Modal cognitive diversity for mobile communication MIMO systems

1. A communication system for multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO), comprising:

a plurality of antennas, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas is configured to produce a radiation pattern associated therewith, and each of said radiation patterns of the plurality of antennas is associated with an antenna mode such that the plurality of antennas yields a plurality of modes; and

a processor coupled to the plurality of antennas and configured to select one of the modes among the plurality of modes to optimize signal quality for each time interval based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) by considering envelope correlation effects;

said plurality of antennas comprising one or more modal antennas, each of the one or more modal antennas having a plurality of modes corresponding to a plurality of radiation patterns associated therewith;

wherein during a time interval, for each of the one or more modal antennas, the processor is configured to measure an instantaneous CQI of the selected mode, obtain a predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes, and obtain a CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes,

wherein the CQI improvement is defined as the predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes minus the predicted CQI of the selected mode.

2. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein

the processor is further configured to obtain a total CQI improvement by considering the CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes of each of the one or more modal antennas and the envelope correlation effects to select a set of modes associated with the one or more modal antennas, respectively, the set providing an optimum value of the total CQI improvement.

3. The communication system of claim 2 , wherein

the processor is further configured to compare the optimum value of the total CQI improvement to a predetermined threshold,

wherein

if the optimum value of the total CQI improvement is larger than the predetermined threshold, the processor switches the one or more modal antennas to have the selected set of modes, respectively.

4. The communication system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a lookup table coupled to the processor, the lookup table including entities associated with antenna characterization and the envelop correlation effects, which are measured or calculated in advance and stored in the lookup table

wherein

the processor obtains information from the lookup table.

5. The communication system of claim 4 , wherein

the envelop correlation effects in the lookup table are dynamically adjusted based on CQI measurements.

6. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of antennas are configured to be receive (Rx) antennas.

7. The communication system of claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of antennas are configured to be transmit (Tx) antennas.

8. A method for optimizing performance of a communication system for MIMO, comprising:

providing a plurality of antennas, comprising one or more modal antennas, wherein each of the one or more modal antennas has a plurality of modes corresponding to a plurality of radiation patterns; and

selecting a mode among the plurality of modes of each of the one or more modal antennas to optimize signal quality for each time interval based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) by considering envelope correlation effects;

wherein the selecting during a time interval comprises:

for each of the one or more modal antennas,

measuring an instantaneous CQI of the selected mode;

obtaining a predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes; and

obtaining a CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes;

wherein the CQI improvement is defined as the predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes minus the predicted CQI of the selected mode.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the selecting during a time interval further comprises:

obtaining a total CQI improvement by considering the CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes of each of the one or more modal antennas and the envelope correlation effects to select a set of modes associated with the one or more modal antennas, respectively, the set providing an optimum value of the total CQI improvement.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the selecting during a time interval further comprises:

comparing the optimum value of the total CQI improvement to a predetermined threshold; and

switching the one or more modal antennas to have the selected set of modes, respectively, if the optimum value of the total CQI improvement is larger than the predetermined threshold.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

storing data associated with antenna characterization and the envelop correlation effects in a lookup table,

wherein

the selecting uses information from the lookup table.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein

the plurality of antennas are configured to be Rx antennas.

13. The method f of claim 8 , wherein

the plurality of antennas are configured to be Tx antennas.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer readable instructions for optimizing performance of a communication system for MIMO, the communication system comprising a plurality of antennas including one or more modal antennas, wherein each of the one or more modal antennas has a plurality of modes corresponding to a plurality of radiation patterns, when executed by a computer, the computer readable instructions performing steps of:

selecting a mode among the plurality of modes of each of the one or more modal antennas to optimize signal quality for each time interval based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) by considering envelope correlation effects,

wherein the selecting during a time interval comprises:

for each of the one or more modal antennas,

measuring an instantaneous CQI of the selected mode,

obtaining a predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes, and

obtaining a CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes,

wherein

the CQI improvement is defined as the predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes minus the predicted CQI of the selected mode;

obtaining a total CQI improvement by considering the CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes of each of the one or more modal antennas and the envelope correlation effects to select a set of modes associated with the one or more modal antennas, respectively, the set providing an optimum value of the total CQI improvement;

comparing the optimum value of the total CQI improvement to a predetermined threshold; and

switching the one or more modal antennas to have the selected set of modes, respectively, if the optimum value of the total CQI improvement is larger than the predetermined threshold.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer readable instructions for optimizing performance of a communication system, the communication system comprising a plurality of ports, the plurality of ports having a plurality of modes;

when executed by a computer, the computer readable instructions performing steps of:

selecting a mode among the plurality of modes of each of the one or more ports to optimize signal quality for each time interval based on a channel quality indicator (CQI) by considering envelope correlation effects,

wherein the selecting during a time interval comprises:

for each of the plurality of ports,

measuring an instantaneous CQI of the selected mode,

obtaining a predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes, and

obtaining a CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes,

wherein

the CQI improvement is defined as the predicted CQI of each of the plurality of modes minus the predicted CQI of the selected mode;

obtaining a total CQI improvement by considering the CQI improvement for each of the plurality of modes of each of the plurality of ports and the envelope correlation effects to select a set of modes associated with the plurality of ports, respectively, the set providing an optimum value of the total CQI improvement;

comparing the optimum value of the total CQI improvement to a predetermined threshold; and

switching the plurality of ports to have the selected set of modes, respectively, if the optimum value of the total CQI improvement is larger than the predetermined threshold.