Real world wireless IP products are subject to multipath effects that significantly alter performance of products as perceived by the end user. Performance of Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) products degrade with multipath whereas Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) product performance can improve in the presence of multipath. This is because MIMO products leverage multiple transmit and receive antennas to employ spatial multiplexing, adaptive antenna processing, and space time coding to deliver greater wireless throughput and range. The improved performance enables ubiquitous high-speed voice, video as well as data services.
Comprehensive performance characterization of MIMO products includes testing in controlled multipath environments that mimic real-world situations. To ensure repeatable results in a multipath environment, traditional field tests should be largely replaced by methodologies that use MIMO channel emulation which submit RF signals to real-word multipath conditions. An effective channel emulation device, known as a channel emulator, can accurately create multipath behavior and measure its effect on system performance.
Azimuth offers high-performance, fully integrated channel emulators for testing Wi-Fi and WiMAX products. They are:
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