Adaptive low-complexity channel estimation

1. A device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal;

a measurement logic configured to determine channel conditions of the OFDM signal; and

a controller configured to control a switch to select a processing path from a plurality of processing paths based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal, wherein the plurality of processing paths at least include:

a first processing path that includes logic for first performing one-dimensional frequency domain processing and then subsequently performing one-dimensional time domain processing of the OFDM signal;

a second processing path that includes logic for first performing one-dimensional time domain processing and then subsequently performing one-dimensional frequency domain processing of the OFDM signal; and

wherein each of the first processing path and the second processing path is configured to perform channel estimation processing on the OFDM signal.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein:

the measurement logic is configured to determine the channel conditions of the OFDM signal using a pilot pattern from the OFDM signal.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the measurement logic is further configured to monitor the OFDM signal to iteratively determine the channel conditions of the OFDM signal.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is a wireless communications device that is compatible with IEEE 802.16, WiMAX, LTE, or IEEE 802.11 or a wired communications device that is compatible with Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and wherein the device is a smartphone, a handheld device, a DSL modem, or a wireless network interface card.

5. The device of claim 2 , wherein the channel conditions include at least a frequency correlation and a time correlation for the OFDM signal.

6. A device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal;

a measurement logic configured to determine channel conditions of the OFDM signal; and

a controller configured to control a switch to select between a plurality of processing paths based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal, wherein the controller is further configured to:

select a first processing path if a frequency correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined frequency threshold, and

select a second processing path if i) a time correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined time threshold, and ii) the frequency correlation is not within the predetermined frequency threshold.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal in a communication device;

determining channel conditions from the OFDM signal;

controlling the communication device to select one of a plurality of processing paths for performing successive one-dimensional processing of the OFDM signal based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal,

wherein controlling the communication device to select between the plurality of processing paths includes selecting a first processing path if a frequency correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined frequency threshold, and selecting a second processing path if i) a time correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined time threshold, and ii) the frequency correlation is not within the predetermined frequency threshold, and wherein the frequency correlation and the time correlation are channel attributes of the OFDM signal.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal in a communication device;

determining channel conditions from the OFDM signal;

controlling the communication device to select one of a plurality of processing paths for performing successive one-dimensional processing of the OFDM signal based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal, wherein controlling the communication device to select between the plurality of processing paths includes selecting between a first processing path to process the OFDM signal first in the frequency domain and then subsequently process the OFDM signal in the time domain, and a second processing path to process the OFDM signal first in the time domain and then subsequently process the OFDM signal in the frequency domain, and

wherein the first processing path and the second processing path perform channel estimation processing on the OFDM signal.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

monitoring the OFDM signal to iteratively determine the channel conditions of the OFDM signal.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the communication device is compatible with IEEE 802.16, WiMAX, LTE, IEEE 802.11, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and wherein the communication device is a smartphone a handheld device, a wireless network interface card, or a DSL modem.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

determining the channel conditions includes using a pilot pattern from the OFDM signal.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the channel conditions include at least a frequency correlation and a time correlation for the OFDM signal.

13. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal to be processed according to a successive one-dimensional processing path;

a measurement logic configured to determine channel conditions of the OFDM signal;

a controller configured to control a switch to select one of a plurality of processing paths based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal, wherein the plurality of processing paths include at least:

i) a first processing path configured to process the OFDM signal first in a frequency domain and then subsequently process the OFDM signal in a time domain, and

ii) a second processing path configured to process the OFDM signal first in the time domain and then subsequently process the OFDM signal in the frequency domain, and

wherein each of the first processing path and the second processing path is configured to perform channel estimation processing on the OFDM signal.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 13 , wherein:

the measurement logic is configured to determine the channel conditions of the OFDM signal using a pilot pattern from the OFDM signal, wherein the channel conditions include at least a frequency correlation and a time correlation for the OFDM signal.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 14 , wherein the measurement logic is further configured to monitor the OFDM signal to iteratively determine the channel conditions of the OFDM signal as frames of the OFDM signal are received.

16. The integrated circuit of claim 13 , wherein the integrated circuit is compatible with IEEE 802.16, WiMAX, LTE, IEEE 802.11, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and wherein the integrated circuit is embedded within a smartphone, a handheld device, a wireless network interface card, or a DSL modem.

17. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexed (OFDM) signal to be processed according to a successive one-dimensional processing path;

a measurement logic configured to determine channel conditions of the OFDM signal;

a controller configured to control a switch to select one of a plurality of processing paths based, at least in part, on the channel conditions of the OFDM signal, wherein the controller is further configured to:

select a first processing path if a frequency correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined frequency threshold, and to select a second processing path if i) a time correlation for the OFDM signal is within a predetermined time threshold, and ii) the frequency correlation is not within the predetermined frequency threshold.