On routing for multiple description video over wireless ad hoc networks

We study the problem of multipath routing for double description (DD) video in wireless ad hoc networks. We follow an application-centric cross-layer approach and formulate an optimal routing problem that minimizes the application layer video distortion. We show that the optimization problem has a highly complex objective function and an exact analytic solution is not obtainable. However, we find that a meta-heuristic approach such as genetic algorithms (GAs) is eminently effective in addressing this type of complex cross-layer optimization problems. We provide a detailed solution procedure for the GA-based approach. Simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the GA-based approach versus several other approaches. Our efforts in this work provide an important methodology for addressing complex cross-layer optimization problems, particularly those involved in the application and network layers.