Multi-level coding for power efficient channel coding

An apparatus for wireless communication at a second wireless device, comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
• configure a multi-level coding (MLC) scheme including a plurality of bits with at least one first bit and at least one second bit, the at least one first bit corresponding to a first level of the plurality of bits and the at least one second bit corresponding to a second level of the plurality of bits;
• estimate whether to encode the at least one second bit of the MLC scheme using a second level of complexity or a first level of complexity, the first level of complexity being a higher level of complexity than the second level of complexity;
• encode the at least one first bit of the MLC scheme using the first level of complexity;
• encode the at least one second bit of the MLC scheme using the second level of complexity or the first level of complexity based on the estimation;
• and
• transmit, to a first wireless device, at least one transmission associated with the MLC scheme including the encoded at least one first bit and the encoded at least one second bit.

A method of wireless communication at a first wireless device, comprising:

• receiving, from a second wireless device, at least one transmission associated with a multi-level coding (MLC) scheme, the MLC scheme including a plurality of bits with at least one first bit and at least one second bit, the at least one first bit corresponding to a first level of the plurality of bits and the at least one second bit corresponding to a second level of the plurality of bits;
• decoding the at least one first bit of the MLC scheme corresponding to the first level using a decoder of a first level of complexity;
• and
• decoding, upon decoding the at least one first bit, the at least one second bit of the MLC scheme using a decoder of a second level of complexity if the at least one second bit is coded using a coder of the second level of complexity and using the decoder of the first level of complexity if the at least one second bit is coded using a coder of the first level of complexity, the first level of complexity being a higher level of complexity than the second level of complexity.

A method of wireless communication at a second wireless device, comprising:

• configuring a multi-level coding (MLC) scheme including a plurality of bits with at least one first bit and at least one second bit, the at least one first bit corresponding to a first level of the plurality of bits and the at least one second bit corresponding to a second level of the plurality of bits;
• estimating whether to encode the at least one second bit of the MLC scheme using a second level of complexity or a first level of complexity, the first level of complexity being a higher level of complexity than the second level of complexity;
• encoding the at least one first bit of the MLC scheme using the first level of complexity;
• encoding the at least one second bit of the MLC scheme using the second level of complexity or the first level of complexity based on the estimation;
• and
• transmitting, to a first wireless device, at least one transmission associated with the MLC scheme including the encoded at least one first bit and the encoded at least one second bit.