A Low Complexity Suboptimal Energy-Based Detection Method for SISO/MIMO Channels

In this paper, we propose an actually novel and simple method for detection of transmitted symbols in MIMO channels. This method is based on the energy level of the received signals. At the receiver, we assume the knowledge of channel state information which can be estimated by different methods, e.g. by sending pilots. So, we can determine all possible levels of energy. This computation of energy levels is done only once for the quasi-static channels. Energy of the received signals is a criterion by which we can estimate the transmitted symbols. Detection of transmitted signal is made based on the nearest energy level and the points which lie on it. In other words, we have restricted our search space to a new smaller space with different levels of energy. Simulation results confirm approximately the same performance between the maximum-likelihood detector and the proposed approach especially in high signal-to-noise ratios with a remarkable reduction in the computational complexity.