Effect Of Pilot Contamination Research Articles

Optimized deep learning‐based channel estimation for pilot contamination in a massive multiple‐input‐multiple‐output‐non‐orthogonal multiple access system

SummaryOne of the advanced field in 5G cellular networks is the Massive Multiple‐Input‐Multiple‐Output (MIMO), which creates a massive antenna array by offering numerous antennas at the destination. This grows as a hot research topic in the wireless sectors as it enhances the volume and spectrum usage of the channel. The spectral efficiency (SE) is maximized using the abundant antennas employed by MIMO using spatial multiplexing of consumers, which needs precise channel state information (CSI). The SE is affected by both pilot overhead and pilot contamination. To mitigate the contamination and to estimate the suitable channel for communication, an efficient strategy is introduced using the proposed Namib Beetle Aquila optimization (NBAO)_Deep Q network (DQN). Here, the optimal pilot location is identified by employing NBAO, which is an integration of Namib beetle optimization (NBO) and Aquila optimizer (AO). Moreover, DQN is introduced to determine the suitable channel and metrics, such as bit error rate (BER) and normalized mean square error (MSE) is used for evaluation. The normalized MSE channel estimation is utilized to mitigate the effects of pilot contamination. Additionally, designed NBAO + DQN have attained a value of 0.0006 and 0.0005 for BER and normalized MSE.

Symbiotic Backscatter Communication Underlying a Cell-Free Massive MIMO System

In ambient backscatter communications, backscatter devices (BDs) utilize ambient “legacy” radio signals as both a harvested energy source and a carrier on which to modulate data. Symbiotic radio, a subtype in which the legacy system assists both its own users and underlaid BDs, has attracted much research interest recently. Furthermore, cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CF mMIMO) systems are promising for beyond-5G networks from both spectral and energy efficiency perspectives. To reap the benefits of both, we consider a primary CF mMIMO system where the access points (APs) aid an underlaid BD layer to both harvest energy and reflect information toward the primary receivers (which receive data from both layers). To acquire separate channel state information (CSI) of the direct and backscattered channels at the APs, a two-phase uplink pilot training method is proposed, with the effects of pilot contamination and spatial correlation between antennas accounted for. However, the receivers are assumed to only have partial CSI (statistical knowledge plus instantaneous phase information for partially-coherent reception). Assuming uplink/downlink radio channel reciprocity, the CSI is used to design downlink precoding vectors for the APs such that channel hardening is enhanced and both primary receivers and BDs benefit. We derive expressions for the average signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios of both primary and backscatter signals, accounting for the effects of imperfect CSI, spatial correlation, pilot contamination, and channel hardening. Furthermore, the average power harvested in the BDs is derived. Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed scheme is much more uniform across all devices with CF mMIMO than with conventional co-located mMIMO. The use of CF mMIMO also largely removes the need for special consideration of the BD layer in the symbiotic system, which is not the case with co-located mMIMO.

Impact of mobility on the downlink performance of cell-free massive MIMO systems

In this paper, we analyze the achievable downlink spectral efficiency of cell-free massive multiple input multiple output (CF-mMIMO) systems, accounting for the effects of channel aging (caused by user mobility) and pilot contamination. We consider two cases, one where user equipments (UEs) rely on downlink pilots beamformed by the access points (APs) to estimate downlink channel, and another where UEs utilize statistical channel state information (CSI) for data decoding. For comparison, we also consider cellular mMIMO and derive its achievable spectral efficiency with channel aging and pilot contamination in the above two cases. Our results show that, in CF-mMIMO, downlink training is preferable over statistical CSI when the length of the data sequence is chosen optimally to maximize the spectral efficiency. In cellular mMIMO, however, either one of the two schemes may be better depending on whether user fairness or sum spectral efficiency is prioritized. Furthermore, the CF-mMIMO system generally outperforms cellular mMIMO even after accounting for the effects of channel aging and pilot contamination. Through numerical results, we illustrate the effect of various system parameters such as the maximum user velocity, uplink/downlink pilot lengths, data duration, network densification, and provide interesting insights into the key differences between cell-free and cellular mMIMO systems.

Location-aided user selection and sum-rate analysis for mmWave NOMA

In this paper, we propose a user selection scheme based on location-aided interference prediction to reduce the training overhead in a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system. First, we cluster the users based on their location information, enabling the use of non-orthogonal pilot sequence within a cluster and orthogonal pilot sequence between different clusters to reduce the uplink pilot training length. Secondly, we exploit the location information in the computation of the covariance matrices, enabling the prediction of the interference between users. The predicted interference is employed to select the set of users with minimum interference for uplink channel estimation and downlink NOMA data transmission. Finally, the achievable sum-rate of the massive multiple-input multiple-output millimeter wave NOMA system is analyzed. The analytical and numerical results reveal that the location information can be exploited for user selection to reduce the effect of pilot contamination, enhancing the uplink channel estimation and downlink achievable sum-rate.

A Survey on Machine Learning Techniques for Massive MIMO Configurations: Application Areas, Performance Limitations and Future Challenges

The deployment of fifth-generation (5G) broadband wireless cellular networks has enabled the support of highly demanding applications, paving the way towards global broadband connectivity. In the same context, related advances in network infrastructure, such as network function virtualization via the decoupling of related functionalities from hardware equipment has leveraged end-to-end service support in highly heterogeneous environments. To this end, uninterrupted provision of service necessitates a holistic network redesign where access points (APs) should be placed and configured dynamically. One of the key supporting technologies of 5G communications are massive multiple input multiple output (m-MIMO) configurations, deployed over various APs, either in a centralized or in a distributed manner. However, such a configuration would pose an additional degree of complexity during network planning, since on one hand accurate channel estimation for all potential links is limited due to the pilot contamination effect, and on the other hand the number of actually deployed radio frequency chains is again limited when compared to the fully digital approach, in an effort to relax hardware and computational burden. Moreover, additional issues should be taken into consideration as well, such as the coexistence of m-MIMO configurations with other novel technologies in the 5G air interface as well as the need for provision of acceptable quality of service to a large number of mobile users. In an effort to deal with the aforementioned issues, machine learning (ML) algorithms have emerged over the last decade as a promising solution that can deal with complex optimization problems. In this context, the main goal of this survey paper is to present the state-of-the-art approaches in the deployment of ML methods in m-MIMO configurations. Unlike other related survey papers, this is the first scientific attempt to cover all aspects of m-MIMO practical implementations (i.e., channel estimation, MIMO precoding and signal detection, hybrid beamforming, distributed configurations, user pairing and power allocation in non-orthogonal multiple access), in the context of ML-aided calculations. To this end, all presented works are categorized according to the studied aspect, while in the same context potential limitations and future challenges are highlighted as well.

Generalized Superimposed Training Scheme in Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems

Regular pilots in a massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system with large number of users suffer from the pilot contamination effect due to limited training time. In this paper, for a cell-free massive MIMO system, we have proposed a generalized superimposed pilot (GSP) scheme, where the available number of pilots are equal to the coherence time slots, and the transmitting data symbols are spread over the coherence time with the help of simple precoding. Further, in order to keep the system scalable, a low complexity and distributed time processing approach is employed, and the corresponding rate components are analyzed. It is shown that with careful design of precoding matrix and number of data symbols, the GSP symbols can provide much better channel estimation and data detection performance, as compared to the regular pilot scheme and the conventional superimposed scheme. These results have been verified via simulations. It is also inferred that centralized processing in cell free system improves the data detection performance than localized processing. Iterative data detection at the central node also improves the MSE of data estimates. The pilot contamination effect, is significantly reduced due to availability of larger number of pilots, as compared to regular pilots transmission.

