An iterative pilot-data aided estimator for OFDM-based relay-assisted systems

We propose and assess a pilot-data aided channel estimation scheme for realistic relay-assisted scenarios designed for the downlink SFBC OFDM-based systems. We consider that both the base station and the relay node are equipped with an antenna array whereas the user terminal is a single antenna device. The relay protocol considered is equalise-and-forward. The channel estimation method iteratively uses the information carried by the pilots and data to improve the estimate of the equivalent channels for the path Base Station - Relay Node - User Terminal. The MMSE criterion is used in the design of the estimator for both the pilot-based and data-aided iterations. The results show the benefits of cooperation in terms of MSE and also show that the proposed scheme allows, with a single data iteration, a reduction of the number of pilots when compared with non-data-aided schemes.