, many people have been exposed to the concept of smart antennas for the first time. In the context of consumer electronics, a "smart antenna" is one that conforms to the EIA/CEA-909 Standard Interface. In 2017, the Israeli Aerospace Industries unveiled an adaptive array antenna called ADA, and stated that it is already operational and shall be fitted onto "major platforms" used by the Israel Defense Forces. Limited choice of EIA/CEA-909A smart antennas in the marketplace Prior to the final transition to ATSC digital television in the United States on 11 June 2009, two smart antenna models were brought to market: RCA ANT2000 – no longer available from retailers DTA-5000 – manufactured by Funai Electric, marketed under the "DX Antenna" brand name, sometimes associated with the Sylvania brand name; no longer available from retailers And two models are causing consumer confusion: Although the Apex SM550 is capable of connecting to a CEA-909 port for the purpose of drawing electrical power, it is not a true smart antenna. The Channel Master 3000A and CM3000HD SMARTenna series are otherwise-conventional amplified omnidirectional antennas, not steerable smart antennas. ADA - An adaptive antenna produced by MLM factory of the Israel Aerospace Industries Extension of smart antennas Smart antenna systems are also a defining characteristic of MIMO systems, such as the IEEE 802.11n standard. Conventionally, a smart antenna is a unit of a wireless communication system and performs spatial signal processing with multiple antennas. Multiple antennas can be used at either the transmitter or receiver. Recently, the technology has been extended to use the multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver; such a system is called a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system. As extended Smart Antenna technology, MIMO supports spatial information processing, in the sense that conventional research on Smart Antennas has focused on how to provide a digital beamforming advantage by the use of spatial signal processing in wireless channels. Spatial information processing includes spatial information coding such as Spatial multiplexing and Diversity Coding, as well as beamforming. See also Antenna (radio) Array processing History of smart antennas Phased array CEA-909 WiMAX Diversity combining Active antenna Reconfigurable antenna Digital antenna array References Further reading (584 pages) External links Smart Antenna