New approach to OTA testing: RIMP and pure-LOS reference environments & a hypothesis

We propose a new systematic approach to OTA testing of wireless devices. This involves testing in the two opposite environments Rich Isotropic Multipath (RIMP) and pure-LOS (Line-of-Sight), being present in well-stirred reverberation chambers and traditional anechoic chambers, respectively. It is now well known how to test multipath-related functions such as MIMO and OFDM in the RIMP environment in reverberation chambers, and results are in excellent agreement with basic theories and algorithms. Herein, it is proposed how to test the effects of the users randomness in the pure-LOS in an anechoic chamber. The two tests complement each other to a full test procedure via a reasonable OTA hypothesis, which covers real-life situations. It is proposed to test the real-life OTA hypothesis by extensive simulations to determine its possible limitations.