OFDM symbol detection with interspersed pilot symbols and channel distribution information at the receiver

Detection of OFDM transmissions with interspersed pilot symbols is considered. A hard output detection algorithm developed by Taricco et. al. for flat fading channels is extended for this frequency selective scenario. In the investigated systems with 128 subcarriers, this algorithm outperforms conventional approaches and performs close to a genie aided receiver even with the use of a single pilot symbol for the whole frame. Furthermore, a novel soft output generating algorithm is developed, which is more suitable for channel coded systems. The resultant algorithm is capable of detecting coded OFDM transmissions with fewer pilot symbols than that required for noiseless channel identification.