Dream

Open-Source Implementation of a Digital

Radio Mondiale (DRM) Receiver
Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Kurpiers
Dipl.-Ing. Volker Fischer
Darmstadt University of Technology
Institute of Communication Technology

Survey
Introduction & Motivation
Channel Estimation
2D Interpolation
1D Wiener Interpolation in Time- and Frequency Direction

Synchronization
Acquisition
Frequency: FFT-based Algorithm
Time and Robustness Mode Detection: Guard-Interval Correlation
DRM Frame Synchronization

Tracking
Frequency and Sample Rate: Using Phase Increment of Pilots
Time: Using Channel Estimation

Performance Simulation
Conclusion and Outlook
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Motivation
Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is a new OFDM-based digital
radio standard for the long-, medium- and short-wave ranges
DRM has a small bandwidth of less than 20 kHz - easy
to handle with current PC sound cards
Real-time software implementation possible
No publicly available open-source DRM receiver
We looked for a test bed for OFDM algorithm development
(channel estimation, ICI compensation, synchronisation)
Aim: complete DRM Receiver under GPL
Project started in summer 2001
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Introduction
OFDM
Vulnerable to frequency offsets (causes ICI)
Timing critical if delay spread is in the range of the guardinterval
Only one coefficient per carrier and symbol has to be
estimated for equalisation

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Software Overview
sound card
interface

channel
estimation
timing
tracking

frequency
acquisition

resample, freq.
offset tracking
frame
sync.

sample rate
correction

frequency
correction
OFDM
demodulation

rob. mode
detection
timing
acquisition
useful part
extraction

source
decoders,
channel
decoders,
OFDM
demux

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Channel Estimation

OFDM Carrier Index

On every
OFDM carrier
the channel
transfer
function H k ,l
has to be
estimated

Time
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Channel Estimation

OFDM Carrier Index

Scattered
pilots allow
for easy
channel
estimation

Time
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Channel Estimation

OFDM Carrier Index

two
dimensional
Wiener
Interpolator is
optimal
but too
complex

Time
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Channel Estimation

OFDM Carrier Index

Wiener
Interpolator can
be separated into
two 1D filters

Time
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

Channel Estimation: Wiener Interpolation

MMSE solution:

h = R hp R p1p p

R p p = R pp +

1
I
SNR

R hp : Cross-covariance matrix between h and the noisy pilot estimates p

R pp : Auto-covariance matrix of the pilot estimates

Doppler profile of a typical shortwave channel:

Resulting correlation function:

rf d (k ) = e

H( f ) =

2 d NTk

1
2

2
d

Assuming uniform delay power spectrum with the length of the

guard-interval:

N
r (l ) = sinc l G
N

NG

: Length of guard-interval

: Length of useful part

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

10

f2
2 d2

Channel Estimation in Frequency Direction

The following parameters were used in this simulation:
Robustness mode B, 10 kHz bandwidth, 20 dB SNR, channel No. 3 (US
Consortium)
The mean squared error (MSE) between the estimated channel and an ideal
channel estimation is plotted.
-12
Blue line: Linear

-14

interpolation
MSE [dB]

-16

Green line:
Windowed DFT
algorithm
Red line: Wiener
interpolation (using all
pilot carriers for each
interpolated cell

-18
-20
-22
-24
-26
0

10

20
Carrier Index

30

40

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

11

Frequency Acquisition (I)

Exploiting the power difference of the three frequency pilot
cells and data cells
Pilot cells: boosted, continuous tones
Data cells: power spread due to modulation

3000 Hz
2250 Hz
750 Hz

FFT- based algorithm

Squared norm of FFT calculated over more than one symbol (Estimation of
PSD)
Correlation with known frequency pilot positions

Effects of a large FFT window:

Statistical properties of data cells more distinct, peak detection improved
BUT fading channel effects reduce performance
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

12

Frequency Acquisition (II)

