Beamforming Sounding Overhead Reduction via Selective User Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The next generation 802.11 wireless communication standard faces high channel state information feedback overheads, necessitating a balance between feedback precision and overhead reduction to maintain efficient beamforming and MU-MIMO quality.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for beamforming that involves sending a null data packet announcement frame and a beamforming report poll trigger frame to selectively solicit channel state information feedback from a target user, optimizing sounding overhead by using a pseudo user and full bandwidth resource unit allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If channel state information feedback is collected from all users in MU-MIMO beamforming, then beamforming precision is improved, but feedback overhead increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user set into a target user set (requiring channel state information feedback) and a non-target user set (exempt from feedback). This segmentation is implemented through selective inclusion of user identifiers in the NDPA frame and selective triggering of feedback via BRP frames, thereby reducing overall feedback overhead while maintaining necessary beamforming precision for target users
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing differentiated treatment to different users: target users receive full channel estimation and feedback resources, while non-target users receive reduced or no feedback requirements. This is achieved through user-specific configurations in the NDPA frame and selective BRP frame transmission, optimizing the balance between feedback precision and overhead on a per-user basis
2Reliability
If sounding is performed frequently to maintain beamforming and DL MU-MIMO quality, then communication quality is improved, but sounding overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic sounding strategies where the sounding frequency and resource allocation are adjusted based on user identity and current communication conditions. Target users receive more frequent sounding opportunities through selective BRP frame transmission, while non-target users have reduced sounding requirements. This dynamic approach maintains beamforming quality for active users while reducing overall sounding overhead
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing channel sounding and feedback collection only for target users who require it for maintaining beamforming quality, rather than uniformly for all users. This selective approach achieves sufficient beamforming performance for the subset of users who need it, while significantly reducing the total sounding overhead across the network
Data Source
AI summary
The application discloses a device and method for beamforming. The beamforming method comprises: sending a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame from a beamformer to a pseudo user and a target user to indicate the target user to prepare for channel estimation; sending a null data packet (NDP) from the beamformer to the target user and performing channel estimation by the target user based on the NDP to determine channel state information; sending a beamforming report poll (BRP) trigger frame from the beamformer to the target user to trigger the target user to feed back channel state information; and sending from the target user a beamforming report to the beamformer, wherein the beamforming report including the channel state information.