Early Detection and Trellis Splicing: Reduced-Complexity Iterative Decoding

Abstract—The excellent bit error rate performance of new iterative decoding algorithms (e.g., turbodecoding) is achieved at the expense of a computationally burdensome decoding procedure. In this paper, we present a method called early-detection that can be used to reduce the computational complexity of a variety of iterative decoders. Using a confidence criterion, some information symbols, state variables and codeword symbols are detected early on during decoding. In this way, the computational complexity of further processing is reduced with a controllable increase in BER. We present an easily implemented instance of this algorithm, called trellis splicing, that can be used with turbodecoding. For a simulated system of this type, we obtain a reduction in computational complexity of up to a factor of four, relative to a turbodecoder that obtains the same increase in BER by performing fewer iterations.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 1998
• Where: JSAC
• Authors: Brendan J. Frey, Frank R. Kschischang
• Keywords: Burdensome Decoding Procedure, Computational Complexity, Iterative Decoding Algorithms, JSAC 1998