Channel estimation in UWB channels using compressed sensing

We consider sub-Nyquist sampling and Compressed Sensing (CS) for channel estimation in Ultra Wideband (UWB) communication systems, by exploiting the sparse nature of the channel impulse response. Receiver hardware schemes are presented that directly sample the analog channel output at rates far below Nyquist and allow access to a predefined subset of channel Fourier coefficients. CS methods are then applied to these coefficients in order to estimate the unknown channel. Simulations on Channel Model (CM) 1 of the IEEE 802.15.4a standard show that estimation is possible from low rate samples with little performance degradation paving the way to sub-Nyquist UWB channel sounding.