Dopplingeading

Dopplingeading is a proposed concept in wave-based sensing and navigation that refers to a systematic bias in estimating an object's heading from Doppler-shift measurements. The term blends Doppler effect with the concept of heading or direction, indicating a misinterpretation issue rather than a separate physical force.

The idea arises when a moving observer or sensor array measures Doppler shifts across a finite aperture or across a distributed set of receivers. Because the received frequency depends on the angle of arrival, spatial variation in the Doppler signal can be misread by processing algorithms that assume a single, uniform Doppler frequency. If the algorithm then converts this spread into a heading estimate, it can produce an apparent change in direction—an effect called dopplingeading. The magnitude of the bias depends on relative velocity, geometry, frequency, and the sensor aperture.

In practice, dopplingeading is discussed as a potential source of heading estimation error in radar, sonar, and lidar systems that rely on Doppler processing. Resolving it requires models that jointly estimate arrival angle and velocity or that use larger, more capable sensor arrays and more sophisticated signal processing to separate angular and frequency information.

History and usage: the concept has appeared mainly in theoretical discussions about measurement bias and in science-fiction contexts as a narrative device illustrating the complexities of Doppler-based navigation. It is not a separate physical phenomenon, but a reminder of the importance of proper array processing in Doppler-based heading estimation. See also Doppler effect, Doppler radar, heading estimation.