A Survey of MIMO OTA Test Methodologies for Automotive Applications

The automotive test environment poses unique challenges with its diversity and complexity of wireless onboard systems and the large electrical size of the test article. In this paper, we discuss one of the challenging aspects of such testing: MIMO OTA testing of terrestrial wireless communications systems. We offer an overview of five MIMO test methods and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each for both 4G and 5G testing. Three of these methods are well-known; given the challenges associated with these methods for automotive testing, we propose two new MIMO test methods and discuss next steps for exploring them.