Detailed explanation of MegaMIMO 2.0 principle with 3 times higher WiFi transmission rate

Wireless spectrum resources are limited, but the growth of wireless communication devices is limitless. Therefore, due to the shortage of spectrum resources, network congestion is becoming more and more serious. In response to this problem, a team led by Professor Dina Katabi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) presented a "megamimo2.0" system in a paper, compared to existing wifi. In the system, the data transmission rate is increased by more than 3 times, and the signal transmission range is increased by 2 times.

Network congestion problem

In large-scale exhibitions, conferences, cinemas, and concerts, due to the large number of people and the intensive wireless devices, network congestion often occurs. That is to say, mobile phone wifi often fails to connect, or the speed is very slow. For example, in an iPhone4 demonstration, Jobs had to pause the demonstration due to network congestion. Obviously, each of us has encountered this kind of similar situation. When the network is congested, wifi basically cannot receive data.

In the face of network congestion and shortage of screen resources, we may think of using a method to increase the transmitter, but there is an important problem that there is interference between multiple transmitters. In this way, we must synchronize all access points (APs) with each other, effectively utilizing existing spectrum resources without interference.

Therefore, the researchers developed the megamimo2.0 system, which is said to be commercially available. Its key function is to coordinate multiple access points at the same frequency without interference. Therefore, it can dynamically increase the speed and capabilities of wireless networks, especially for venues such as concerts, shows, and football games that are prone to network congestion.

The hardware of megamimo2.0 is about the size of a standard router and consists of a processor, a real-time baseband processing system and a signal transceiver board.

To test the performance of megamimo 2.0, the researchers created a mock conference room with four independent receivers and four independent APs. It was found that the data transfer rate of the system can be increased to 330% of the existing system.

In an environment where the network is congested, two access points (APs) transmit at the same time and cause interference. The AP can solve this problem by rotating, but this brings a low data transmission rate.

In the researchers' experiments, there is no MegaMIMO technology system, and mutual interference will occur between different APs, as shown in the following figure:

The MegaMIMO system allows multiple APs to transmit at the same time and without interference, thereby transmitting data at high speed in a congested network.

MegaMIMO system, synchronized between different APs, eliminates mutual interference, as shown in the following figure:

Over the years, CSAIL team researchers are looking for a solution while coordinating several routes, making them more consistent and faster. The point is to coordinate multiple transmitters and synchronize their phases. To this end, the team developed a special signal processing algorithm that allows multiple independent transmitters to transmit data to multiple independent receivers at the same frequency without interfering with each other.

The significance of research and future prospects

Because of the shortage of spectrum resources, the only way to increase the capacity of wireless communication is to add more access points and distributed MIMO solutions. However, for a long time, people have doubts about the practicality of this technology. However, the Katabi team's experiments through the MIMO network have dispelled concerns.

This technology can also be applied to cellular networks to solve congestion problems when users call. The team is also expanding megamimo2.0 technology to coordinate dozens of routers at a time, resulting in faster data transfer speeds.

In the near future, this technology can be applied to campuses, conferences, and large-scale competitions to provide high-quality, high-speed wifi network services, and its market value and prospects are worth looking forward to. Maybe, we can see commercial cases soon.