System and method for optimizing video conferencing in a wireless device
A wireless device described herein can use information on data flow, in addition to indications from the physical network, to decide on suitable bandwidth usage for audio and video information. This data flow information is further used to determine an efficient network route to use for high-quality reception and transmission of audio and video data, as well as the appropriate time to switch between available network routes to improve bandwidth performance.
1. A method of videoconferencing in a wireless network, the method comprising:
determining at least one route quality indicator of a videoconference session for each of a plurality of communication routes between a wireless device and a remote system, each communication route being associated with at least one of a plurality of antennas;
selecting an antenna based on the one or more route quality indicators;
determining a transition time based on an entropy of videoconference audio and/or video data and transitioning to the selected antenna after the transition time; and
transmitting, from the wireless device to the remote system, the videoconference audio and/or video data via the selected antenna.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one route quality indicator comprises at least one of: a network statistic, a radio performance metric, a user performance metric, and a predictive performance metric.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the network statistic comprises at least one of: a one-way network latency, a round-trip time, a packet loss pattern, an available bandwidth, an end-to-end network latency, an end-to-end packet loss, and a jitter.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the radio performance metric comprises at least one of: a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), a transmit power level, and a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user performance metric comprises at least one of: a thermal metric, a power consumption rate, a CPU load, a buffer occupancy, a media playback state, a media playback configuration, and a user communication route preference.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the antenna comprises selecting an antenna associated with the non-selected communication route, when the one or more route quality indicators for the selected communication route are below a threshold.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the threshold is based on the one or more route quality indicators for the selected communication route.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining an entropy value for a portion of the video or audio data and transitioning to the selected antenna when the entropy is below a threshold.
9. A wireless device configured to perform videoconferencing in a wireless network, the wireless device comprising:
a plurality of antennas;
a network quality module configured determine at least one route quality indicator of a videoconference session for each of a plurality of communication routes between the wireless device and a remote system, each communication route being associated with at least one of the plurality of antennas;
an antenna switching module configured to select an antenna based on the one or more route quality indicators, wherein the switching module is further configured to determine a transition time based on an entropy of videoconference audio and/or video data and transitioning to the selected antenna after the transition time; and
a transmitter configured to transmit, from the wireless device to the remote system, the videoconference audio and/or video data via the selected antenna.
10. The wireless device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one route quality indicator comprises at least one of: a network statistic, a radio performance metric, a user performance metric, and a predictive performance metric.
11. The wireless device of claim 10 , wherein the network statistic comprises at least one of: an end-to-end network latency, an end-to-end packet loss, and a jitter.
12. The wireless device of claim 10 , wherein the radio performance metric comprises at least one of: a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), a transmit power level, and a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).
13. The wireless device of claim 10 , wherein the user performance metric comprises at least one of: a CPU load, a buffer occupancy, a media playback state, a media playback configuration, and a user communication route preference.
14. The wireless device of claim 9 , wherein the network quality module is configured to determine an entropy value for a portion of the video or audio data.
15. An apparatus for videoconferencing in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:
means for determining at least one route quality indicator of a videoconference session for each of a plurality of communication routes between a wireless device and a remote system, each communication route being associated with at least one of a plurality of antennas;
means for selecting an antenna based on the one or more route quality indicators;
means for determining a transition time based on an entropy of videoconference audio and/or video data and transitioning to an antenna selected by the means for selecting after the transition time; and
means for transmitting, from the wireless device to the remote system, the videoconference audio and/or video data via the selected antenna.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the means for selecting the antenna comprises means for selecting an antenna associated with the non-selected communication route, when the one or more route quality indicators for the selected communication route are below a threshold.
17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to:
determine at least one route quality indicator of a videoconference session for each of a plurality of communication routes between a wireless device and a remote system, each communication route being associated with at least one of a plurality of antennas;
select an antenna based on the one or more route quality indicators;
determine a transition time based on an entropy of videoconference audio and/or video data and transitioning to the selected antenna after the transition time; and
transmit, from the wireless device to the remote system, the videoconference audio and/or video data via the selected antenna.
18. The medium of claim 17 , wherein the at least one route quality indicator comprises at least one of: a network statistic, a radio performance metric, a user performance metric, and a predictive performance metric.
19. The medium of claim 18 , wherein the network statistic comprises at least one of: an end-to-end network latency, an end-to-end packet loss, and a jitter.
20. The medium of claim 18 , wherein the radio performance metric comprises at least one of: a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), a transmit power level, and a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI).