Master Thesis/Research Project — Movable Antennas for Near-Field Codebook Design
Topic:
Movable antennas (MAs) are antennas capable of dynamically changing their position and orientation through the use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Compared to traditional fixed antenna systems (FAS), MAs introduce additional degrees of freedom that can be exploited to enhance overall system performance.
For FAS, the near-field region has recently become an active area of research, particularly as the development of large-scale antenna arrays extends the near-field distance. However, the increased antenna size also makes beam design more complex and less feasible for real-time applications. One possible solution involves the use of a pre-designed codebook that comprises a set of codewords, each representing specific position, orientation, and phase-shift configurations for all antennas.
Previous work at the IDC has examined the far-field behavior of MA systems. In this work, we aim to extend the analysis to the near-field region, comparing the two and highlighting their differences. The resulting insights can then be leveraged to inform new codebook design paradigms and improve our understanding of MA-based systems.
Guidelines for the project:
- Literature survey on MA in the near-field
- Review of previous work
- Formulating a system model and investigating possible optimization goals and constraints
- Solving the position and orientation optimization problem
Prerequisites:
- Advanced programming skills (mandatory for Master Thesis)
- Good knowledge of digital and mobile communication systems (e.g., gained in the courses “Digital Communications”, “Mobile Communications” and ”MIMO Communication Systems”)
The complete project description can be found here. In case you are interested in pursuing this thesis/research project, please contact Moritz Garkisch (moritz.garkisch@fau.de).