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Main Authors: Ngo, Khac-Hoang, Cuevas, Diego, Gil, Ruben de Miguel, Baeza, Victor Monzon, Armada, Ana Garcia, Santamaria, Ignacio
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.23172
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author Ngo, Khac-Hoang
Cuevas, Diego
Gil, Ruben de Miguel
Baeza, Victor Monzon
Armada, Ana Garcia
Santamaria, Ignacio
author_facet Ngo, Khac-Hoang
Cuevas, Diego
Gil, Ruben de Miguel
Baeza, Victor Monzon
Armada, Ana Garcia
Santamaria, Ignacio
contents Noncoherent communication is a promising paradigm for future wireless systems where acquiring accurate channel state information (CSI) is challenging or infeasible. It provides methods to bypass the need for explicit channel estimation in practical scenarios such as high-mobility networks, massive distributed antenna arrays, energy-constrained Internet-of-Things devices, and unstructured propagation environments. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of noncoherent communication strategies in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, focusing on recent advances since the early 2000s. We classify noncoherent communication schemes into three main approaches where CSI-free signal recovery is based on subspace detection (i.e., Grassmannian signaling), differential detection, and energy detection, respectively. For each approach, we review the theoretical foundation and design methodologies. We also provide comparative insights into their suitability across different channel models and system constraints, highlighting application scenarios where noncoherent methods offer performance and scalability advantages over traditional coherent communication. Furthermore, we discuss practical considerations of noncoherent communication, including compatibility with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), resilience to hardware impairments, and scalability with the number of users. Finally, we provide an outlook on future challenges and research directions in designing robust and efficient noncoherent systems for next-generation wireless networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_23172
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Noncoherent MIMO Communications: Theoretical Foundation, Design Approaches, and Future Challenges
Ngo, Khac-Hoang
Cuevas, Diego
Gil, Ruben de Miguel
Baeza, Victor Monzon
Armada, Ana Garcia
Santamaria, Ignacio
Information Theory
Noncoherent communication is a promising paradigm for future wireless systems where acquiring accurate channel state information (CSI) is challenging or infeasible. It provides methods to bypass the need for explicit channel estimation in practical scenarios such as high-mobility networks, massive distributed antenna arrays, energy-constrained Internet-of-Things devices, and unstructured propagation environments. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of noncoherent communication strategies in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, focusing on recent advances since the early 2000s. We classify noncoherent communication schemes into three main approaches where CSI-free signal recovery is based on subspace detection (i.e., Grassmannian signaling), differential detection, and energy detection, respectively. For each approach, we review the theoretical foundation and design methodologies. We also provide comparative insights into their suitability across different channel models and system constraints, highlighting application scenarios where noncoherent methods offer performance and scalability advantages over traditional coherent communication. Furthermore, we discuss practical considerations of noncoherent communication, including compatibility with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), resilience to hardware impairments, and scalability with the number of users. Finally, we provide an outlook on future challenges and research directions in designing robust and efficient noncoherent systems for next-generation wireless networks.
title Noncoherent MIMO Communications: Theoretical Foundation, Design Approaches, and Future Challenges
topic Information Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.23172