MIMO wireless communications

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless communications is a physical layer strategy that forms an important part of modern wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi, LTE and WiMAX.

MIMO communication links employ multiple antennae in the transmit and-or receive systems coupled with advanced coding techniques that increase channel throughput and robustness. The strategy effectively adapts the communication method to take advantage of the available wireless multipath channel.

The use of antenna arrays and advanced coding techniques in MIMO wireless links has led to the development of sophisticated signal processing capabilities that enable high data rate communications. As a consequence, MIMO wireless techniques present a challenge to an eavesdropper who, in addition to dealing with the demodulation and decoding of complicated waveforms, sees a different radio frequency (RF) channel to the legitimate communicators. This channel difference can be exploited by the legitimate communicators in a manner unknown to an eavesdropper and thus increase the security of the link.

DST Group has quantified such challenges, including the effects of channel independence and signal statistics. Further, we are investigating techniques that provide enhanced security to MIMO communications by explicitly taking advantage of the physical properties of the channel.