Evolution of Millimeter-Wave Multi-Antenna Systems in the IoT Era

Abstract

In this paper, we present the roles played by millimeter-waves in the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT) society. Millimeter-waves are becoming essential frequency resources, enabling ultra-high-speed wireless networks supporting massive data traffic and high-resolution sensor devices. Multiple antenna technologies such as phased arrays, sector antennas, and MIMO signal processing are key technologies for putting these into practical use. In this paper, various examples of integration of multi-antenna systems are shown, as well as demonstration on 60 GHz-band millimeter-wave wireless access and 79 GHz-band high-resolution radar. We also propose applications to ITS for an IoT society, combining millimeter-wave wireless access and radar sensors, and discuss technical issues to be solved in the future.