Generalized switch-and-examine combining (GSEC): 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 the GSEC 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 even 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 an illustration of the mathematical formalism, selected numerical examples are provided, together with some related discussions and interpretations.