Technology Trends for Massive MIMO towards 6G

TL;DR

This paper reviews emerging technological trends and innovations in massive MIMO systems, highlighting their role in shaping future 6G wireless networks and diverse applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements, integration strategies, and potential applications of massive MIMO for 6G systems.

Findings

Massive MIMO's role in 6G is expanding with new technologies.

Integration with AI, IRS, and THz enhances system capabilities.

Diverse applications like localization, sensing, and inter-planetary comms are emerging.

Abstract

At the dawn of the next-generation wireless systems and networks, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) has been envisioned as one of the enabling technologies. With the continued success of being applied in the 5G and beyond, the massive MIMO technology has demonstrated its advantageousness, integrability, and extendibility. Moreover, several evolutionary features and revolutionizing trends for massive MIMO have gradually emerged in recent years, which are expected to reshape the future 6G wireless systems and networks. Specifically, the functions and performance of future massive MIMO systems will be enabled and enhanced via combining other innovative technologies, architectures, and strategies such as intelligent omni-surfaces (IOSs)/intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs), artificial intelligence (AI), THz communications, cell free architecture. Also, more diverse vertical applications based on massive MIMO will emerge and prosper, such as wireless localization and sensing, vehicular communications, non-terrestrial communications, remote sensing, inter-planetary communications.