Peformance Comparison Between MIMO and SISO based on Indoor Field Measurements

In this paper, we quantify performance gain achieved if SISO system is replaced with 4x4 MIMO in WLAN setting compatible with IEEE 802.11n standard. We compare throughput and power savings in MIMO by taking field measurements at various indoor locations. Measurements are validated with simulations that include different IEEE TGn channel models. For comparison between MIMO and SISO, we select the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) which yields the highest throughput subject to QoS constraints (PER <10%). We show that throughput gain of 2.5x-3x and power saving of 515 dB are achievable in 4x4 MIMO system. Keywords—MIMO; SISO; OFDM; throughput gain; power saving; indoor environment.