Blind identification of SM and alamouti STBC signals based on fourth-order statistics

Blind signal identification is an important topic of research for both commercial and military communications. A novel identification algorithm for spatial multiplexing (SM) and Alamouti space-time block code (AL-STBC) signals is proposed in this paper, when the receiver is equipped with a single antenna. The proposed algorithm exploits a discriminating feature provided by the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the fourth-order lag product (FOLP) of the received signal. The proposed algorithm requires neither estimation of the channel, noise power, nor modulation of the transmitted signal. Computer simulations are conducted to evaluate the algorithm performance; these show the validity of the proposed algorithm with low sensitivity to timing offset.