Comparative Analysis of Ray Tracing and Rayleigh Fading Models for Distributed MIMO Systems in Industrial Environments
This work addresses channel modeling and performance evaluation of distributed MIMO (D-MIMO) in industrial environments. We systematically compare, for the first time, deterministic ray-tracing models against stochastic Rayleigh fading models in predicting downlink/uplink single-user capacity. Leveraging a real-world 3D factory map, we construct multiple deployment scenarios to quantify how network densification affects user equipment (UE) multi-access point (AP) connectivity and coverage gain. Results show that densification significantly enhances D-MIMO capacity. Ray tracing more accurately captures spatial correlation and realistic propagation characteristics, whereas the Rayleigh model offers superior computational efficiency and maintains acceptable prediction error (<15%) in typical factory settings. The study establishes fundamental trade-offs among modeling accuracy, spatial correlation fidelity, and computational overhead, providing both theoretical guidance and empirical evidence for selecting appropriate D-MIMO channel models in industrial wireless systems.