Reliable Detection of Transmit-Antenna Number for MIMO Systems in Cognitive Radio-Enabled Internet of Things

Identification of transmit-antenna number is of importance in cognitive Internet of Things with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). Previous studies on transmit-antenna number detection only consider Gaussian noise and ignore impulsive interference. In the practical wireless communication, impulsive interference may exist due to low-frequency atmospheric noise, multiple access and electromagnetic disturbance. Such interference can usually be modeled as symmetric alpha stable (SαS), which cause the performance degradation of conventional algorithms based on Gaussian model. In this paper, we present a novel scheme to detect the transmit-antenna number for MIMO systems in cognitive Internet of Things, assuming that signals are corrupted by both SαS interference and Gaussian noise. We first introduce a new approach to characterize the generalized correlation matrix, and provide its bound with SαS interference. Then, the discriminating feature vector is constructed by utilizing the higher-order moments (HOM) of eigenvalues of the generalized correlation matrix. Finally, an advanced clustering algorithm is employed to detect the transmit-antenna number, using the cluster where the minimum eigenvalue is located. The proposed algorithm avoids the need for a priori information about the transmitted signals, such as coding mode, modulation type and pilot patterns. Simulation experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed transmit-antenna number detection scheme in MIMO systems with Gaussian noise and SαS interference.