KQI evaluation for 360-Video services over mobile networks

New generation services have become the pillars and basis for the development of cutting-edge mobile networks as 5G and 6G. These technologies are intended to provide high-quality services which currently are not available, for instance, VR (Virtual reality). This paper presents a framework for LTE and 5G that aims to assess the performance of the 360-video service through Key Quality Indicators (KQI). This proposal integrates the immersive experience of omnidirectional video using an HMD (Head Mounted Device) while the performance measurement is done along the user session. The video content uses DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) from a video server located in the cloud. Finally, a performance comparison is provided making use of the data collected through an iterative experiment. The results obtained show the potential of the mobile networks and encourage their use for a high-quality VR service deployment.This work has been partially funded by: Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital; “Piloto 5G Andalucía” initiative, promoted by the Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, through Red.es; Junta de Andalucía and ERDF (Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades, Proyecto de Excelencia PENTA, P18-FR-4647), AECMA-5G: Advanced E2E Cellular Management for 5G Applications (Ref. UMA-CEIATECH-14), postdoctoral grant (Ref., DOC 01154, PAIDI 2020), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología through grant FPU19/04468, and Junta de Andalucía (Secretaría General de Universidades, Investigación y Tecnología) through predoctoral grant call 2021 (granted to Oswaldo Penaherrera). This work was also supported by the University of Málaga through the I Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Evaluación de la influencia de los recursos computacionales en la QoE del servicio.

The new generation of mobile networks goes beyond radio communications by providing a resilient and flexible architecture. In this context, the virtualization of Radio Access Networks (vRAN) completes the Network Func4on Virtualization (NFV) milestone, enabling a distributed and scalable network architecture. However, this approach increases the complexity of management tasks as computing resources start to play an essential role in the network provisioning process. In this sense, this work aims to assess the impact of computational resources on the delivery of video streaming services. The results obtained prove that inadequate resource assignment to vRAN instances leads to degradation of the Quality of Experience (QoE), even if the allocation of radio resources is adequate for the service.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

GPPP y SDR como una potente herramienta científica

One of the greatest problems in mobile networks that researchers have always faced on, is the difficulty of obtaining data from a real network. The limited access to commercial networks or the high prices which presents the equipment encourages the use of simulators in order to get data or test some algorithms. However, these problems can be solved with the emerging of the concept of SDR and GPPP. Hence, in this work it is presented a framework which enables their use in a scientific field. Moreover, a set of video experiment has been made, whose analysis shows the flexibility that these platforms offer as well as its potential as a wide source of real network data, introducing itself in this way, as a powerful tool for researching

Optimización de señalización en el canal común descendente para el estándar LTE-LAA

The use of unlicensed bands is one of the most promising features envisaged to increase capacity in cellular networks. However, this poses multiple challenges associated to the operation of LTE based standards with coexisting networks, such as WiFi. Previous coexistence analyses have been focused on the user-plane data-related transmissions and mainly based on abstract models. Meanwhile, the effects of the in-band signaling defined by the standards have been mainly disregarded, particularly for ultra-dense scenarios. This paper performs an assessment of how the different in-band signaling mechanisms influence the performance of the coexisting technologies. Based on this analyzed, an optimized signaling solution is envisaged to additionally enhance the service provision in these scenarios.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Evaluacion del servicio Cloud Gaming para diferentes tecnologías de acceso

The video game sector is one of the fastest growing industries in recent times and one with the most solid expectations to continue expanding in the following years. One key element in the future of these applications is the adoption of the cloud gaming paradigm, which allows reducing user equipment requirements. Nonetheless, this approach establishes hugely challenging requirements on the network side in order to support the high amount of data exchanged with the lowest latency possible. Here, the present work describes the main metrics associated with the performance and requirements of this novel service. Finally, a comparison between different technologies such as Ethernet, WiFi, LTE and 5G is given, showing their performance in the provision of these kind of services.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por el Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y transformación digital (red.es, “Piloto 5G Andalucía, Caso 31 Estudio OpenRAN”), el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (beca FPU19/04468), la Junta de Andalucía y FEDER en el marco del proyecto AECMA-5G (UMA-CEIATECH-14) y la beca postdoctoral (DOC 01154). También ha sido parcialmente financiado a través del I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Sistema IoT de sensorización, almacenamiento y representación de datos para espacios universitarios

In the past years, the concept of Smart City has been a main paradigm for public developments, with the objective of improving the well-being of the citizens, and the performance of public services by means of a detailed monitoring and actions over the different parameters associated to them. Among these monitoring, environmental measurements related with air quality and such are needed. The university campuses, as relevant areas with high concentration of people and infrastructure, as well as centers for education, research and innovation, are perfect areas for the adoption and testing of several projects of this kind. In this way, the present paper presents the ICT design and development of the SmartTree project in which a public infrastructure will be created with capacities such as providing clean energy and gathering environmental data in an integrated way.Este trabajo ha sido realizado dentro de la iniciativa Smart- Campus de la universidad de Málaga, en colaboración con el resto del equipo de desarrollo del proyecto Smart Trees financiado por el I Plan Propio de Smart-Campus de la Universidad de Málaga y por la Universidad de Málaga a través del I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Assessment of the impact of limited computing resources on vRAN deployment.

