Radio channel emulator
Encyclopedia
Radio channel emulators or radio channel simulators (also called fading simulators) are tools for air interface
Air interface
In mobile or wireless communication, the air interface is the radio-based communication link between the mobile station and the active base station...

 testing in wireless communication. In a test environment, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 channel emulators replace the real-world radio channel between a radio transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...

 and a receiver
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...

 by providing a faded representation of a transmitted signal to the receiver inputs. As technology moves forward to take advantage of more complex channel characteristics such as MIMO
MIMO
In radio, multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO , is the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. It is one of several forms of smart antenna technology...

, the channel modeling needed to accurately emulate the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 environment becomes even more critical to a test setup. Radio channel emulators enable creation of mathematical models representing the physical radio signal transmission medium.

MIMO Testing

The complex nature of a MIMO
MIMO
In radio, multiple-input and multiple-output, or MIMO , is the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. It is one of several forms of smart antenna technology...

 system creates unique measurement challenges in order to provide a test environment that fully simulates a real-world wireless channel. The radio channel emulator must have channel models that accurately simulate multiple antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

 performance, including correlation between antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

elements.
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