Method and apparatus for advanced OFDM triggering techniques

1. A method for advanced wireless multi-path signal triggering, the method comprising:

receiving, by at least one data processor, a plurality of multi-path signals that correspond to a same signal delayed by different amounts during transmission over a plurality of wireless data paths;

generating, by the at least one data processor, a correlation result associated with the plurality of multi-path signals based on correlating the received signal of the plurality of multi-path signals with a predefined guard interval;

determining, by the at least one data processor, a correlation midpoint associated with the correlation result;

applying, by the at least one data processor, a bias correction over a range of data samples of the correlation result that are centered around the correlation midpoint;

generating, by the at least one data processor, a biased correlation result responsive to the applied bias correction;

identifying, by the at least one data processor, a peak of the biased correlation result; and

using, by the at least one data processor, the peak of the biased correlation result as a triggering reference for a current data symbol of the received signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one data processor receives at least one of the plurality of multi-path signals via a wireless satellite broadcast.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the correlation midpoint is determined based on:

identifying a set of values of the correlation result that satisfy a predetermined correlation threshold.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined correlation threshold is based on the correlation result.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined threshold is further based on:

determining an approximate minimum value and an approximate maximum value of the correlation result over a pre-defined window; and

setting the predetermined threshold to be approximately equal to half of a difference in value between the minimum value and the maximum value.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the generating the bias correction is further based on:

determining an expected delay range associated with the plurality of multi-path signals; and

selecting a subset of the correlation result that corresponds to the expected delay range.

7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the generating the bias correction is based on using a linear formula.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the generating the bias correction is based on using a non-linear formula.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the range of data samples are determined based on determining respective signal power levels associated with each of the plurality of multi-path signals.

10. A method for advanced orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) timing, the method comprising:

receiving, by at least one data processor, a plurality of multi-path signals that correspond to a same signal delayed by different amounts during transmission over a plurality of wireless data paths;

combining, by the at least one data processor, the plurality of multi-path signals into a combined signal;

generating, by the at least one data processor, a combined correlation result for the combined signal based on a predefined guard interval;

selecting, by the at least one data processor, a range of data samples associated with the combined correlation result based on a duration of the guard interval;

applying, by the at least one data processor, a bias correction over the range of data samples;

generating, by the at least one data processor, a biased correlation result responsive to the applied bias correction; and

using, by the at least one data processor, a peak of the biased correlation result as a timing reference for a current OFDM symbol.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the selecting the range of data samples is further based on determining respective signal power levels associated with each of the multi-path signals.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the selecting the range of data samples is further based on a predefined value relative to a size of the guard interval.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the applying the bias correction is further based on:

determining an expected delay range associated with data arriving via the plurality of multi-path signals; and

using a subset of the combined correlation result that corresponds to the expected delay range.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bias correction is based on using a linear formula.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bias correction is based on using a non-linear formula.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bias correction is based on:

determining an expected delay range associated with the multi-path signals; and

using a subset of the combined correlation result that corresponds to the expected delay range.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the determining the expected delay range is based on using channel state information for dynamically controlling an expected range of signal delays.

18. A system comprising:

an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiver module comprising an antenna; and

at least one computing device, wherein the at least one computing device comprises:

at least one processor;

memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:

receive, from the OFDM receiver module, a plurality of multi-path signals that correspond to a same signal delayed by different amounts during transmission over a plurality of wireless data paths;

generate a combined correlation result based on correlating an aggregated signal of the plurality of multi-path signals with a predefined guard interval;

select a range of data samples associated with the combined correlation result based on occurrences of the correlation peaks;

apply a bias correction over the range of data samples;

generate a biased correlation result responsive to the applied bias correction; and

use a peak of the biased correlation result as a timing reference for a current OFDM symbol.

19. The system of claim 18 , the memory further storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:

select the range of data samples is based on determining respective signal power levels associated with each of the plurality of path-signals and a predefined value relative to a size of the guard interval.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the bias correction is based on using a linear or non-linear formula.