Massive Radio Channel Sounder Architecture for 5G Mobility Scenarios: MaMIMOSA

This paper presents a real-time 64 x 16 massive MIMO channel sounder based on space-frequency division multiplexing and antenna subarray switching, giving a large possibility of antenna allocation and frequency tone between 2 and 12 GHz. This channel sounder called Massive MIMOSA or MaMIMOSA belongs to the new generation of software radio design based systems. The architecture of the proposed approach was designed with the highest flexibility thus opening a wide range of applications depending upon the investigated scenarios. Currently, the system is being setup using a massive 10 x 10 antenna array operating around 6 GHz with 80 MHz bandwidth for 5G V2X applications. The channel sounder can be powered with vehicle batteries to perform day long measurements when electrical outlets are not available. The output file gives the measured Massive MIMO matrix in a friendly compact binary format. It will be operational in early 2020.