Microscopic experimental evaluation of multi-hop video streaming protocol in vehicular networks

Abstract

Most routing protocols in vehicular networks are geared toward supporting safety applications. In this paper, we shift our attention to study if short-range communication (DSRC or WiFi) could also support real-time video streaming applications for moving vehicles. Rendering real-time video streaming in vehicular network is a challenging task, since video streaming applications tend to have stringent Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements while vehicle-level mobility and severe outdoor fading channel significantly affect route stability. We present a Quality-of-Service routing framework called multi-Criteria Ad hoc Real-time Streaming (CARS). This framework not only provides a multi-hop route that satisfies the stringent QoS requirements imposed by multimedia applications, but also is flexible enough to support a variety of applications with different types of QoS requirements. Moreover, our proposed routing framework accurately monitors network conditions and switches to a better route as the quality of the ongoing route significantly degrades. We further implement our CARS protocol into a small fleet of research vehicles and experiment the implemented protocol in realistic driving scenarios. We learn valuable lessons through empirical experiments and our first-hand experience helps develop a number of optimization policies to further improve performance.