Incremental redundancy transmission in a MIMO communication system

• US 8,908,496 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2004
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kadous, Tamer
• Primary Examiner(s): Oveissi, David
• Application Number:
  US10/801,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20050052991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,921 Days
• Field of Search: 370/216, 370/335, 370/349, 370/394, 370/329, 375/267, 375/219, 375/335, 375/394, 375/349, 375/358
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/33 Synchronisation based on error coding or decoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0048 in conjunction with detection of multiuser or interfering signals, e.g. iteration between CDMA or MIMO detector and FEC decoder for spatial equalizer H04L25/03286
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/005 Iterative decoding, including iteration between signal detection and decoding operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0071 Use of interleaving interleaving per se H03M13/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0618 Space-time coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1819 with retransmission of additional or different redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2626 Arrangements specific to the transmitter only
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2647 Arrangements specific to the receiver only equalisation H04L27/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver

Abstract

For an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a MIMO system, a transmitter processes (e.g., encodes, partitions, interleaves, and modulates) a data packet based on a selected rate to obtain multiple data symbol blocks. The transmitter transmits one data symbol block at a time until a receiver correctly recovers the data packet or all blocks are transmitted. Whenever a data symbol block is received from the transmitter, the receiver detects a received symbol block to obtain a detected symbol block, processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, re-assembles, and decodes) all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet, and provides a decoded packet. If the decoded packet is in error, then the receiver repeats the processing when another data symbol block is received for the data packet. The receiver may also perform iterative detection and decoding on the received symbol blocks for the data packet multiple times to obtain the decoded packet.

Claims

1. A method of performing incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

obtaining a selected rate for data transmission on a MIMO channel between a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas, the selected rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof;

encoding a data packet in accordance with the selected rate to obtain a coded packet;

processing the coded packet to obtain a plurality of symbol blocks, each symbol block being generated based on a different portion of the coded packet;

transmitting a first symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas; and

transmitting a second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second symbol block is generated based on a different portion of the coded packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the plurality of symbol blocks are selected for transmission, one symbol block at a time, until an acknowledgement (ACK) is received for the data packet or all of the plurality of symbol blocks are transmitted, and wherein the second symbol block is selected for transmission when the ACK is not received for the data packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing includes

partitioning the coded packet into a plurality of coded subpackets, and

modulating the plurality of coded subpackets in accordance with the particular modulation scheme indicated by the selected rate to obtain the plurality of symbol blocks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the coding scheme comprises a Turbo code, and wherein the first symbol block includes systematic bits for the data packet.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a negative acknowledgment (NAK) for the data packet; and

transmitting the second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks in response to receiving the NAK.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the MIMO system utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and wherein each of the plurality of symbol blocks is transmitted on a plurality of subbands and from the plurality of transmit antennas if the symbol block is selected for transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two data packets are each processed in accordance with the selected rate to obtain at least two pluralities of symbol blocks, one plurality of symbol blocks for each data packet, and wherein at least two symbol blocks for the at least two data packets are transmitted simultaneously from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the data packet and at least one additional data packet in an interlaced manner, wherein symbol blocks for each data packet are transmitted in slots spaced apart by a predetermined number of slots.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the MIMO system utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), the method further comprising:

processing each of N_p data packets in accordance with the selected rate to obtain one of N_p pluralities of symbol blocks, one plurality of symbol blocks for each data packet, where N_p is equal to or greater than one and is selected based on a rank of the MIMO channel, and

transmitting N_p symbol blocks for the N_p data packets simultaneously on a plurality of subbands and from the plurality of transmit antennas.

8. A method of performing incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

encoding at least two data packets to obtain at least two coded packets, one coded packet for each data packet;

processing each coded packet to obtain a plurality of symbol blocks for the corresponding data packet, each symbol block being generated based on a different portion of the coded packet;

transmitting a first symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks for each data packet from a plurality of transmit antennas to a plurality of receive antennas; and

transmitting a second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks for each data packet from a plurality of transmit antennas to a plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second symbol block for each data packet is generated based on a different portion of the corresponding coded packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the plurality of symbol blocks for each data packet are selected for transmission, one symbol block at a time, until an acknowledgement (ACK) is received for the data packet or all of the plurality of symbol blocks are transmitted, wherein the second symbol block is selected for transmission when the ACK is not received for the data packet, wherein the MIMO system utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and wherein each symbol block for each data packet is transmitted on a plurality of subbands and from the plurality of transmit antennas.

10. A transmitter operative to perform incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

a transmit data processor operative to

obtain a selected rate for data transmission on a MIMO channel between a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas, the selected rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof,

encode a data packet in accordance with the selected rate to obtain a coded packet, and

process the coded packet to obtain a plurality of symbol blocks, each symbol block being generated based on a different portion of the coded packet; and

a controller operative to

initiate transmission of a first symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas; and

initiate transmission of a second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second symbol block is generated based on a different portion of the coded packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the plurality of symbol blocks are selected for transmission, one symbol block at a time, until an acknowledgement (ACK) is received for the data packet or all of the plurality of symbol blocks are transmitted, and wherein the second symbol block is selected for transmission when the ACK is not received for the data packet.

