Hybrid pilots assisted channel estimation algorithm for MIMO-OFDM systems

A hybrid pilots assisted channel estimation algorithm for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and arbitrary Doppler spread scenarios is proposed. Motivated by the dissatisfactory performance of the optimal pilots (OPs) designed under static channels over multiple OFDM symbols imposed by fast fading channels, the proposed scheme first assumes that the virtual pilot tones superimposed at data locations over specific subcarriers are transmitted from all antennas, then the virtual received pilot signals at the corresponding locations can be obtained by making full use of the time and frequency domain correlations of the frequency responses of the time varying dispersive fading channels and the received signals at pilot subcarriers, finally the channel parameters are derived from the combination of the real and virtual received pilot signals over one OFDM symbol based on least square (LS) criterion. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed method is insensitive to Doppler spread and can effectively ameliorate the mean square error (MSE) floor inherent to the previous method, meanwhile its performance outmatches that of OPs at low SNR region under static channels.