One-Bit Quantized Massive MIMO Detection Based on Variational Approximate Message Passing

One-bit quantization can significantly reduce the massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) system hardware complexity, but at the same time it also brings great challenges to the system algorithm design. Specifically, it is difficult to recover information from the highly distorted samples as well as to obtain accurate channel estimation without increasing the number of pilots. In this paper, a novel inference algorithm called variational approximate message passing (VAMP) for one-bit quantized massive MIMO receiver is developed, which attempts to exploit the advantages of both the variational Bayesian inference algorithm and the bilinear generalized approximated message passing algorithm to accomplish joint channel estimation and data detection in a closed form with first-order complexity. Asymptotic state evolution analysis indicates the fast convergence rate of VAMP and also provides a lower bound for the data detection error. Moreover, through extensive simulations, we show that VAMP can achieve excellent detection performance with low pilot overhead in a wide range of scenarios.