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arXiv · 2311.16985

RIS-Enhanced MIMO Channels in Urban Environments: Experimental Insights

James Rains·Anvar Tukmanov·Qammer Abbasi·Muhammad Imran
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Abstract

Can the smart radio environment paradigm measurably enhance the performance of contemporary urban macrocells? In this study, we explore the impact of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) on a real-world sub-6 GHz MIMO channel. A rooftop-mounted macrocell antenna has been adapted to enable frequency domain channel measurements to be ascertained. A nature-inspired beam search algorithm has been employed to maximize channel gain at user positions, revealing a potential 50% increase in channel capacity in certain circumstances. Analysis reveals, however, that the spatial characteristics of the channel can be adversely affected through the introduction of a RIS in these settings. The RIS prototype schematics, Gerber files, and source code have been made available to aid in future experimental efforts of the wireless research community.

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James Rains, Anvar Tukmanov, Qammer Abbasi, Muhammad Imran. 2023-11-28. RIS-Enhanced MIMO Channels in Urban Environments: Experimental Insights. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.16985

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