Position estimation with a millimeter-wave massive MIMO system based on distributed steerable phased antenna arrays

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Wireless Communications
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Accurate indoor localization is crucial for emerging applications.
• Millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies offer high bandwidth but face challenges in localization accuracy.
• Massive MIMO systems provide spatial multiplexing gains but require efficient localization strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel massive MIMO architecture for precise position estimation in mmWave indoor environments.
• To develop advanced localization algorithms addressing challenges like high side lobes in spatially coherent localization.
• To enable efficient multiuser localization without requiring transmitter-receiver time synchronization.

Main Methods:

• A distributed steerable phased antenna subarray architecture for massive MIMO systems.
• Multistage/multiresolution search algorithms to mitigate high side lobes.
• Simulations in line-of-sight (LOS) and specular multipath scenarios.

Main Results:

• Localization error is a small fraction of the carrier wavelength.
• Achievable accuracy under reasonable system parameters (SNR, antenna configuration, subarray aperture).
• Demonstrated effectiveness in both LOS and specular multipath environments.

Conclusions:

• The proposed massive MIMO architecture and algorithms enable highly accurate indoor mmWave localization.
• The system is robust, does not require time synchronization, and supports multiuser scenarios.
• This approach has the potential to significantly enhance capacity and efficiency in future mmWave massive MIMO systems.