Insights into mobile multimedia communications

653 Pages·1999·12.604 MB·English

by  David R Bull, C Nishan Canagarajah, Andrew R Nix

Series Preface
Signal processing applications are now widespread. Relatively cheap consumer pro-
ducts through to the more expensive military and industrial systems extensively
exploit this technology. This spread was initiated in the 1960s by introduction of
cheap digital technology to implement signal processing algorithms in real-time for
some applications. Since that time semiconductor technology has developed rapidly
to support the spread. In parallel, an ever increasing body of mathematical theory is
being used to develop signal processing algorithms. The basic mathematical founda-
tions, however, have been known and well understood for some time.
Signal Processing and its Applications addresses the entire breadth and depth of the
subject with texts that cover the theory, technology and applications of signal pro-
cessing in its widest sense. This is reflected in the composition of the Editorial Board,
who have interests in:
(i) Theory- The physics of the application and the mathematics to model the
system;
(ii) Implementation- VLSI/ASIC design, computer architecture, numerical
methods, systems design methodology, and CAE;
(iii) Applications- Speech, sonar, radar, seismic, medical, communications
(both audio and video), guidance, navigation, remote sensing, imaging, survey,
archiving, non-destructive and non-intrusive testing, and personal entertain-
ment.
Signal Processing and its Applications will typically be of most interest to post-
graduate students, academics, and practising engineers who work in the field and
develop signal processing applications. Some texts may also be of interest to final
year undergraduates.
Richard C. Green
Department of Technology,
Metropolitan Police Service, London, UK
Preface
Personal multimedia communications si a major growth area in engineering today
with groups in industry and academia across the world working to develop future
generations of mobile radio systems, compression algorithms and coding tools.
However, before multimedia applications can be truly successful in mobile applica-
tions, many technologically demanding problems must be resolved. For example, in
order to provide the user with a suitable end to end service for multimedia applica-
tions, integrated systems, high performance interfaces and robust and flexible source
coding tools need to be developed. All of these issues are currently being addressed in
standards bodies ranging from ETSI SMG-2, UMTS and BRAN to ISO MPEG-4
and ITU-H.263. In mobile applications the bandwidth requirements are likely to be
dominated by real time video. Even with today's most aggressive compression algo-
rithms, the needs for most video applications far exceed the bandwidth available
with existing mobile systems. Although the bandwidth available to the user will
increase with the emergence of future GSM extensions, UMTS and local services
based on wireless LANs, it is clear that advances in radio technology and air inter-
face design must go hand in hand with innovations in source and channel coding.
The motivation for this book originated in 1995/96 after the 2 dn International
Mobile Multimedia Communications Conference (MoMuC-2) was held in the UK
at the University of Bristol. It was then that the editors (together with Dr Colin
I'Anson of HP Laboratories) identified the need for a text which brought together
the fields of advanced communication technologies and multimedia coding in a
single volume. It was clear that, due to the breadth and evolving nature of this
field, such a book could not be written by a single author or even a small group
of authors. Multimedia communications research is truly interdisciplinary, drawing
together technologies from areas as diverse as signal processing, RF engineering,
communication systems, propagation, source and channel coding, network design,
VLSI circuit design, computing, human-computer interaction (HCI) and others. In
the light of this it was evident that the broad community would be best served by an
integrated text comprising chapters from international experts in the various disci-
plines which together make up this field. The purpose of this book is thus to present
an integrated view of advanced radio systems, network architectures and source
coding which demonstrates the state of the art, as well as future directions, in this
rapidly evolving subject area.
The book is divided into eight sections which together cover the main building
blocks in a mobile multimedia communication system. Our aim was not only to
cover each area in its own right but also to show how these integrate to form a
xx Preface
system solution, while emphasising their interactions and dependencies. The contents
of each of these sections are summarised below.
Part 1 provides an introduction to the area and sets the scene for the remaining
sections. Here the authors review all the building blocks, highlighting key issues and
interdependencies.
Parts 2 and 3 focus on systems aspects of current and proposed future technology
and services. An overview of the functionality and capabilities of existing systems is
given in Part .2 GMS, JDC and the emerging PMR standard, TETRA, are all
covered and compared, as is the H.324 multimedia standard. Part 3 looks further
into the future with chapters on the potential of GSM extensions, UMTS and wire-
less LAN systems. The important debate on the role of the internet in future mobile
multimedia systems is also highlighted.
