Evolution of UE in Massive MIMO Systems for 6G: From Passive to Active

As wireless networks continue to evolve, stringent latency and reliability requirements and highly dynamic channels expose fundamental limitations of gNB-centric massive multiple-input multiple-output (mMIMO) architectures, motivating a rethinking of the user equipment (UE) role. In response, the UE is transitioning from a passive transceiver into an active entity that directly contributes to system-level performance. In this context, this article examines the evolving role of the UE in mMIMO systems during the transition from fifth-generation (5G) to sixth-generation (6G), bridging third generation partnership project (3GPP) standardization, device implementation, and architectural innovation. Through a chronological review of 3GPP Releases 15 to 19, we highlight the progression of UE functionalities from basic channel state information (CSI) reporting to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-based CSI enhancement and UE-initiated beam management. We further examine key implementation challenges, including multi-panel UE (MPUE) architectures, on-device intelligent processing, and energy-efficient operation, and then discuss corresponding architectural innovations under practical constraints. Using digital-twin-based evaluations, we validate the impact of emerging UE-centric functionalities, illustrating that UE-initiated beam reporting improves throughput in realistic mobility scenarios, while a multi-panel architecture enhances link robustness compared with a single-panel UE.

Exploiting Gold Nanoparticles for Secure Visible Light Communications

Visible light is a proper spectrum for secure wireless communications because of its high directivity and impermeability. To make visible light communication (VLC) even more secure, we propose to exploit recently synthesized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with chiroptical properties for circularly polarized light. Carefully synthesized GNPs can differentially absorb and retard the left and right circularly polarized light, and a GNP plate made by judiciously stacking many GNPs can elaborately manipulate the amplitudes and phases of left and right circularly polarized light. In the proposed VLC system with multiple transmitters, each transmitter is equipped with a GNP plate and a linear polarizer while the legitimate receiver is equipped with only a linear polarizer. A new VLC channel model is first developed by representing the effect of GNP plates and linear polarizers in the circular polarization domain. Based on the new channel model, the angles of linear polarizers at the transmitters and legitimate receiver are optimized considering the effect of GNP plates to increase the secrecy rate in wiretapping scenarios. Simulation results verify that when the transmitters are equipped with the GNP plates, the secrecy rate around the legitimate receiver is significantly improved due to the chiroptical properties of GNP plates even if a nearby eavesdropper sets the linear polarizer angle same as the legitimate receiver.

Radar Imaging Based on IEEE 802.11ad Waveform in V2I Communications

Since most of vehicular radar systems are already exploiting millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectra, it would become much more feasible to implement a joint radar and communication system by extending communication frequencies into the mmWave band. In this paper, an IEEE 802.11ad waveform-based radar imaging technique is proposed for vehicular settings. A roadside unit (RSU) transmits the IEEE 802.11ad waveform to a vehicle for communications while the RSU also listens to the echoes of transmitted waveform to perform inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging. To obtain high-resolution images of the vehicle, the RSU needs to accurately estimate round-trip delays, Doppler shifts, and velocity of vehicle. The proposed ISAR imaging first estimates the round-trip delays using a good correlation property of Golay complementary sequences in the IEEE 802.11ad preamble. The Doppler shifts are then obtained using least square estimation from the echo signals and refined to compensate phase wrapping caused by phase rotation. The velocity of vehicle is determined using an equation of motion and the estimated Doppler shifts. Simulation results verify that the proposed technique is able to form high-resolution ISAR images from point scatterer models of realistic vehicular settings with different viewpoints. The proposed ISAR imaging technique can be used for various vehicular applications, e.g., traffic condition analyses or advanced collision warning systems.

Multi-Vehicle Velocity Estimation Using IEEE 802.11ad Waveform

Wireless communication systems are to use millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectra, which can enable extra radar functionalities. In this paper, we propose a multi-target velocity estimation technique using IEEE 802.11ad waveform in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) scenario. We form a wide beam to consider multiple target vehicles. The Doppler shift of each vehicle is estimated from least square estimation (LSE) using the round-trip delay obtained from the auto-correlation property of Golay complementary sequences in IEEE 802.11ad waveform, and the phase wrapping is compensated by the Doppler shift estimates of proper two frames. Finally, the velocities of target vehicles are obtained from the estimated Doppler shifts. Simulation results show the proposed velocity estimation technique can achieve significantly high accuracy even for short coherent processing interval (CPI).