Fast blind MIMO decoding through vertex hopping

We present an algorithm that efficiently performs blind decoding of MIMO signals. That is, given no channel state information (CSI) at either the transmitter or the receiver, our algorithm takes a block of samples and returns an estimate of the underlying data symbols. In prior work, the problem of blind decoding was formulated as a non-convex optimization problem. In this paper, we present an algorithm that efficiently solves this non-convex problem in practical settings. This algorithm leverages the concepts of linear and mixed-integer linear programming. Empirically, we show that our technique has an error performance close to that of zero-forcing with perfect CSI at the receiver. Initial estimates of the run time of the algorithm presented in this paper suggest that the real-time blind decoding of MIMO signals is possible for even modest-sized MIMO systems.