Advances in MIMO Over-the-Air Testing Techniques for Massive MIMO and other 5G Requirements

The boundary array technique introduced at AMTA 2006 has recently become the reference standard for over-the-air performance testing of wireless MIMO devices. While the concepts developed then are viable for testing of today's LTE handsets, the progression towards 5G technologies will pose new challenges that the test system must evolve to address. Concepts like massive MIMO pose challenges to existing test systems, and the cost of systems capable of testing electrically large MIMO antenna systems with today's technology tend to exceed practical limits. At the same time, we're moving towards a scenario where radio performance cannot be evaluated without the antennas in place, so a valid over-the-air test system is a necessity.