Estimation of PSD
R m ,l =

N ac 1
n =0

rn +l e

2
2
j
nm
N ac

Correlation with pilot positions

facq

fs
=
max
N ac m

2
i =0

Rm + p f

ac

( i ),l

Placement of FFT window arbitrary

No prior timing information needed
Average error rate < 10% for all channels and
robustness modes

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

13

Time Acquisition (I)

NG

Guard-interval correlation

(i ) =

i + N G 1
n =i

[ r r ( r
*
n n+ N

+ rn + N

Using energy in guard-interval

- For multipath fading channel

eG () =

+ N G 1
m =

(m )

arg max{eG ()} is the resulting

)]

Guardinterval

Useful
part

Example (idealised):
Channel

0 N GT

(i )
0

NG

NG

eG ()

estimated timing position

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

14

Time Acquisition (II)

Influence of Guard Energy Consideration on a two path fading channel:
Only correlation

Correlation with guard

energy consideration

Robustness modes can be detected by using time difference between

peaks (period equals useful part duration NT )
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

15

Frame Synchronization
Time pilot pairs

Assumption: channel is identical at adjacent

pilot positions:

H k , pt ( i ) H k , pt ( i ) +1

OFDM Carrier Index

With this channel estimate we can

calculate the squared distance between
received and pilot cells:

(k ) =

LT 1
i =0

Time

z k , pt ( i )

ck , pt ( i ) +1
ck , pt ( i )

2 N G
j
N 2

z k , pt (i ) +1

This yields a minimum at the beginning

of the frame

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

16

Frequency Tracking
Frequency offset estimation based on phase
increment between two successive symbols at the
frequency pilot carriers
Frequency offset causes phase shift

T = arg

s
zl , k

2
j= 0

( )

( )

zl +1, pf ( j ) facq zl*, pf ( j ) facq

: Output of the FFT unit for the l -th symbol and

the k-th sub-carrier

Ts
pf ( j )

: Duration of one symbol

: Positions of frequency pilots

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

17

Time Tracking
Using averaged IFFT-transformation of windowed channel
estimation (H k ,l ) for estimation of channel impulse response
Sm (k ) =

N TiTr 1

N TiTr

i =0

IFFT H k i ,l

Afterwards using peak detection for first path estimation

e =

1
min m | Sm (k ) > , and Sm (k ) > Sm +1 (k )
2
Sk

Estimated Impulse Response

Smax

Definition of the bound

= max Smax 10

1
10

, Smin 10

2
10

Smin

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

18

Software Modules
Down
Converter

User
Interface

Antenna
DRM
Receiver
Data
Source

DRM
Transmitter

DRM
Channel

Source
Decoder
Bit Error
Counter

Software can be used:

together with Down Converter and Source Decoder to receive real-time DRM
radio broadcast
-

Source coding currently limited to plain MPEG4 AAC (no SBR, no CELP/HVXC)

for BER or Channel Estimation Simulations with build in Data Source,

Transmitter and Channel Simulator

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

19

Simulation Results
10

10

Channel 1
Channel 2
Channel 3
Channel 4
Channel 5

-1

-2

BER

10

10

10

-3

-4

14

16

18

20
SNR [dB]

22

24

26

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

20

Outlook
Developed DRM Receiver operates close to the possible limits
Try to close the gap between ideal channel estimation and
realisation
ICI compensation
Decision directed channel estimation
Noise cancellation for narrow-band interference

Software runs real-time on a 700 MHz Pentium PC

Improve to allow background reception
Use SIMD instructions to speed up (MMX, SSE etc.)
Improve pipelining of the algorithms to make acquisition phase
shorter

Source Decoder (faad2) needs additional features (SBR, CELP,

HVXC)
See http://drm.sourceforge.net for details and download
09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

21

Hard- and Software

PC

Downconverter

Line-in
48 kHz

Line-out
48 kHz
DRM Program

1. IF: 10.7 MHz

2. IF: 455 kHz
3. IF: 5.25 kHz

USB

09/07/2003

Open Source Implementation of a Digital Radio Mondiale

(DRM) Receiver

22