# Channel Charting in Real-World Coordinates with Distributed MIMO

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.13722 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.13722/

## Key facts

- Cited by 8 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 19 Jun 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Channel Charting in Smart Radio Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.07305/) (2025)
- [Unsupervised Radio Map Construction in Mixed LoS/NLoS Indoor Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.08015/) (2025)
- [Blind Radio Mapping via Spatially Regularized Bayesian Trajectory Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.13701/) (2025)
- [Equivariant Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning for Multimodal Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.06914/) (2026)
- [Towards Channel Charting Enhancement with Non-Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.00919/) (2025)
- [Self-Localizing MIMO Beam Mapping with Continuously Evolving Channel Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17007/) (2025)
- [OmniLoc: A Geometry-Aware Foundation Model for Anchor-Free UE Localization Across Diverse Indoor Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.11490/) (2026)
- [NARRAS: Edge-Triggered Distributed Inference for CSI-Based Localization in Vehicular IoT Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.11914/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Channel charting is an emerging self-supervised method that maps channel-state information (CSI) to a low-dimensional latent space (the channel chart) that represents pseudo-positions of user equipments (UEs). While channel charts preserve local geometry, i.e., nearby UEs are nearby in the channel chart (and vice versa), the pseudo-positions are in arbitrary coordinates and global geometry is typically not preserved. In order to embed channel charts in real-world coordinates, we first propose a bilateration loss for distributed multiple-input multiple-output (D-MIMO) wireless systems in which only the access point (AP) positions are known. The idea behind this loss is to compare the received power at pairs of APs to determine whether a UE should be placed closer to one AP or the other in the channel chart. We then propose a line-of-sight (LoS) bounding-box loss that places the UE in a predefined LoS area of each AP that is estimated to have a LoS path to the UE. We demonstrate the efficacy of combining both of these loss functions with neural-network-based channel charting using ray-tracing-based and measurement-based channel vectors. Our proposed approach outperforms several baselines and maintains the self-supervised nature of channel charting as it neither relies on geometrical propagation models nor on any ground-truth UE position information.