50 Years of Permutation, Spatial and Index Modulation: From Classic RF to Visible Light Communications and Data Storage

In this treatise, we provide an interdisciplinary survey on spatial modulation (SM), where multiple-input multiple-output microwave and visible light, as well as single and multicarrier communications are considered. Specifically, we first review the permutation modulation (PM) concept, which was originally proposed by Slepian in 1965. The PM concept has been applied to a wide range of applications, including wired and wireless communications and data storage. By introducing a three-dimensional signal representation, which consists of spatial, temporal and frequency axes, the hybrid PM concept is shown to be equivalent to the recently proposed SM family. In contrast to other survey papers, this treatise aims for celebrating the hitherto overlooked studies, including papers and patents that date back to the 1960s, before the invention of SM. We also provide simulation results that demonstrate the pros and cons of PM-aided low-complexity schemes over conventional multiplexing schemes.