Abstract :
Generalized Switch-and-Examine Combining: A Low-Complexity Combining Scheme for Diversity-Rich Environments In diversity-rich environments, there is a tradeoff between performance and complexity. While combining a large number of diversity paths improves the system performance, it also increases the receiver complexity. With this in mind, we propose generalized switch-and-examine combining (GSEC) as a good candidate combining scheme for such environments. Description of GSEC´s mode of operation shows that this scheme conserves a fixed complexity as the number of diversity paths increases, and offers a considerable complexity savings over traditional maximum ratio combining and other low-complexity schemes, such as generalized selection combining. In this paper, we look into the design and performance analysis of GSEC over independent and identically distributed diversity paths. As a illustration of the mathematical formalism, selected numerical examples are provided, together with some related discussions and interpretations.
