QoE-VS: A Cross-Layer QoE-Aware Video Streaming Platform Using Software-Defined Radio

The prevalence of wireless imaging devices in various Internet of Things (IoT) applications is demanding for efficient wireless video communication solutions. In particular, the need to deliver real-time videos to human users with satisfactory Quality of Experience (QoE) is driven by many human-centered applications. A software-defined radio (SDR) trans-receiver has the flexibility and the re-configurable ability of software-based programming, and it has the potential to handle the dynamic needs of wireless real-time video streaming. This paper presents QoE-VS: a cross-layer QoE-aware video streaming platform based on SDR that could provide videos with satisfactory perceptual quality to human users. The platform is built upon GNU radio, Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) B210 hardware, and GStreamer, a comprehensive library for video processing. A QoE measurement component is integrated in the platform for monitoring the QoE of video streaming in real-time. It also provides the capability of jointly adjusting physical layer parameters and video application settings to maximize the QoE in changing wireless conditions. The capabilities of QoE-VS have been validated through different video streaming use cases.