Minimizing Pilot Overhead in Cell Free Massive MIMO Systems via Joint Estimation and Detection
We propose a joint channel estimation and data detection (JED) algorithm for cell free massive multi user (MU) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems. Our algorithm yields improved reliability and reduced latency while minimizing the pilot overhead of coherent uplink transmission. The proposed JED method builds upon a novel non convex optimization problem that we solve approximately and efficiently using forward backward splitting. We use simulation results to demonstrate that our algorithm achieves robust data transmission with more than 3x reduced pilot overhead compared to orthogonal training in a 128 antenna cell free massive MU MIMO system in which 128 users transmit data over 128 time slots.
2020 IEEE 21st International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC)