Demo: Channel Estimation and Custom Beamforming on the 60 GHz TP-Link Talon AD7200 Router

Abstract

Current IEEE 802.11ad millimeter-wave consumer devices use phased antenna arrays with a fixed set of pre-defined beam patterns. Such an approach has the advantage of being very low complexity and easy to implement. However, custom beam patterns adapted to the current channel can provide much better performance than generic pre-defined patterns. In this demo, we show how to measure channel state information and modify beam patterns on the TP-Link Talon AD7200 router operating in the 60 GHz band. This allows to generate custom beam patterns with arbitrary shape, as well as beam patterns that maximize the signal strength of a link given the current channel. Our demo allows users to select custom beam patterns and visualizes the beam pattern in use. It is also possible to compare the custom patterns to the pre-defined beam patterns of the router and measure the performance in terms of throughput and signal strength.