Multiple-Symbol combined differential detection for satellite-based AIS Signals

In this paper, a multiple-symbol combined differential Viterbi decoding algorithm which is insensitive to frequency offset is proposed. According to the theories of multiple-symbol differential detection and maximum-likelihood detection, we combine the multiple-order differential information with the Viterbi algorithm. The phase shift caused by the frequency offset is estimated and compensated from the above information in the process of decoding. The simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) of 2 bits combined differential Viterbi algorithm is below 10 when the normalized signal-to-noise ratio (NSNR) is 11 dB, and the decoding performances approach those of the coherent detection as the length of the combined differential symbols increases. The proposed method is simple and its performance remains stable under different frequency offsets.