Optimization of the Hamming Code for Error Prone Media

This paper proposes an optimized version of the Hamming code. The paper begins with identifying a seed that can be used as basis to generate Hamming codes. It then shows that starting with a message that is only two bits long, along with three parity bits; one can add extra message bits incrementally. This approach results in significant reduction in the circuitry and provides flexibility to designers. Only the H(7,4) was sufficient to show an improvement of 33 percent in the hardware circuitry. Similar gains for larger sizes are also argued for both hardware and software implementations. Key words: Hamming code, parity bits, distance, error correction. 1