The new generation of mobile networks goes beyond radio communications by providing a resilient and flexible architecture. In this context, the virtualization of Radio Access Networks (vRAN) completes the Network Function Virtualization (NFV) milestone, enabling a distributed and scalable network architecture. However, this approach increases the complexity of management tasks where computing resources start to play an essential role in the network provisioning process. In this sense, this work aims to assess the impact of computational resources on network performance. The results obtained prove that inadequate resource assignment to vRAN instances leads to service degradation that may remain unnoticed by the network operator. Furthermore, the importance of the vRAN configuration in these scenarios is highlighted, as allocated compute resources can have unintended effects on the quality of service (QoS).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Adquisición de métricas para el servicio de Vídeo 360/VR

Virtual Reality (VR) arises as one of the current cutting-edge technologies. Its applications address educational and entertainment uses. This work presents a framework to assess video 360 service performance over VR headsets through Key Quality Indicators (KQIs). This service differs from traditional video streaming approaches due to its immersive experience, which allows the user to enjoy omnidirectional multimedia. However, the service experience must be guaranteed in order to avoid side effects such as cybersickness or disorientation. The testbed is conformed by a Unity video player, which reproduce multimedia sources (DASH and HLS) from a video server located in the cloud while KQI measuring tasks are performed. Finally, a performance comparison between technologies is provided. Results from the KQI measurement highlight the potential of the new generation of mobile networks in the provision of service with high-quality levels of experience.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por la Junta de Andalucía y el EDRF en el marco del proyecto AECMA-5G: Advanced E2E Cellular Management for 5G Applications (Ref. UMA-CEIATECH-14, “Proyecto singular de actuaciones de transferencia del conocimiento Campus Excelencia Internacional Andalucía TECH. Ecosistema innovador con inteligencia artificial para Andalucía 2025”) y beca postdoctoral (Ref., DOC 01154, “selección de personal investigador doctor convocado mediante resolución de 21 de mayo de 2020”, PAIDI 2020). También ha sido parcialmente financiado por la Universidad a través del I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Predicción de métricas de red celular basada en información social

Recent years have seen a massive increase of mobile network users, which can overwhelm the network capacities if an unexpectedly large amount of devices connect to it at the same time, resulting in lower quality of service. Thus, this makes useful the application of forecasting mechanisms for cellular network management activities. Vast cellular demands and social events are strongly correlated, and these events can be rapidly gathered from Internet sources. Therefore, this paper proposes a model to exploit these resources to make long-term cellular demand prediction.Este trabajo está parcialmente financiado dentro del proyecto H2020 Locus (grant agreement n. 871249) y por la Junta de Andalucía y fondos FEDER (Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020) proyecto IDADE-5G (UMA18-FEDERJA-201) y por el Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional mediante el programa de Becas de Colaboración con Departamentos universitarios (BOE: 01-07-2019) en el marco del proyecto ``Desarrollo de mecanismos de gestión celular con conocimiento de contexto en redes 5G'' en el departamento de Ingeniería de Comunicaciones de la Universidad de Málaga y por la Universidad de Málaga a través del I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Análisis de Interferencia Cross-Link sobre un escenario 5G mmWave

The use of Time Division Duplex (TDD) has not been fully adopted by operators in LTE networks and its previous generations. In contrast, the fifth generation (5G) is introducing new technical motivations for its use. In order to achieve network flexibility as well as to provide service to every use case, it is necesary to adapt the resources allocated to DL and UL. On the other hand, beamforming techniques require sharing channel state information regularly in both directions. Hence, TDD is a promising option, although it may cause various interference types. The aim of this work is to analyze the Cross-Link Interference (CLI). To do this, a complete scenario simulation has been configured with different conditions, while the signal- to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) has been monitored.Este trabajo está parcialmente financiado dentro del proyecto H2020 LOCUS (grant agreement n. 871249), la Junta de Andalucía y fondos FEDER (Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020), en los proyectos IDADE-5G (UMA18- FEDERJA-201) y OptiRAN5G (UMA18-FEDERJA-174), y la beca postdoctoral (Ref. DOC_01154, “Selección de personal investigador doctor convocado mediante Resolución de 21 de mayo de 2020”, PAIDI 2020). También ha sido parcialmente financiado por la Universidad de Málaga, a través del I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech