CONVOLUTIONAL CODE

Communications Systems Glossary

Communications Systems — Error detection and correction — Convolutional code

Information on Convolutional Code

A convolutional code extends the concept of a block code to allow memory from block to block. Each encoded symbol is therefore a linear combination of information symbols in the current block and a selected number of preceding blocks. Therefore, for example, if the final output is a ‘1’ followed by a ‘0’, then these two digits could only have been arrived at by via a certain sequence of 0s and 1s preceding them. The longer the sequence, the easier it becomes for the receiver to detect where the received sequence deviates from a possible sequence and so correct one or more errors. Decoding of convolutional codes is based on the principle of the Viterbi decoding algorithm or sequential decoding.

Other topics in our resources on Communications Systems related to Convolutional code include: 

Error detection and correction block code Forward Error Correction (FEC)

Error detecting code (EDC) Cyclic redundancy check (CRC)

Automatic repeat request (ARQ) Cyclic code Frame check sequence (FCS)

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