Mobile Distributed MIMO (MD-MIMO) for NextG: Mobility Meets Cooperation in Distributed Arrays

Distributed multiple-input multiple-output (D\mbox{-}MIMO) is a promising technology to realize the promise of massive MIMO gains by fiber-connecting the distributed antenna arrays, thereby overcoming the form factor limitations of co-located MIMO. In this paper, we introduce the concept of mobile D-MIMO (MD-MIMO) network, a further extension of the D-MIMO technology where distributed antenna arrays are connected to the base station with a wireless link allowing all radio network nodes to be mobile. This approach significantly improves deployment flexibility and reduces operating costs, enabling the network to adapt to the highly dynamic nature of next-generation (NextG) networks. We discuss use cases, system design, network architecture, and the key enabling technologies for MD-MIMO. Furthermore, we investigate a case study of MD-MIMO for vehicular networks, presenting detailed performance evaluations for both downlink and uplink. The results show that an MD-MIMO network can provide substantial improvements in network throughput and reliability.

Distributed Uplink Joint Transmission for 6G Communication

This paper investigates the spectral efficiency achieved through uplink joint transmission, where a serving user and the network users (UEs) collaborate by jointly transmitting to the base station (BS). The analysis incorporates the resource requirements for information sharing among UEs as a critical factor in the capacity evaluation. Furthermore, coherent and non-coherent joint transmission schemes are compared under various transmission power scenarios, providing insights into spectral and energy efficiency. A selection algorithm identifying the optimal UEs for joint transmission, achieving maximum capacity, is discussed. The results indicate that uplink joint transmission is one of the promising techniques for enabling 6G, achieving greater spectral efficiency even when accounting for the resource requirements for information sharing.

Impact of Synchronization Offsets and CSI Feedback Delay in Distributed MIMO Systems

The main challenges of distributed MIMO systems lie in achieving highly accurate synchronization and ensuring the availability of accurate channel state information (CSI) at distributed nodes. This paper analytically examines the effects of synchronization offsets and CSI feedback delays on system capacity, providing insights into how these affect the coherent joint transmission gain. The capacity expressions are first derived under ideal conditions, and the effects of synchronization offsets and feedback delays are subsequently incorporated. This analysis can be applied to any distributed MIMO architecture. A comprehensive study, including system models and simulations evaluating the analytical expressions, is presented to quantify the capacity degradation caused by these factors. This study provides valuable insights into the design and performance of distributed MIMO systems. The analysis shows that time and frequency offsets, along with CSI feedback delay, cause inter-layer interference. Additionally, time offsets result in inter-symbol interference.

Wireless Mobile Distributed-MIMO for 6G

The paper proposes a new architecture for Distributed MIMO (D-MIMO) in which the base station (BS) jointly transmits with wireless mobile nodes to serve users (UEs) within a cell for 6G communication systems. The novelty of the architecture lies in the wireless mobile nodes participating in joint D-MIMO transmission with the BS (referred to as D-MIMO nodes), which are themselves users on the network. The D-MIMO nodes establish wireless connections with the BS, are generally near the BS, and ideally benefit from higher SNR links and better connections with edge-located UEs. These D-MIMO nodes can be existing handset UEs, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or Vehicular UEs. Since the D-MIMO nodes are users sharing the access channel, the proposed architecture operates in two phases. First, the BS communicates with the D-MIMO nodes to forward data for the joint transmission, and then the BS and D-MIMO nodes jointly serve the UEs through coherent D-MIMO operation. Capacity analysis of this architecture is studied based on realistic 3GPP channel models, and the paper demonstrates that despite the two-phase operation, the proposed architecture enhances the system's capacity compared to the baseline where the BS communicates directly with the UEs.