Robust Video Streaming over MANET and VANET

Abstract

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are a further step towards wireless networks with no or limited infrastructure and Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) extend this concept, introducing diverse mobility patterns but removing the need for battery power conservation. Video streaming and multimedia applications in general have become an engine of growth in wireless networking and this Chapter shows how video streaming can take place in this challenging environment. Error resilience and path diversity are presented as the key to robust streaming. The Chapter shows that simplified forms of multiple description coding are a practical route to take, with redundant frames in the temporal domain or Flexible Macroblock Ordering in the spatial domain offering preferred solutions. As a form of management of streaming, distributed sourcing via peer-to-peer streaming is experimented within VANET simulations. Error resilience methods, peer-to-peer streaming, and multi-path routing are reviewed. The Chapter considers the exploitation of path diversity over a MANET and a VANET. Path diversity allows the merging of the peer-to-peer concept with ad hoc networks. Future research directions are reviewed.