Parts 4-6 of the book cover source coding. Part 4 concentrates on speech and
audio. Here we see contributions not only on low bit rate speech coding, but also on
higher bit rate techniques appropriate for the enhanced quality needed for audio (e.g.
stereo music) transmission. The areas of image, video and multimedia coding are
covered in Part .5 The importance of efficient compression algorithms is emphasised,
especially for low bit rate applications. Standards such as MPEG-4, together with
advanced methods based on wavelets, segmentation and scalability, are all covered.
The section also examines the integration of, and trade-offs between, speech and
video coding in a multimedia framework. Quality of service in a wireless environ-
ment is not simply dictated by available bandwidth and compression tools but also
by the nature of the channel and its error characteristics. Video data, in particular, is
sensitive to error propagation. This area is explored in Part 6, where a variety of
error resilient image and video coding methods are presented.
The bandwidths needed to deliver acceptable multimedia quality of service can
only be provided if efficient air interfaces and modulation schemes are available. Part
7 presents contributions which exemplify current research in antenna technology,
CDMA and equalisation methods. Both radio system design and propagation
aspects are covered. Part 8 continues the theme of Part 7 in the area of wireless
local area network technology. WLANs are emerging as a powerful alternative to
wired infrastructures in both commercial and consumer applications and are likely to
offer the earliest opportunities for true wireless multimedia applications at accepta-
ble quality. This section overviews current research in this area with emphasis on the
recently finalised ETSI HIPERLAN standard.
The book ends with a vision of the future multimedia technology. This chapter
argues the potential of multimedia communication systems and outlines their
requirements while at the same time warning of the dangers of proprietary solutions
and closed standards.
We hope that this book will be of interest to a broad audience, including academic
researchers, practising engineers and engineering managers in industry. In such a
rapidly evolving area, it is not possible to answer all the questions, or perhaps even
to pose all the questions. However, we believe that the book will act as a repository
of ideas, design examples and advanced techniques which will stimulate the reader. If
he or she emerges with a greater awareness of the key issues, both technical and
political, and of the relationships between the building blocks, then the main aim of
the book will have been achieved.
ecaferP xxi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express gratitude to all our colleagues (staff and students) in the
Centre for Communications Research at the University of Bristol for creating an
environment from which a book such as this could emerge. In particular we thank
Joe McGeehan for his leadership and inspiration, Mark Beach for his enthusiasm
and support for this project, and Nina Bunton for her assistance throughout. We
would also like to thank Colin I'Anson of HP Labs (Bristol) for bringing MoMuC-2
(the conference from which the idea for this book emerged) to Bristol and for his
Chairmanship of the event.
We also owe a debt to all the contributors who have shown a great deal of patience
with us while we pulled this project together. Not least we would like to thank
Bridget Shine from Academic Press for her faith in this project and for her patience
when our deadlines became mobile!
D. R. Bull
C. N. Canagarajah
A. R. Nix
Bristol, March 1998
List of Contributors
,ihcadA F., NTT Mobile Communications, Network Inc., R&D Department, 6532-1
Take, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa 238-03, Japan
Araki, M., Radio Systems Laboratory, NTT Wireless Systems Labs, 1-1
Hikarinooka, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa-Ken, 932 Japan
Arroyo-Fermindez, ,.B European Commission DG XIII-B4, BU-9 4.90, Ave de
Beaulieu ,9 B-1160, Brussels, Belgium
Athanasiadou, ,.G Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Barani, ,.B European Commission DG XIII-B4, BU-9 4.90, Ave de Beaulieu ,9
-B ,0611 Brussels, Belgium
Barberis, S., Wireless Information Network Lab, Rutgers University, PO xoB 909
Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA
Bassil, J., Centre for Information Systems, Applied Research and Technology,
MLB 1 PP ,41 TB Laboratories, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich IP5 3RE, Suffolk, UK
Beach, M. ,.A Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Black, .A W., Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 5XH, UK
Broderson, R., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, University
of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Bull, D. R., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol, Merchant
Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Canagarajah, .C N., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Cheetham, ,.B Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of
Liverpool, PO xoB 147, Liverpool 96L 3BX, UK
Chen, L., Computer Science Department, Royal HoUoway College, London
University, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
Chung-How, J. T., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Czerepifiski, P., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Ebrahimi, T., Signal Processing Laboratory, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Egger, O., Signal Processing Laboratory, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Eryurtlu, F., Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 5XH, UK
