Validation of parameteric directional MIMO channel models from wideband FDTD simulations of a simple indoor environment

Accurate modeling of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless channels is an important research area, since capacity computations and algorithmic assessment depend on accurate channel models. We assess the specularity of the indoor channel through wideband two-dimensional (2D) finite-difference time-domain simulations of a simplified environment. The geometry presents a lower bound on how diffuse the environment is, since the inclusion of furniture, duct work, and rough walls likely reduces channel specularity. These results suggest that parametric models may still be very useful for indoor MIMO modeling, even though diffuse scattering is present.