Hybrid Multi-Antenna Techniques for V2X Communications—Prototyping and Experimentation

Abstract

The support of the connected vehicle-to-everything (V2X) vision in conjunction with intelligent transportation system applications and services constitute a major 5G objective for modern radio systems and networks. More particularly, 5G deployment will involve multiple radio access network (RAN) technologies and a massive machine-type communication environment, offering a simultaneously supported variety of broadcast, multicast, and unicast applications. In this article, we present an implementation of a diversity engine able to support the multi-objective, multi-RAN, multi-service V2X use cases. The engine is enhanced with the adoption of a hybrid diversity scheme that exploits the beamshaping capabilities of the reconfigurable electronically switched parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) antennas. The hybrid scheme combines conventional maximal ratio combining with beamspace diversity and it improves system performance in terms of reliability and throughput with increased signal-to-noise ratio. It was implemented and demonstrated with integration of novel printed antennas on connected, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)-enabled trucks in the context of the Horizon 2020 project ROADART.