xxiv List of Contributors
Evci, C., Alcatel Telecom, Radiocommunications Department, 5 Rue Noel Pons,
92734 Nanterre, Paris, France
,rebri~F N., Universit/it Erlangen-Nfirnberg, Lehrstuhl ffir Nachrichtentechnik,
Caurstrasse ,7 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Fitton, M. P., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol, Merchant
Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Girod, ,.B Universit/it Erlangen-Nfirnberg, Lehrstuhl ffir Nachrichtentechnik,
Caurstrasse ,7 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Hailes S., Department of Computer Science, University College London, London
Hanzo, L., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
,namdraH ,.V Department of Computer Science, University College London,
London, UK
Higashi, ,.A NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., R&D Department, 6532-1
Take, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa 238-03, Japan
Hirade, ,.K NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., R&D Department, 5-3
Hikari-no-oka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536, Japan
Holtzman, J., Wireless Information Network Lab, Rutgers University, PO Box 909
Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA
I'Anson, C., Mobile Communications Department, Hewlett Packard Laboratories,
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Ikonomou, D., European Commission DG XIII-B4, BU-9 4.90, Ave de Beaulieu ,9
-B ,0611 Brussels
Kelliher, J., Simoco PO xoB ,42 St Andrews Road, Cambridge CB4 1DP, UK
,notgnineK P., Wireless Systems International Ltd, Clifton Heights, Triangle West,
Bristol 8SB 1EJ, UK
Kingsbury, N. G., Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Trumpington
Street, Cambridge 2BC 1PZ, UK
,zodnoK .A M., Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 5XH, UK
,sikamuduK P., Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Kings College
London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK
Kunt, M., Signal Processing Laboratory, CH- 5101 Lausanne, Switzerland
Magrath, .A J., Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Kings College
London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK
MeGeehan, J. P., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
,mayadnaM N., Wireless Information Network Lab, Rutgers University, PO Box
909 Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA
Millar, I., Network Technology Department, Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Filton
Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Mitchell, .C J., Information Security Group, Royal Holloway College, London
University, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
Munro, .A M., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Murata, H., Department of Electronics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-01, Japan
List of Contributors xxv
Nix, ,.A Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol, Merchant
Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Ohno, ,.K NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., R&D Department, 6532-1
Take, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa 238-03, Japan
Parris, C., Ensigma Ltd, Turing House, Chepstow NP6 5PB, UK
Pereira, J., European Commission DG XIII-B4, BU-9 4.90, Ave de Beaulieu ,9
,0611-B Brussels, Belgium
Perry, R., Mobile Communications Department, Hewlett Packard Laboratories,
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Proudler, G., Mobile Communications Department, Hewlett Packard Laboratories,
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Ramstad, T., Department of Telecommunications, Norwegian Institute of
Technology, O S Bragstads plass ,B2 N-7034 Trondheim, Norway
Raychaudhuri, D., NEC USA, C&C Research Laboratories, 4 Independence Way,
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
Redmill, D. W., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Reusens, E., Signal Processing Laboratory, CH- 5101 Lausanne, Switzerland
Richards, ,.B Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, University
of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Sadka, .A H., Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, University of Surrey,
Guildford GU2 5XH, UK
Salami, R. ,.A Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton OS 71 1BJ, UK
Sandier, M. ,.B Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Kings College
London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK
Sawahashi, M., NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc., R&D Department,
6532-1 Take, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa 238-03, Japan
da Silva, J. S., European Commission DG XIII-B4, BU-9 4.90, Ave ed Beaulieu ,9
,0611-B Brussels, Belgium
Simmonds, .C M., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Steele, R., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton OS 71 1BJ, UK
Steinbaeh, E., Universit~t Erlangen-Nfirnberg, Lehrstuhl ffir Nachrichtentechnik,
Caurstrasse ,7 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Streit, J., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton OS 71 B1 J, UK
Talluri, R., DSP R&D Centre, Texas Instruments Inc., 13510 North Central
Expressway, MS 644 Dallas, Texas 75243, USA
Thillainathan, S., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Toh, .C ,.K School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of
Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0250, USA
Tominaga, H., Department of Electronics and Communication Enginering, Waseda
University, 3-4-10hkubo, Shinjuko-ku, Tokyo 169, Japan
xxvi List of Contributors
Tsoulos, G., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol, Merchant
Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Umehira, M., Radio Systems Laboratory, NTT Wireless Systems Labs, 1-1
Hikarinooka, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa-Ken, 932 Japan
Webb, W., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Whybray, M., BT Laboratories, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK
Wilkinson, J., Sony Broadcast and Professional Europe, Jays Close, Viables,
Basingstoke, Hants RG22 4SB, UK
Wilkinson, T. ,.A Mobile Communications Department, Hewlett Packard
Laboratories, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Williams, J., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton OS 71 1BJ, UK
Williams, S., Network Technology Department, Hewlett Packard Laboratories,
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS12 6QZ, UK
Williamson, M., Centre for Communications Research, University of Bristol,
Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, Bristol 8SB 1UB, UK
Woodard, J. P., Department of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton
University, Southampton OS 71 1BJ, UK
Yabusaki, M., NTT DoCoMo, 1-2356 Take, Yokosuka-Shi, Kanagawa 238-03,
Japan
Yoshida, S., Department of Electronics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-01, Japan
1
Mobile Multimedia Communications
Research Trends and Technical
Developments
.C I'Anson, H. Tominaga, T. Wilkinson, M. Yabusaki
D. .R Bull, A. .R Nix and .C N. Canagarajah
1,1, Introduction ...................................................... 3
1.2. Services and applications ........................................... 4
1.3. Third generation schemes and wireless LANs ............................ 5
1.3.1. Wireless LANs .............................................. 5
1.3.2. Spread spectrum ............................................ 6
1.3.3. Advanced antenna solutions .................................... 6
1.3.4. Equalisation and flexible ratio techniques .......................... 7
1.4. Source coding .................................................... 7
1.4.1. Audio and speech ............................................ 7
1.4.2. Video ..................................................... 8
1.5. Multimedia demonstrators ........................................... 9
1.6. Conclusions ..................................................... 10
1.1. INTRODUCTION
The market for mobile multimedia is currently in its infancy and technology provi-
ders, operators, and users alike wait for a pervasive market place to emerge. Many
would claim that a single killer application, once known, will enable the market to
blossom. Although partially true, this is undoubtedly a simplistic view, which ignores
the enormous efforts that must be invested to first resolve the outstanding technical
difficulties.
Insights into Mobile Multimedia Communication Copyright © 1999 Academic Press Limited
ISBN 0-12-140310-6 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
4 .C I'Anson et La
Application level architectural considerations and standards issues must be
resolved to ensure a pervasive and open service. Network level architectures must
also be addressed and the air interface must have the capacity and flexibility to
deliver real-time multimedia at an acceptable quality of service level. It is equally
clear that source coding is no longer simply a matter of optimising rate-distortion
characteristics. Instead it must also consider the integration of data, speech, audio
and video information while offering a robust, scalable, low latency and interactive
service.
This chapter presents an overview of the current state of the art and indicates
future directions in wireless multimedia. Our aim is to give the reader a greater
insight into the problems faced and the methods with which they may be overcome.
Section 2.1 reviews existing services and applications and section 3.1 extends this
view into emerging third generation systems. The issues associated with source cod-
ing for wireless applications are considered in section 4.1 and section 5.1 concludes
with an overview of experimental demonstration systems.
1.2. SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS
As the challenges of wireless multimedia are resolved, different types of user, service
and application will become feasible. These include:
• emergency services for remote consultation or scene of crime work;
• virtual universities for remote learning;
• the media industry for remote access to and submission of news reports;
• the security industry for telesurveillance;
• healthcare experts for remote diagnosis and training;
• the public for video telephony and multimedia information distribution in the
home;
• business for conferencing.
The basic GSM data services of short message service, fax and data are soon to be
enhanced and improved within ETSI to a point where GSM can offer a reliable
cellular data service which can be used for a variety of purposes (see Chapters 2 and
10). However, a number of significant challenges still exist, which are not part of the
basic GSM service. For example, limited data rates and slow PSTN modem inter-
working have been identified as critical issues that must be addressed in the near
future.
The recently standardised High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD) standard
allows for the combination of multiple time slots within GSM (see Chapter 10). By
using up to four time slots in each direction (uplink and downlink), the channels can
be multiplexed together to offer a raw data rate of up to 64 kb/s (38.4 kb/s user data
rate, or up to 153.6 kb/s with data compression). A second standard, the General
Packet Radio Service (GPRS), is based on the transportation and routing of packet-
ised data, reducing greatly the time spent setting up and taking down modem
connections.