Blind timing acquisition for ultra-wideband multi-user ad hoc access

Synchronization is a factor critically affecting performance of ultra-wideband (UWB) communication systems. We develop a blind synchronization and demodulation scheme which relies on intermittent transmission of nonzero mean symbols. These enable multi-user interference (MUI)- and inter-symbol interference (ISI)-resilient timing acquisition via energy detection and low-complexity demodulation by matching to a synchronized aggregate template (SAT). It turns out that the resultant SAT receiver offers distinct advantages over the widely-deployed RAKE receiver. Its blind operation nicely fits the requirements of multi-user ad hoc access and its ability to handle ISI and MUI is attractive for UWB communications. Analytical performance evaluation and simulations testing our novel scheme confirm its high potential for deployment.