Generalized Superimposed Training Scheme in IRS-Assisted Cell-Free Massive MIMO Systems

In this article, for a cell-free massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system assisted with intelligent reflective surface (IRS) panels, a generalized superimposed pilot (GSP) training scheme is proposed, where the available number of pilots are equal to the coherence time slots, and the transmitting data symbols are spread over the coherence time with the help of simple precoding. Further, in order to keep the system scalable, a low complexity approach is employed for processing, and the corresponding rate components are analyzed. It is shown that with careful design of precoding and number of data symbols, the GSP symbols can provide much better channel estimation and data detection performance, as compared to the regular pilot scheme and the conventional superimposed scheme. These results, verified via simulations, shows that the centralized processing improves the data detection performance than localized processing. The pilot contamination effect, is significantly reduced due to the availability of larger number of pilots, as compared to the regular pilots transmission. For four IRS panels in the system, the proposed scheme is shown to reduce the channel estimation errors by 74% approximately.

Joint Pilot Design and Channel Estimation Using Deep Residual Learning for Multi-Cell Massive MIMO Under Hardware Impairments

In multi-cell massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, channel estimation is deteriorated by pilot contamination and the effects of pilot contamination become more severe due to hardware impairments. In this paper, we propose a joint pilot design and channel estimation based on deep residual learning in order to mitigate the effects of pilot contamination under the consideration of hardware impairments. We first investigate a conventional linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) based channel estimator to suppress the interference caused by pilot contamination. After that, a deep learning based pilot design is proposed to minimize the mean square error (MSE) of LMMSE channel estimation, which is utilized to the joint pilot design and channel estimator for transfer learning approach. For the channel estimator, we use a deep residual learning which extracts the features of interference caused by pilot contamination and eliminates them to estimate the channel information. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed joint pilot design and channel estimation method can effectively reduce the effect of pilot contamination as well as outperforms the conventional approach in multi-cell massive MIMO scenarios. Moreover, the joint pilot design and channel estimation method using transfer learning further enhances the estimation performance when the prior knowledge of pilot contamination cannot be exploited.

Rate-Splitting Assisted Massive Machine-Type Communications in Cell-Free Massive MIMO

This letter focuses on integrating rate-splitting multiple-access (RSMA) with time-division-duplex Cell-free Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) for massive machine-type communications. Due to the large number of devices, their sporadic access behaviour and limited coherence interval, we assume a random access strategy with all active devices utilizing the same pilot for uplink channel estimation. This gives rise to a highly pilot-contaminated scenario, which inevitably deteriorates channel estimates. Motivated by the robustness of RSMA towards imperfect channel state information, we propose a novel RSMA-assisted downlink transmission framework for cell-free massive MIMO. On the basis of the downlink achievable spectral efficiency of the common and private streams, we devise a heuristic common precoder design and propose a novel max-min power control method for the proposed RSMA-assisted scheme. Numerical results show that RSMA effectively mitigates the effect of pilot contamination in the downlink and achieves a significant performance gain over a conventional cell-free massive MIMO network.

Promoting fractional frequency reuse performance for combating pilot contamination in massive multiple input multiple output

<span>Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) improves spectrum efficiency by increasing the capacity of the wireless structure. Therefore, massive MIMO is promising for fifth generation (5G) wireless communications. In massive MIMO, channel estimation is a crucial part that should achieve reliable performance. Pilots are sent from the end-users to be used for estimating the channel. However, the problem of interference in pilot contamination affects the performance for cell-edge users. Specifically, pilot contamination appears when the same pilot sequence is utilized at the same time by more than one terminal. This lead to an inaccurate estimation of the channel. Consequently, the decoded data will not be reliable. For mitigating these pilot contamination effects, an enhanced fractional frequency reuse (eFFR) scheme is proposed that uses an algorithm in the allocation of pilot sequences to end users’ devices based on the locations of the users from the target base station (BS). The simulation results exhibit that the proposed scenario outweighs the traditional FFR within both signal to interference, and noise ratio (SINR), and capacity. Consequently, the suggested scenario enhances the performance of more than 80% of the cell terminals and the other 20% of the terminals have a slightly lower performance compared to the FFR.</span>

