NeTS-NBD Collaborative Research: Coding and Transmission Schemes for Content Download

无论是传统商业供应商还是业余供应商提供的内容下载量都出现了显著增长。用户拥有从手持设备到台式电脑的非常多样化的计算机设备，下载的项目从简单的股票报价到新闻故事再到完整的电影。这种高度异质的情况将在不久的将来的网络中占据主导地位。当前用于内容下载的方案在解决所提到的异构性方面效率低下。该项目的目标是获得新的和改进的方案，使用户能够更好地获取内容，同时提高网络利用率。研究将集中于三种编码技术来解决这一问题：应用层的无速率编码、网络层的网络编码和物理层的协作编码。将研究不同环境中网络和无码率编码的数量和质量限制，以开发适合于这种情况的新的实用编码方案。另一个研究方向是研究和分析利用物理层协作传输方案使网络更加统一的机制。将对该过程如何影响较高层编码方案的性能进行评估。更广泛的影响：如果研究成功，将提高网络中数据的效率和可用性。这有可能直接和间接惠及广大民众。此外，这种合作研究有可能在编码、信息论和组合优化的界面上获得基本的新见解。几名博士生将在跨学科领域得到支持和培训，他们还将获得宝贵的工业经验。

There has been a remarkable increase in download of content provided by both traditional commercial suppliers as well those by amateurs. Users have very diverse computer equipment ranging from handheld devices to desktops, and downloaded items range from simple stock quotes to news stories to full movies. Such highly heterogeneous circumstances will be predominant in the networks of the near future. Current schemes for content download are inefficient at addressing the mentioned heterogeneity. The goal of this project is to obtain new and improved schemes that would result in better access to content for the users while improving the network utilization. The research will focus on three coding techniques to attack the problem: rateless coding at the application layer, network coding at the network layer, and collaborative coding at the physical layer. Quantitative and qualitative limitations of network and rateless coding in heterogeneous environments will be studied to develop new practical coding schemes appropriate in such circumstances. Another research direction is to investigate and analyze mechanism to make networks more uniform using physical layer collaborative transmission schemes. An assessment will be made on how this process affects the performance of the higher layer coding schemes. Broader Impact: The research, if successful, will improve the efficiency and availability of data in networks. This has the potential to benefit directly and indirectly the population at large. In addition, this collaborative research has the potential to obtain fundamental new insights at the interface of coding and information theory and combinatorial optimization. Several PhD students will be supported and trained in interdisciplinary areas and they would also obtain valuable industrial experience.