VT-STAR design and implementation of a test bed for differential space-time block coding and MIMO channel measurements

Abstract

Next generation wireless communications require transmission of reliable high data rate services. Second generation wireless communications systems use single-input multiple-output (SIMO) channel in the reverse link, meaning one transmit antenna at the user terminal and multiple receive antennas at the base station. Recently, information theoretic research has shown an enormous potential growth in the capacity of wireless systems by using multiple antenna arrays at both ends of the link. Space-time coding exploits the spatial-temporal diversity provided by the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channels, significantly increasing both system capacity and the reliability of the wireless link. The Virginia Tech Space-Time Advanced Radio (VT-STAR) system presents a test bed to demonstrate the capabilities of space-time coding techniques in real-time. Core algorithms are implemented on Texas Instruments TMS320C67 Evaluation Modules (EVM). The radio frequency subsystem is composed of multi-channel transmitter and receiver chains implemented in hardware for over the air transmission. The capabilities of the MIMO channel are demonstrated in a non-line of sight (NLOS) indoor environment. Also to characterize the capacity gains in an indoor environment this test bed was modified to take channel measurements. This thesis reports the system design of VT-STAR and the channel capacity gains observed in an indoor environment for MIMO channels.