Blind amplitude estimation for received symbols

1. A receiver apparatus for receiving a complex signal via a digital transmission channel, said receiver apparatus comprising:

analyzing means for analyzing said complex signal to determine first and second order statistics of real part and imaginary part of said complex signal;

a scaling factor estimating unit to pre-compute amplitude scaling information using a pre-computed function;

memory means for storing said pre-computed scaling information;

determination means for addressing said memory means based on said first and second order statistics in order to derive a particular amplitude scaling information; and

detecting means for detecting information provided in said complex signal by using said derived particular amplitude scaling information wherein the pre-computed function is a function of the second order statistic divided by a square of the first order statistic.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said memory means includes a look-up table.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first and second order statistics relate to an expectation value of a magnitude, and to a variance of, said complex signal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first and second order statistics are obtained by taking a particular number of received symbols of said complex signal into account.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said determination means is adapted to address said memory means based on a ratio between said first and second order statistics.

6. A method of blind amplitude estimation for a received complex signal, said method comprising:

analyzing, by an analyzing means, said complex signal to determine first and second order statistics of real part and imaginary part of said complex signal;

pre-calculating, by a scaling factor estimating unit, amplitude scaling information based on a non-linear function; and

using, by the scaling factor estimating unit, said pre-calculated amplitude scaling information to derive a particular amplitude scaling information for said determined first and second order statistics wherein the pre-calculation comprises dividing the second order statistic by a square of the first order statistic.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein said non-linear function is derived from probability density functions of noise and symbols provided in said complex signal.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein said received complex signal is modulated by an M-ary linear modulation.

9. A method of blind amplitude estimation for a complex signal received via a digital transmission channel, said method comprising:

analyzing, by an analyzing means, said complex signal to determine first and second order statistics of real part and imaginary part of said complex signal;

pre-computing, by a scalar factor estimating unit, amplitude scaling information based on a non-linear function;

storing, by a storing means, said pre-computed amplitude scaling information;

addressing, by a determination means, said memory means based on said first and second order statistics in order to derive a particular amplitude scaling information; and

detecting, by a detecting means, information provided in said complex signal by using said derived particular amplitude scaling information wherein the pre-computation comprises dividing the second order statistic by a square of the first order statistic.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein storing said amplitude scaling information includes storing said amplitude scaling information in a look-up table.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said addressing said memory means includes addressing said memory means based on a ratio between said first and second order statistics.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said received complex signal is modulated by an M-ary linear modulation.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said first and second order statistics relate to an expectation value of a magnitude, and to a variance of, said complex signal.

14. A receiver apparatus to receive a complex signal via a digital transmission channel, said receiver apparatus comprising:

an analyzer unit adapted to analyze said complex signal to determine first and second order statistics of real part and imaginary part of said complex signal;

an estimation unit coupled to said analyzer unit and adapted to use said first and second order statistics in order to derive particular amplitude scaling information by dividing the second order statistic by a square of the first order statistic; and

a detector unit coupled to said estimation unit and adapted to detect information provided in said complex signal by use of said particular amplitude scaling information derived by said estimation unit.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising a memory unit coupled to said estimation unit and adapted to store amplitude scaling information, said estimation unit being adapted to said use said first and second order statistics to address said memory unit in order to said derive said particular amplitude information from the stored amplitude scaling information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said memory unit includes a look-up table.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said estimation unit is adapted to address said memory unit based on a ratio between said first and second order statistics.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising a decoder coupled to said detector unit and adapted to decode said received complex signal and obtain information transmitted therein.

19. A mobile telephone apparatus, comprising: an antenna to receive a signal; a radio frequency unit coupled to said antenna to obtain a sequence of complex symbols from said received signal; an analyzer unit coupled to said radio frequency unit and adapted to analyze said obtained complex symbols to determine first and second order statistics of real part and imaginary part, said analyzer unit further being adapted to pre-calculate amplitude scaling information based on a non-linear function; and an estimation unit coupled to said analyzer unit and adapted to use said pre-calculated amplitude scaling information to derive particular amplitude scaling information for said determined first and second order statistics wherein the pre-calculation comprises dividing the second order statistic by a square of the first order statistic.

20. The mobile telephone apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising: a detector unit coupled to said estimation unit and adapted to detect information represented by said complex symbols by use of said particular amplitude scaling information derived by said estimation unit; and a decoder coupled to said detector unit and adapted to decode said received complex symbols and obtain said information.

21. The mobile telephone apparatus of claim 19 wherein said received signal is modulated by an M-ary linear modulation.

22. The mobile telephone apparatus of claim 19 wherein said non-linear function is derived from probability density functions of noise and said symbols.