Blind Source Separation Under Over-the-Air Excitations in MIMO Wireless Communications

Blind source separation (BSS) algorithms have shown promise in isolating individual signal components from mixed observations without prior knowledge of the sources. Although extensive research has been conducted in simulated and controlled environments, the practical feasibility of BSS in real-world wireless systems, particularly in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configurations with over-the-air (OTA) wave-form excitations, remains underexplored. This study provides a feasibility analysis of BSS performance under OTA conditions, taking into account factors, such as antenna coupling, self-interference, multipath propagation, and signal-to-noise ratio. OTA measurements were performed using representative wave-form scenarios from 4G, 5G, radar, satellite communications, and land mobile radio. The results indicate that BSS algorithms can achieve effective source separation under certain conditions, though performance may be sensitive to signal characteris-tics and environmental impairments. This work is intended to support ongoing research efforts aimed at developing robust signal processing frameworks for future wireless MIMO systems, especially in scenarios where channel state information is limited or unavailable.