Grant: Idea to Innovation

This project investigates a novel framework of coded video multicast in metropolitan-area wireless networks. The proposed technology takes advantage of advanced coding techniques, aiming to overcome notorious and inherent problems in the scenario of wireless multicast, namely multi-user channel diversity and short-term channel fluctuations, through an integrated strategy. In specific, the scalable video coding with multiple description coding (MDC) at the source and physical layer superposition coding (SPC) at the channel are jointly exercised and interplayed. The proposed technology is considered useful especially when large-scale video multicasting services, such as scheduled IPTV, are provisioned, where the number of simultaneously supported channels could be significantly increased with limited system capacity. This NSERC I2I proposal has the objective of integrating this technology into a standard WiMAX Base Station (BS) to build a real-life prototype of a specific WiMAX system that uses a specific cross-layer coding methodology and is capable of generating a proprietary video multicast signal to overcome wireless channel fading. Also, we would like to showcase the working prototype to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of the technology to potential licensees and investors. The prototyping activity will be performed in two stages; in the first stage we will implement a simple wireless radio system to identify the best method of technology implementation and optimization. In the second stage, we will deploy that method to embed the technology into a commercial WiMAX BS.