Robust Relaying Schemes for Multiple-Antenna Multi-Relay Networks

The optimal beamforming weight matrix for amplify and forward multiple-antenna multiple-relay network is investigated. It is assumed that the partial first and second hop channel state information (CSI) is available at relays. In order to minimize the mean square error (MSE) at destination, all relay weight matrices must be designed simultaneously under individual relay power constraints. Using the Lagrange dual variables, it is shown that this general vector optimization problem can be converted into a scalar optimization problem whose scalar Lagrange multipliers can be obtained numerically. This is the generalized version of the scheme suggested for complete CSI. The proposed scheme is evaluated through computer simulation with various numbers of relays and antennas to obtain MSE and bit error rate (BER) metrics. It is also shown that the resulting MSE and BER are less than those of the schemes available in the literature by a good margin depending upon the amount of the utilized relay and antennas as well as the estimation error.