Title: Joint Source-Channel Coding in Multiuser Networks

Abstract:
The simplest approach to the transmission of a source signal over a noisy channel is to first encode (compress) the source via source codes and obtain a bit sequence for each source, and then, encode these bits via a channel code by adding redundancy. This technique, commonly known as separate source-channel coding, is prevalent in modern communication systems. However; it is well known that in many scenarios source-channel separation is sub- optimal and higher source-channel rates can be achieved by designing the channel and the source code jointly, known as joint source-channel coding (JSCC). In this talk we discuss JSCC for two multi-user scenarios.

The first scenario involves cooperative transmission of two correlated sources over a multiple-access relay channel, which represents cooperative uplink communication in wireless networks. We shall present novel cooperative joint-source channel coding schemes using combinations of Slepian-Wolf coding and the correlation preserving mapping technique, and derive new necessary conditions.

The second scenario is the transmission of correlated Gaussian sources over a Gaussian broadcast channel with noiseless feedback. This scenario is motivated by practical network control problems with strict delay constraints, e.g., a sensor node communicating the state of a complex system to various control units. Differently from the existing literature, we focus on the finite horizon regime. We present three new joint source-channel transmission schemes and characterize their performances. The first scheme is based on communication theoretic arguments, the second one builds upon liner quadratic Gaussian control theory, and the third applies a dynamic programming approach.

This is a joint work with Ron Dabora (BGU), Deniz Gunduz (ICL), and Yonatan Kaspi (UCSD).

Speaker Bio:
Yonathan Murin received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Tel-Aviv University, Israel, in 2004, and his M.Sc. (magna cum laude) degree in Electrical Engineering from Ben-Gurion University, Israel, in 2011. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University. From 2004 to 2010 he worked as a DSP and algorithms engineer and as a team leader at Comsys Communication and Signal Processing. His research interests include network information theory, wireless communications and digital signal processing. Yonathan is a recipient of the Zin and Pratt fellowships for outstanding Ph.D. students.