On the Theoretical Analysis of Network-Wide Massive MIMO Performance and Pilot Contamination

In this paper, we theoretically analyse the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) performance of massive multiple-input and multiple-output (mMIMO) networks, in term of coverage probability, cell spectral efficiency and network area spectral efficiency, using stochastic geometry. A sophisticated but yet practical system model is considered, taking into account a path loss model differentiating line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight transmissions, an idle mode capability at the base stations and a finite user density. Our analysis pays particular attention to the existence of a finite number of UL pilots for channel estimation and the effect of pilot contamination. We study for the first time the joint impact of the number of UL pilot sequences, the user density, and the base-station density on the pilot contamination issue in a mMIMO network, which in turn characterizes the DL and UL network performance. Moreover, using the proposed framework, we investigate two different scheduling problems—UE and pilot scheduling—, to find the optimal simultaneously scheduled UE density per time-frequency resource as well as the optimal UL pilot number to maximise the spectral efficiency.

Sum-Rate Analysis of a Multi-Cell Multi-User MISO System Under Double Scattering Channels

This paper aims to derive expressions of the downlink ergodic user rates in a multi-cell large-scale multi-user multiple-input single-output (MISO) system under the assumption that each base station (BS) employs maximum ratio transmission (MRT) precoding and that single-antenna users in each cell are divided into groups, where channels of users in the same group share common covariance matrices and follow the double scattering channel model. Moreover, both channel estimation errors and pilot contamination effects caused by re-use of pilot sequences in neighboring cells are taken into consideration in this work. The analysis is carried out using statistical tools under the exact and asymptotic regimes in which the number of antennas at BS N, the number of users in each cell K, and the number of scatterers S grow large at the same pace. Furthermore, the obtained exact expressions and deterministic approximations of the ergodic rates are expressed in simplified closed-forms under the special case of multi-keyhole channels to yield useful insights. They reveal that signal-to-noise plus interference ratio (SINR) without user grouping in a multi-keyhole channel is similar to that under standard Rayleigh channel in the asymptotic regime. However, under user grouping, we show that the massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) gains promised by deploying large-scale antenna arrays in multi-cell settings are limited by the number of scatterers even if the number of antennas grows large. Simulation results illustrate the close match provided by the asymptotic analysis for moderate system dimensions and confirm the insights drawn from the theoretical findings.

Pilot Contamination Mitigation in Massive MIMO Cloud Radio Access Networks

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is expected to achieve significant gains in both signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SINR) and throughput for 5G cellular wireless networks. Efficient and highly accurate channel state information (CSI) acquisition at the base stations (BS) is essential to achieve the potential benefits of massive MIMO systems. However, the inadequate number of orthogonal pilot sequences used for CSI estimation leads to erroneous channel estimation as it causes interference between pilot sequences. This phenomenon is coined pilot contamination and severely limits the system performance. Therefore, we address in this paper the pilot contamination problem in massive MIMO Cloud-Radio Access Networks systems. Leveraging on a real telecom operator data delivered by Call Detail Records (CDR), our objective is to maximize the average uplink achievable rate by reducing the effect of pilot contamination in massive MIMO Cloud-Radio Access Networks (C-RAN). As such a problem is a non-linear integer problem that has no solution in polynomial time, we develop a two-stage solution to solve it. First, a coalition game is proposed where Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) gather into clusters with random user-pilot allocation. Then, two greedy heuristics are applied to match each user in the cluster with a given pilot. The goal is to further improve the average uplink rate achieved in the first stage. Simulation results show that our heuristic solutions for pilot contamination mitigation outperform the traditional pilot allocation solution and a state-of-the-art pilot allocation scheme based on large-scale fading in terms of average uplink achievable rate and SINR.

