Delay-Doppler Channel Estimation using Arbitrarily Modulated Data Transmissions
2026-04-08 • Information Theory
Information Theory
AI summaryⓘ
The authors propose a new way to estimate communication channels that tracks changes without needing frequent special pilot signals, which are typically used but reduce the efficiency of data transmission. Instead, their method uses the actual data signals themselves to keep up with channel changes. Tests using realistic channel models show that their approach nearly doubles the efficiency compared to traditional methods. This could help improve future wireless systems like 6G by making better use of available spectrum.
delay-Doppler channelchannel estimationpilot signalsspectral efficiencydoubly-selective channel6G modulationwaveform modulationcoherence timedata-based estimation
Authors
Nishant Mehrotra, Sandesh Rao Mattu, Robert Calderbank
Abstract
Conventional delay-Doppler (DD) communication and sensing systems require transmitting pilot frames at every channel coherence time interval in order to keep track of channel variations at the cost of spectral efficiency. In this paper, we propose an approach to utilize data transmissions modulated using arbitrary waveforms for DD channel estimation without requiring pilot transmissions in every coherence time interval. Numerical evaluation over practical doubly-selective channel models demonstrate $\sim 1.8 \times$ improvement in spectral efficiency with our proposed data-based approach over conventional pilot-based approaches across various 6G modulation schemes.