Time-Slotted Multiuser MIMO Systems: Beamforming and Scheduling Strategies

We investigate the problem of scheduling for the uplink of a time-slotted multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with sum capacity as the performance metric. We first consider scheduling users' transmissions for fixed transmit beamformers. Upper bounds for the sum capacity of the time-slotted system with the optimum scheduler are found via relaxing a set of structural constraints. Next, we present a low-complexity scheduling algorithm that aims to approach the capacity's upper bound. The performance of the multislot multiuser MIMO system is a function of the users' transmit beamformers. In turn, the transmit beamformers can be shaped depending on the channel state information available at the transmitter. We investigate how the transmit beamformers should be chosen with different levels of feedback, and combine the proposed scheduling algorithm with antenna selection, eigen transmit beamforming, and perfectly controlled transmit beamforming models. We observe that as the available feedback level is increased, the performance of the scheduling algorithm approaches the upper bounds developed. In particular, a substantial sum capacity gain is attained when the individual channel state information is available at the transmitter side.