Improving Cell-Free Massive MIMO Networks Performance: A User Scheduling Approach

Cell-Free (CF) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system is a distributed antenna system, wherein a large number of access points wish to simultaneously communicate with a relatively small number of users. Similar to co-located massive MIMO system, pilot contamination and multi-user interference are two major impediments to CF massive MIMO network performance improvement. One can mitigate the detrimental effect of pilot contamination and multi-user interference through judicious resource allocation. In this work, we formulate and investigate the problem of frequency assignment for a CF massive MIMO. The formulated optimization problem is proven to be generally NP-hard. Local optima can be found by approaches such as the Lagrangian method that however, has considerably slow rates of convergence. To circumvent this issue, we propose an alternative solution being of two-folds. Firstly, we reformulate the problem as a grouping strategy which enables to attenuate the effect of intra-group multi-user interference. In the second fold, frequencies are assigned in a non-overlapping fashion to each scheduled group to palliate the effect of inter-group interference and pilot contamination. To further improve the performance of the proposed approach, power coefficients are allocated to the users via a sequential convex approximation (SCA)-based framework. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is then verified through extensive numerical simulations which demonstrate a non-negligible improvement in the performance of the studied scenario.

Multi-Point Coordination in Massive MIMO Systems With Sectorized Antennas

Non-cooperative cellular massive MIMO, combined with power control, is known to lead to significant improvements in per-user throughput compared with conventional LTE technology. In this paper, we investigate further refinements to massive MIMO, first, in the form of three-fold sectorization, and second, coordinated multi-point operation (with and without sectorization), in which the three base stations cooperate in the joint service of their users. For these scenarios, we analyze the downlink performance for both maximum-ratio and zero-forcing precoding and derive closed-form lower-bound expressions on the achievable rate of the users. These expressions are then used to formulate power optimization problems with two throughput fairness criteria: ${i}$ ) network-wide max-min fairness, and ii ) per-cell max-min fairness. Furthermore, we provide centralized and decentralized power control strategies to optimize the transmit powers in the network. We demonstrate that employing sectorized antenna elements mitigates the detrimental effects of pilot contamination by rejecting a portion of interfering pilots in the spatial domain during channel estimation phase. Simulation results with practical sectorized antennas reveal that sectorization and multi-point coordination combined with sectorization lead to more than $1.7\times $ and $2.6\times $ improvements in the 95%-likely per-user throughput, respectively.

Spatial channel correlation for local scattering with linear MMSE‐based estimator and detector in multi‐cell large scale MU‐MIMO networks

AbstractScalable Multi‐antenna systems are designed to gain improvement in energy and spectral efficiency under different propagation conditions by equipping the BSs with hundreds or even more antennas. A better understanding of such systems leads to overcome the essential challenges, which is important for the beneficial deployment in future networks. In wireless communication systems, channel models describe the main characteristics of the propagation environment and are essential for systems performance evaluation. This article considers a multi‐cell large scale multiuser MIMO (LS‐MU‐MIMO) system with a physical correlated channel model and linear‐based MMSE estimator and detector. A physical local scattering geometric‐based stochastic channel model for dense urban and suburban scenarios is presented in this article to illustrate the impact of propagation environment on signal transmission in a general framework of antenna spatial correlation. Also, a pilot signaling‐based channel estimation in the uplink scenario, the effect of pilot contamination (PC), and spatial correlation on the channel estimation are studied. The effect of PC and channel estimation on the performance of LS‐MU‐MIMO system is investigated by applying MMSE‐based channel estimator and detector over uniform linear arrays (ULA) of BS antennas in different scattering environments. Moreover, different pilot reuse patterns are considered, and their impact on the average sum SE has been investigated. The simulation results show that LS‐MU‐MIMO system can provide higher performance for dense urban scenarios where the user terminals (UTs) have limited mobility and higher coherence time than suburban scenarios. Furthermore, while higher spatial correlation will result in improvement in the channel estimation quality, it contributes imperfectly to the channel hardening effect.

