TCDL MIMOnizerEmpowering TCDL with MIMO Functionality

Towards the goal of enabling MIMO capabilities for TCDL radios while maintaining full backward compatibility, we propose the design, development and demonstration of TCDL MIMOnizer, a new appliqu aimed to empower TCDL modems with MIMO capabilities with minimum hardware modifications to the legacy radio such as smart low-lost bolt-on module or smart add-on antenna. In onedesign scenario, the MIMOnizer offers Range Extension Mode (REM) via link margin improvements realizable by appropriate MIMO modes such as Space Time Block Codes (STBC). In another scenario, the MIMOnizer offers High Capacity Mode (HCM) in addition to REM where it can boost the legacy TCDL radios original spectral efficiency up to the factor of N (number of antennas).Our plan for Phase I is an extensive software based simulation study that will investigate the benefits and performance gains of the available MIMO options under different scenarios. Wealso plan to do a preliminary hardware MIMO demo based on the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) Software Defined Radios (SDRs), which will also serve as the basis for the Phase II work where we will implement the full features of the MIMOnizer applique.