CAREER: Delay-Constrained Wireless Networking: Where Shannon Meets Erlang

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

The grail of next-generation wireless networks is providing real-time services for delay-sensitive applications. Delay sensitive applications such as voice-over-IP, require that the wireless networks provide quality of service (QoS) guarantees, e.g., data rate, delay bound, and delay bound violation probability. However, the unreliability of wireless channels makes it particularly challenging to design QoS provisioning mechanisms for wireless networks. In wireless networking, the area of providing QoS assurance with an emphasis on delay constraints is usually called delay constrained wireless networking. This project is concerned about provisioning statistical delay guarantees. The problem is challenging since both delay-bound violation (caused by queueing) and bit errors (due to channel noise) need to be addressed. To address this challenge, research is conducted in three aspects: 1) theoretic performance limits -- developing a joint coding and queueing approach to addressing the challenging issue of quantifying the probability of both physical-layer bit errors and link-layer delay bound violation, 2) algorithm design -- developing an observer-controller model and a joint estimation/control approach to designing QoS provisioning mechanisms that explicitly provide statistical delay guarantees, and 3) experimentation -- developing a software-radio-based testbed, implementing and evaluating the algorithms over the testbed. The joint coding and queueing approach will not only yield important principles in design methodologies for delay-constrained wireless networking, but also advance the union of information theory and queueing theory. The research will have a big impact on supporting delay sensitive applications such as mobile TV. The research findings will be disseminated through conferences and journals.