AoA-Based Pilot Assignment in Massive MIMO Systems Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

In this letter, the problem of pilot contamination in a multi-cell massive multiple input multiple output (M-MIMO) system is addressed using deep reinforcement learning (DRL). To this end, a pilot assignment strategy is designed that adapts to the channel variations while maintaining a tolerable pilot contamination effect. Using the angle of arrival (AoA) information of the users, a cost function, portraying the reward, is presented, defining the pilot contamination effects in the system. Numerical results illustrate that the DRL-based scheme is able to track the changes in the environment, learn the near-optimal pilot assignment, and achieve a close performance to that of the optimum pilot assignment performed by exhaustive search, while maintaining a low computational complexity.

Performance Analysis of Active Large Intelligent Surfaces (LISs): Uplink Spectral Efficiency and Pilot Training

Large intelligent surfaces (LISs) constitute a new and promising wireless communication paradigm that relies on the integration of a massive number of antenna elements over the entire surfaces of man-made structures. The LIS concept provides many advantages, such as the capability to provide reliable and space-intensive communications by effectively establishing line-of-sight (LOS) channels. In this paper, the system spectral efficiency (SSE) of an active LIS system is asymptotically analyzed under a practical LIS environment with a well-defined uplink frame structure. In order to verify the impact on the SSE of pilot contamination, the SSE of a multi-LIS system is asymptotically studied and a theoretical bound on its performance is derived. Given this performance bound, an optimal pilot training length for multi-LIS systems subjected to pilot contamination is characterized and, subsequently, the number of devices that need to be serviced by the LIS in order to maximize the performance is derived. Simulation results show that the derived analyses are in close agreement with the exact mutual information in presence of a large number of antennas, and the achievable SSE is limited by the effect of pilot contamination and intra/inter-LIS interference through the LOS path, even if the LIS is equipped with an infinite number of antennas. Additionally, the SSE obtained with the proposed pilot training length and number of scheduled devices is shown to reach the one obtained via a brute-force search for the optimal solution.

Estimation of Sparse Channel Using Bayesian Gaussian Mixture and CS-Aided Techniques for Pilot Contaminated Massive MIMO System

Massive MIMO is established by future wireless communication systems to facilitate real-time user applications with having a higher of data transfer rates and spectral efficacy through perfect channel knowledge. Many pilot reuse schemes are working to improve channel performance regarding pilot overhead and channel knowledge. However, the pilot contamination becomes a major challenging issue in massive MIMO applications due to erroneous channel state information between neighboring cells. To tackle this issue, analyzing to the estimation of channel parameters in the preferred paths and interference from neighboring cells in the underdetermined system is essential. For estimating the channel behavior over Sparse Bayesian and Compressed sensing Aided methods are proposed by surviving the Pilot contamination effects by changing the angular to beam domain for sparse channel approximation. Simulation results have demonstrated the effectiveness of Bayesian and compressed sensing by compared with the standard estimators in connection with estimation accuracy, especially in pilot contamination.

Mitigating the Interference Caused by Pilot Contamination in Multi-cell Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output Systems Using Low Density Parity Check Codes in Uplink Scenario

The effects of pilot contamination (PC) on the performance of multi-cell multi-user massive multiple input multiple output (MC-MU-m-MIMO) system in uplink has been analyzed in this article. In a multi-cell scenario, the channel estimation (CE) at the desired cell using pilot reuse to avoid significant overhead results in poor CE due to PC. The improvement in degraded performance due to the effect of PC has been shown using low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes. The comparative analysis of performance in terms of variation in bit error rate (BER) with the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for LDPC coded and uncoded information blocks of users has been shown when the number of cells sharing the same frequency band is varied. Further, the expression for sum-rate has been derived and its variation with the number of base station (BS) antennas has also been shown. The simulated results have shown that the LDPC coded scheme performs better than the uncoded counterpart and the sum-rate capacity increases when the strength of channel coefficients between the BS antennas of the desired cell and the users of remaining cells is less.