Measured characteristics of the MIMO wireless channel

This paper presents results from an experimental platform designed to measure the transfer matrix for indoor and outdoor multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels with up to 16 transmit and receive antenna elements. Key aspects of the hardware system and data post-processing techniques are provided. A variety of measurements have been taken with the platform at 2.45 GHz in a typical indoor environment. The collected data have been processed to highlight a variety of channel features, including the statistical distributions of the channel matrix elements and the inherent capacity of the wireless MIMO channel for different numbers of antenna elements, polarizations, and element directivities.