11. The transmitter of claim 10, wherein the transmit data processor is operative to partition the coded packet into a plurality of coded subpackets, and modulate the plurality of coded subpackets in accordance with the particular modulation scheme indicated by the selected rate to obtain the plurality of symbol blocks.

12. The transmitter of claim 10, further comprising:

a transmit spatial processor operative to receive a symbol block to be transmitted and provide output symbols to the plurality of transmit antennas.

13. An apparatus operative to perform incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

means for obtaining a selected rate for data transmission on a MIMO channel between a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas, the selected rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof;

means for encoding a data packet in accordance with the selected rate to obtain a coded packet;

means for processing the coded packet to obtain a plurality of symbol blocks, each symbol block being generated based on a different portion of the coded packet;

means for transmitting a first symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas; and

means for transmitting a second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second symbol block is generated based on a different portion of the coded packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the plurality of symbol blocks are selected for transmission, one symbol block at a time, until an acknowledgement (ACK) is received for the data packet or all of the plurality of symbol blocks are transmitted, and wherein the second symbol block is selected for transmission when the ACK is not received for the data packet.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for processing includes

means for partitioning the coded packet into a plurality of coded subpackets, and

means for modulating the plurality of coded subpackets in accordance with the particular modulation scheme indicated by the selected rate to obtain the plurality of symbol blocks.

15. A method of receiving an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

receiving a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

receiving a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

obtaining a block of detected symbols for the first data symbol block, the block of detected symbols being an estimate of the first data symbol block;

decoding all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet to provide a decoded packet;

determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

repeating the receiving, obtaining, decoding, and determining for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

obtaining a block of received symbols corresponding to the data symbol block; and

processing the received symbol block to obtain the detected symbol block.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the processing the received symbol block comprises processing the received symbol block based on a minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector, or a maximal ratio combining (MRC) detector, or a linear zero-forcing (ZF) detector, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

terminating the receiving, obtaining, decoding, and determining if the decoded packet is correct or if the plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet have been received.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending an acknowledgment (ACK) for the second data symbol block if the decoded packet is correct or a negative acknowledgment (NAK) if the decoded packet is in error.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

deriving a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) estimate for each of the plurality of transmit antennas,

computing an average SNR based on SNR estimates for the plurality of transmit antennas, and

selecting a rate, based on the average SNR, for data transmission on a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas, the selected rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

obtaining channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

selecting, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

22. A method of receiving an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

determining a rate for data transmission based on an average spectral efficiency for a plurality of transmit antennas, the rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof;

obtaining a block of detected symbols for a data packet, wherein the detected symbol block is an estimate of receiving a first data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas, wherein the first data symbol block is one of a plurality of data symbol blocks for a data packet, wherein the plurality of data symbol blocks for a data packet comprise at least the first data symbol block and a second data symbol block wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for the data packet than the first symbol block;

obtaining a block of detected symbols for the first data symbol block, the block of detected symbols being an estimate of the first data symbol block;

decoding all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet based on the rate to provide a decoded packet;

determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

repeating the receiving, obtaining, decoding, and determining for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

23. A receiver operative to receive an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

a receive data processor operative to

receive a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

receive a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet,

obtain a block of detected symbols for the first data symbol block, the block of detected symbols being an estimate of the first data symbol block,

decode all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet to provide a decoded packet, and

determine whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

a controller operative to, if the decoded packet is in error, direct the receive data processor to repeat receiving another data symbol block, obtaining another block of detected symbols, decoding all detected symbol blocks, and determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

24. The receiver of claim 23, further comprising:

a receive spatial processor operative to obtain a block of received symbols for the data symbol block and to process the received symbol block to obtain the detected symbol block.

25. The receiver of claim 23, further comprising:

a channel estimator operative to obtain channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

a rate selector operative to select, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

26. An apparatus for receiving an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

means for receiving a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

means for receiving a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

means for obtaining a block of detected symbols for the first data symbol block, the block of detected symbols being an estimate of the first data symbol block;

means for decoding all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet to obtain a decoded packet;

means for determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

means for repeating the receiving, obtaining, decoding, and determining for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

means for obtaining a block of received symbols for the data symbol block; and

means for processing the received symbol block to obtain the detected symbol block.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:

means for obtaining channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

means for selecting, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

29. A method of receiving an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

receiving a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

receiving a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

obtaining a block of received symbols for the first data symbol block;

detecting all received symbol blocks received for the data packet to obtain detected symbol blocks, one detected symbol block for each received symbol block;

decoding all detected symbol blocks for the data packet to obtain decoder feedback information;

performing the detecting and decoding for a plurality of iterations, wherein the decoder feedback information from the decoding for a current iteration is used by the detecting for a subsequent iteration; and

generating a decoded packet based on an output from the decoding for a last iteration among the plurality of iterations, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

obtaining, detecting, decoding, performing, and generating for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error and if all of the plurality of data symbol blocks have not been received.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the detecting is based on a minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector, or a maximal ratio combining (MRC) detector, or a linear zero-forcing (ZF) detector, or a combination thereof.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the MMSE detector is used for the detecting for at least one iteration and the MRC detector or the ZF detector is used for the detecting after the at least one iteration.

33. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

obtaining channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

selecting, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

34. A receiver operative to receive an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

a buffer operative to receive and store a block of received symbols for each of a first and second data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, and wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

a detector operative to detect all received symbol blocks received for the data packet to obtain detected symbol blocks, one detected symbol block for each received symbol block; and

a decoder operative to decode all detected symbol blocks for the data packet to obtain decoder feedback information,

wherein the detector and decoder are operative to perform detection and decoding for a plurality of iterations, wherein the decoder feedback information from the decoder for a current iteration is used by the detector for a subsequent iteration, wherein a decoded packet is generated based on output from the decoder for a last iteration among the plurality of iterations, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

35. The receiver of claim 34, further comprising:

a controller operative to, if the decoded packet is in error and if all of the plurality of data symbol blocks have not been received, direct the buffer to receive and store another received symbol block for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks, and to direct the detector and the decoder to perform detection and decoding on all received symbol blocks received for the data packet to obtain the decoded packet.

36. The receiver of claim 34, further comprising:

a channel estimator operative to obtain channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

a rate selector operative to select, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

37. An apparatus for receiving an incremental redundancy (IR) transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

means for obtaining a block of received symbols for the first data symbol block;

means for detecting all received symbol blocks received for the data packet to obtain detected symbol blocks, one detected symbol block for each received symbol block;

means for decoding all detected symbol blocks for the data packet to obtain decoder feedback information;

means for performing the detecting and decoding for a plurality of iterations, wherein the decoder feedback information from the decoding for a current iteration is used by the detecting for a subsequent iteration; and

means for generating a decoded packet based on decoder output from the decoding for a last iteration among the plurality of iterations, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

means for determining whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

obtaining, detecting, decoding, performing, and generating for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error and all of the plurality of data symbol blocks have not been received.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

means for obtaining channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

means for selecting, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

40. A method of receiving a data transmission in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising:

detecting received symbols for a data packet to obtain detected symbols, wherein the received symbols comprise at least a first symbol and a second symbol wherein the second symbol is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block;

decoding the detected symbols to obtain decoder feedback information;

performing the detecting and decoding for a plurality of iterations, wherein the decoder feedback information from the decoding for a current iteration is used by the detecting for a subsequent iteration, wherein the detecting is performed based on a minimum mean square error (MMSE) detector for at least one iteration initially, and thereafter based on a maximal ratio combining (MRC) detector or a linear zero-forcing (ZF) detector for remaining ones of the plurality of iterations; and

generating a decoded packet based on an output from the decoding for a last iteration among the plurality of iterations.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the detecting is performed based on the MMSE detector for only a first iteration and based on the MRC detector or the ZF detector for remaining ones of the plurality of iterations.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising:

obtaining channel estimates for a MIMO channel between the plurality of transmit antennas and the plurality of receive antennas; and

selecting, based on the channel estimates, a rate for data transmission on the MIMO channel.

43. A non-transitory processor-readable medium encoded with instructions capable of being executed by a processor for transmitting data in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising codes executable to

obtain a selected rate for data transmission on a MIMO channel between a plurality of transmit antennas and a plurality of receive antennas, the selected rate indicating a particular data rate, or a particular coding scheme, or a particular code rate, or a particular modulation scheme, or a particular data packet size, or a combination thereof;

encode a data packet in accordance with the selected rate to obtain a coded packet;

process the coded packet to obtain a plurality of symbol blocks, each symbol block being generated based on a different portion of the coded packet;

send a first symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas; and

send a second symbol block of the plurality of symbol blocks from the plurality of transmit antennas to the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second symbol block is generated based on a different portion of the coded packet than the first symbol block, wherein the plurality of symbol blocks are selected for transmission, one symbol block at a time, until an acknowledgement (ACK) is received for the data packet or all of the plurality of symbol blocks are transmitted, and wherein the second symbol block is selected for transmission when the ACK is not received for the data packet.

44. A non-transitory processor-readable medium encoded with instructions capable of being executed by a processor for receiving data in a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system, comprising codes executable to

receive a first data symbol block transmitted from a plurality of transmit antennas and received by a plurality of receive antennas;

receive a second data symbol block transmitted from the plurality of transmit antennas and received by the plurality of receive antennas, wherein the second data symbol block is generated based on a different portion of a coded packet for a data packet than the first symbol block, wherein the first data symbol block and the second data symbol block are part of a plurality of data symbol blocks for the data packet, each data symbol block comprising a different portion of the coded packet for the data packet;

obtain a block of detected symbols for the first data symbol block, the block of detected symbol block being an estimate of the first data symbol block;

decode all detected symbol blocks obtained for the data packet to provide a decoded packet;

determine whether the decoded packet is correct or in error; and

repeat receiving, obtaining, decoding, and determining for another one of the plurality of data symbol blocks if the decoded packet is in error, wherein at least one of the plurality of data symbol blocks is received, one data symbol block at a time, until the data packet is decoded correctly or all of the plurality of data symbol blocks are received, and wherein a next data symbol block among the plurality of data symbol blocks is received if the data packet is decoded in error.