Analog joint source channel coding over MIMO fading channels with imperfect CSI

In this work, analog Joint Source Channel Coding (JSCC) techniques are considered for the transmission of independent data over fading Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channels assuming imperfect Channel State Information (CSI). In general, analog JSCC schemes require channel knowledge for both the design of the receive filter and the optimization of the encoder parameters. The inaccuracy of this information leads to a severe performance degradation. Robust strategies are required to mitigate the impact of the imperfect CSI. In this work, a statistical characterization of the channel estimation error is employed to design a robust linear MMSE receiver and to select adequate encoder parameters. Simulation results are presented to evaluate the performance loss due to imperfect CSI and to illustrate the gain of the proposed robust strategy. In addition, the optimal distortion-cost tradeoff with imperfect CSI is determined.