Upper bound on bit error rate for time synchronization errors in bandlimited distributed MIMO networks

Distributed multiple-input-multiple-output system (e.g., inter-cluster communication with cooperating nodes in a wireless sensor network) is a topic of emerging interest. Much of the previous studies in this area, however, assumed perfect synchronization among cooperating nodes and identically distributed communication links. Such assumptions are rarely valid in practical operating scenarios. This paper develops an analytical framework for computing an upper bound on the average bit error rate of a distributed space-time coded system with inter-symbol interference (due to imperfect location predictions and clock jitters between cooperating nodes and choice of data pulse shaping filters) over generalized fast fading channels. As an illustrative example, the performance of 2x1 multiple-input-single-output system that uses distributed orthogonal space-time block coding is presented, although this approach can be readily extended to analyze distributed transmit maximal ratio diversity and other variants of space-time schemes