Distributed spatial–temporal precoding with limited feedback in MIMO multi‐relay systems

Precoding techniques can be introduced into multi‐relay systems due to the similarity between cooperative communication systems and traditional multi‐input–multi‐output (MIMO) systems. In this paper, a channel state information (CSI) feedback scheme based on the zero‐forcing (ZF) relaying protocol is proposed at first, where the information of relaying channel and noise related to each relay node can be compressed into two positive real parameters. Then, based on the proposed feedback scheme, the singular‐vector‐based local temporal precoder is presented at the source node through two continuous transmitted vectors, which is termed as distributed spatial–temporal precoding (DSTP). Moreover, various spatial data rates can be conveniently supported by DSTP. Based on the analysis on DSTP, it is better that the number of data streams is not larger than the number of antennas equipped at the source node. The unitary DSTP with the proposed feedback scheme outperforms not only the close‐loop direct transmission but also the simple ZF relaying method. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.