用于射线追踪无线信道上MU-MIMO OFDM波束成形的FPGA在环测试平台

中文摘要 AI 辅助

无线网络面临来自异构、高密度用户群体不断增长的吞吐量需求，这要求波束成形算法能够以低延迟适应信道条件。验证此类算法要么需要昂贵的空中测试平台，要么需要缺乏真实硬件时序和资源约束的仿真环境，这导致算法设计与硬件可实现部署之间存在差距。本工作提出了一种硬件在环（HIL）测试平台，通过将基于FPGA的OFDM波形实现与MU-MIMO波束成形耦合到NVIDIA Sionna的射线追踪信道模拟器来弥合这一差距，使物理基站架构能够实时针对Sionna渲染的数字孪生传播环境进行发射和接收。与先前仅在仿真中或完整射频测试平台上验证波束成形算法的工作不同，该架构允许在实际FPGA芯片上运行的波束成形逻辑在真实、可控且可重复的信道条件下进行评估，包括用户设备移动性和特定地点的多径，而无需消声室或实时射频前端。我们详细介绍了FPGA OFDM发射/接收流水线、FPGA与Sionna环境之间的同步和数据接口，以及在AWGN和射线追踪信道条件下信号质量的验证，确立了该测试平台作为硬件验证波束成形研究的平台。

英文摘要

Wireless networks face ever expanding throughput demands from heterogeneous, high-density user populations, requiring beamforming algorithms that adapt to channel conditions with low latency. Validating such algorithms requires either costly over-the-air testbeds or simulation environments that lack the timing and resource constraints of real hardware, leaving a gap between algorithm design and hardware-realizable deployment. This work presents a frame-based hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed that closes that gap by coupling an FPGA-based implementation of OFDM Waveforms with MU-MIMO beamforming to NVIDIA Sionna's ray-tracing channel simulator, enabling a physical base-station architecture to transmit and receive against a Sionna-rendered digital-twin propagation environment. Unlike prior work that validates beamforming algorithms either purely in simulation or on full RF testbeds, this architecture allows beamforming logic running on actual FPGA fabric to be evaluated under realistic, controllable, and repeatable channel conditions, including UE mobility and site-specific multi-path, without requiring an anechoic chamber or live RF front end. We detail the FPGA OFDM transmit/receive pipeline, the synchronization and data interface between the FPGA and the Sionna environment, and validation of signal quality under AWGN and ray-traced channel conditions, establishing this testbed as a platform for hardware-validated beamforming research.

发表机构

• Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clemson University（克莱姆森大学霍爾蒙特电气与计算机工程系）

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