Pilot embedding for joint channel estimation and data detection in MIMO communication systems

A novel pilot-aided joint channel estimation and data detection method for MIMO communication systems is proposed. Unlike, conventional methods where pilots are time-multiplexed with data symbols, a pilot-embedding method where low-level pilots are transmitted concurrently with the data is used to obtain an initial estimate of the channel such that a turbo decoding process can be started. The soft information obtained from the turbo decoder is subsequently used to improve channel estimates.