High-speed estimation of MIMO system capacity using a hierarchical approach and preprocessing digital maps

We propose a high-speed and highly-accurate estimation method for area-dependent MIMO system capacity. The proposed method employs a hierarchical approach, in which the evaluation area is divided into two groups based on the contribution of diffracted components estimated by a simple ray-launching method without considering the effect of diffraction, and then appropriate estimation method is applied for each group. The method also employs a novel digital map preprocessing that combines adjacent structured objects with similar heights and treats them as one object, which enabled to reduce the number of objects used in a ray-launching analysis. It has been confirmed that the proposed method calculated 58 times faster than the conventional full ray-launching method, enabling efficient radio planning of upcoming MIMO-based wireless communication systems.