A flexible rate slepian-wolf code construction

A flexible rate Slepian-Wolf (SW) code is constructed, which is vital for wireless sensor network applications. The proposed solution is based on an efficient and practical algorithm to compute the syndrome of the rate-compatible convolutional codes (RCPC). Using this algorithm, there is no need to compute the syndrome of punctured version of the mother code for each puncturing matrix, which is complex. Instead, the syndrome of the punctured code is the punctured version of the syndrome of the mother code using the same pattern of puncturing. The algorithm is general for all convolutional codes in Zq. The strategy is also generalized for parallel and serial concatenated convolutional codes. For the cases, where the dependencies among sources are modeled as a virtual discrete channel, a simplified decoding scheme is suggested. This method is generalized to achieve all points on the SW boundary using a simple code design technique. Simulation results demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed methods.