Noncoherent channel estimation for multi-antenna system

A method of generating channel estimations for a multi-antenna system, the method comprising:

• estimating a relative channel with respect to first and second antennas using signals from the first and second antennas to derive a relative channel estimation;
• estimating an antenna power for at least one of the first and second antennas using the signals from at least one of the first and second antennas;
• and
• computing channel estimations for the first and second antennas using the relative channel estimation and the antenna power for the at least one of the first and second antennas.

A receiver for a multi-antenna system in a Bluetooth or Zigbee device comprising:

• a detector configured to detect packets using signals received on a plurality of antennas;
• and
• a channel estimator configured to produce channel estimations based on the signals received on the plurality of antennas, wherein timing and data information of the signals are unknown to the channel estimator, the channel estimator being configured to:
• estimate a relative channel with respect to first and second antennas using signals from the first and second antennas to derive a relative channel estimation;
• estimate a power for each of the first and second antennas using the signals from the first and second antennas to derive antenna power estimations for the first and second antennas;
• remove noise components from the antenna power estimations to derive relationships between the channel estimations for the first and second antennas and the antenna power estimations for the first and second antennas;
• and
• compute channel estimations for the first and second antennas using the relationships between the channel estimations for the first and second antennas and the antenna power estimations for the first and second antennas.