Realization of a spatially multiplexed MIMO system

Abstract

Multi-antenna systems can provide improvements in wireless systemsincreasing spectral efficiency, reliability, range, and systemcapacity. Herein we show how some of the potentials of MIMO systemscan be realized on a simple radio hardware platform by utilizingadvanced real-time signal processing and coding. We present areal-time implementation of a 2 by 2 MIMO system employing spatialmultiplexing to achieve high spectral efficiency in an indoornon-line-of-sight environment operating in the 1800 MHzrange. Well-known processing and coding techniques are employedand our contributions lie in: discussing implementational aspectsand solutions often overlooked but critical for high-performanceoperation; demonstrating the degree to which the simple basebandAWGN model can be used to accurately model/predict the MIMO systemon the current hardware; and demonstrating the feasibility ofreal-time spatial multiplexing achieving up to 15 bps/Hz ona 2 by 2 system in a realistic indoor environment withoff-the-shelf radio hardware.