Method and system for uplink beam optimization and calibration

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining, over an uplink (UL) using an aggregation of modular antenna arrays, a modulated signal that includes feedback transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein the aggregation of modular antenna arrays comprises multiple groups of antenna elements, after the obtaining the modulated signal, performing a demodulation of the modulated signal, determining demodulator constellation errors from the demodulation of the modulated signal, performing an error gradient weight adaptation responsive to the determining the demodulator constellation errors to derive revised weights for various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements, and applying the revised weights to the various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements to adjust signals received over the UL. Other embodiments are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system communicatively coupled to an aggregation of modular antenna arrays and including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 determining demodulator constellation errors from a demodulation of a modulated signal, wherein the modulated signal had been obtained over an uplink (UL) using the aggregation of modular antenna arrays, wherein the modulated signal includes feedback transmitted by a user equipment (UE), and wherein the aggregation of modular antenna arrays comprises multiple groups of antenna elements;   performing an error gradient weight adaptation responsive to the determining the demodulator constellation errors to derive revised weights for various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements; and   applying the revised weights to the various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements to adjust signals received over the UL.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the demodulator constellation errors comprises measuring an error vector magnitude (EVM) based on the demodulation of the modulated signal. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise requesting the UE to provide the feedback, and wherein the modulated signal is obtained responsive to the requesting. 
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the modulated signal comprises an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the applying the revised weights compensates for channel estimation errors in the UL. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise determining a coherence block for the UE. 
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise identifying that the coherence block for the UE is smaller than a threshold, and wherein the determining the demodulator constellation errors, the performing the error gradient weight adaptation, and the applying the revised weights are based on the identifying that the coherence block for the UE is smaller than the threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the processing system comprises a centralized radio access network (C-RAN), and wherein the aggregation of modular antenna arrays operates as a coherent antenna system. 
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein communications between the aggregation of modular antenna arrays and the UE are in frequency division duplex (FDD). 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein communications between the aggregation of modular antenna arrays and the UE are in time division duplex (TDD). 
     
     
         11 . A device comprising:
 a processing system including a processor, wherein the processing system is communicatively coupled with a plurality of coherent modular antenna panels; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 determining constellation errors relating to a demodulator by calculating a root mean square (RMS) of error vectors resulting from demodulation of feedback, wherein the feedback is provided by a user equipment (UE), and wherein each modular antenna panel of the plurality of coherent modular antenna panels comprises a set of antenna elements, resulting in multiple sets of antenna elements; 
 calculating adjusted weights for select antenna elements of the multiple sets of antenna elements based on the constellation errors; and 
 causing the select antenna elements of the multiple sets of antenna elements to operate in accordance with the adjusted weights. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the calculating the adjusted weights comprises performing an error gradient weight adaptation. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise requesting the UE to provide the feedback, and wherein the feedback is received responsive to the requesting. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise determining a coherence block for the UE. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the operations further comprise identifying that the coherence block for the UE is smaller than a threshold, and wherein the determining the constellation errors, the calculating the adjusted weights, and the causing the select antenna elements of the multiple sets of antenna elements to operate in accordance with the adjusted weights are based on the identifying that the coherence block for the UE is smaller than the threshold. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 measuring, by a processing system including a processor, an error vector magnitude (EVM) based on a demodulating of a modulated signal, wherein the modulated signal is obtained using a combination of coherent modular antenna arrays, wherein the modulated signal is transmitted by a user equipment (UE), and wherein the combination of coherent modular antenna arrays comprises multiple groups of antenna elements;   performing, by the processing system, an error gradient weight adaptation responsive to the measuring of the EVM to generate adjusted weights for various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements; and   causing, by the processing system, the adjusted weights to be applied to the various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements to calibrate the various antenna elements.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the modulated signal comprises an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the modulated signal is transmitted by the UE while the UE is located at or within a threshold distance from a boresight of the combination of coherent modular antenna arrays. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising storing the adjusted weights for the various antenna elements. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 measuring, by the processing system, a second EVM based on a demodulating of a second modulated signal, wherein the second modulated signal is obtained using the combination of coherent modular antenna arrays, and wherein the second modulated signal is transmitted by a second UE;   performing, by the processing system, a second error gradient weight adaptation responsive to the measuring of the second EVM to generate additional adjusted weights for the various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements;   comparing, by the processing system, the adjusted weights and the additional adjusted weights with respect to one or more thresholds; and   determining, by the processing system, to apply the adjusted weights, the additional adjusted weights, or one or more averages thereof to the various antenna elements of the multiple groups of antenna elements based on a result of the comparing.