Low-power auto-correlation antenna selection for multi-antenna system

A method for controlling a receiver, comprising:

• receiving a first sampled signal from a first antenna at a first auto-correlation circuit and receiving a second sampled signal from a second antenna at a second auto-correlation circuit;
• performing an auto-correlation on the first sampled signal with a first delay to detect a periodic signal within the first sampled signal;
• performing an auto-correlation on the second sampled signal with the first delay to detect the periodic signal within the second sampled signal;
• selecting a selected signal with a comparator from either the first sampled signal or the second sampled signal based on which sampled signal was better detected;
• keeping a correlation circuit inactive until the periodic signal is detected by one of the first auto-correlation circuit or the second auto-correlation circuit;
• and
• correlating, using the correlation circuit, the selected signal based on information from the comparator.

A receiver comprising:

• a first auto-correlation circuit configured to receive a first sampled signal and perform a first auto-correlation on the first sampled signal with a first delay to detect a periodic signal within the first sampled signal;
• a second auto-correlation circuit configured to receive a second sampled signal and perform a second auto-correlation on the second sampled signal with the first delay to detect a periodic signal within the second sampled signal;
• a comparator configured to select the first sampled signal or the second sampled signal based on which has a better correlation for a given periodicity;
• and
• a correlation circuit configured to correlate a selected signal from amongst the first sampled signal and the second sampled signal.