Propagation modeling and advanced channel characterization techniques represent integral parts of significant impact in advancing progress in enabling next generation wireless communication technology and realizing its much anticipated broader application and economic benefits. In this paper we describe advances in developing computationally efficient ray-tracing channel modeling procedures, and also describe recent results in characterizing challenging propagation environments including transmission through windows and propagation through walls of complex structures. The impact of these realistic propagation environments as well as the antenna mutual coupling effects on the estimation of channel capacity in a MIMO-based communication system is also evaluated. Significant difference between realistic and statistical channel models are identified and quantified for the special cases of the channels modeled in this study.

In this paper, a low complexity hybrid smart antenna system with directional elements and reduced-size digital beamformer is proposed to combat the inter-symbol interference (ISI) problem over frequency-selective fading channel. For the conventional smart antenna system with omni-directional elements, it utilizes the full-size digital beamformer to suppress interference and obtain the optimum performance. However, the proposed hybrid smart antenna system with directional elements can be split the linear array receiver for two branches. One branch is the subarray system with non ISI interference, which can be used for maximum ratio combiner (MRC). Another branch is the reduced-size subarray system with the ISI interference, which can use the reduced-size optimum beamformer to suppress interference. Finally, the output signals of the two branches can be combined to detect the transmitted signals. Simulation results confirm that the proposed low complexity system can provide robust performance under the multipath fading channel.