Coordinated and Uncoordinated Channel Tracking for High-Rate IoT in Distributed Massive MIMO With Low-Resolution ADCs
Tracking moving wireless devices when base stations use cheap, low-power sensors
As IoT devices move through wireless networks, base stations need to track their changing signal paths in real time. This paper shows how to do that accurately even when using cheap, low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) instead of expensive high-precision ones. The researchers developed two methods—one for coordinated networks where devices announce themselves, and another for uncoordinated networks where devices share access randomly—and proved both work well with only 4-bit ADCs while cutting computing power and memory use substantially.
IoT base stations currently use expensive high-resolution ADCs to track moving devices. Switching to low-resolution versions could cut hardware costs and power consumption significantly without sacrificing accuracy. This matters for deploying massive wireless networks in remote or power-limited areas, where cost and energy efficiency determine whether coverage is economically feasible at all.