A Non-Stationary 6G UAV Channel Model With 3D Continuously Arbitrary Trajectory and Self-Rotation

In this paper, based on the geometric stochastic modeling method, a space-time-frequency (S-T-F) non-stationary model with three-dimensional (3D) continuously arbitrary trajectory and self-rotation is proposed for sixth generation (6G) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) millimeter wave (mmWave) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) channels. It is the first 6G massive MIMO mmWave UAV channel model that considers the 3D continuously arbitrary trajectory of UAV in practice and models S-T-F non-stationarity of 6G UAV channels. In the proposed model, the calculation of channel impulse response (CIR) is developed, which considers the 3D time-varying accelerations and self-rotations of transceivers and clusters. To further model the S-T-F non-stationarity of UAV channels, a novel UAV-related birth-death (BD) algorithm based on correlated clusters is developed. In the developed algorithm, the impact of typical UAV-related parameters, e.g., the UAV’s moving direction, altitude, and time-varying velocity, on the setting of correlated clusters and the BD process is sufficiently considered. Important channel statistical properties are derived and investigated. Some numerical results and interesting observations are given, which can provide some assistance for the design of 6G massive MIMO mmWave UAV communication systems. Finally, the utility of the proposed model is verified by the close agreement between simulation results and ray-tracing-based results.