Non-coherent detection of M-ary orthogonal signals using Compressive Sensing

Energy-efficient wireless communications are key enablers for the development of smart objects. New architectures with very low-power profile have to be investigated for targeting advanced implementations. In this context, the paper proposes to employ the Compressive Sensing theory for the detection of M-ary orthogonal signals, without complete recovery. This allows to lower the digital baseband computation load for almost equivalent performance. Simulations based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard shows that the BER matches the theoretical results with a tolerable loss, depending mostly on the compression rate. Then, numerical analysis brings out some practical limitations that have to be considered when using this technique. Finally, the paper underlines the innovative use of compressive sensing for reducing the computation load during detection. This flexibility enables the selection of the most efficient operating point.