System and method for real time video communication employing fountain coding

A first access point comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory memory storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
• receive fountain encoded packets from a gateway, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• store the first set of fountain encoded packets in a buffer of the first access point;
• transmitting, by the first access point, at least some fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets over a radio interface extending from the first access point to a user equipment (UE);
• receive an uplink broadcast message from the UE, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE;
• and
• drop remaining fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets from the buffer without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface upon receiving the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE.

A method for receiving real-time video packets in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a user equipment (UE), a first sub-set of fountain encoded packets from a first access point, the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• decoding, by the UE, the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets to obtain the video frame;
• and
• transmitting an uplink broadcast message to at least the first access point over a radio interface upon obtaining the video frame, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the UE has obtained the video frame, wherein the uplink broadcast message prompts the first access point to drop remaining fountain encoded packets corresponding to the video frame from a buffer of the first access point without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface.

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory memory storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
• receive fountain encoded packets corresponding to a sequence of video frames from a first access point, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first sub-set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in the sequence of video frames;
• decode the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets to obtain the video frame;
• and
• transmit an uplink broadcast message to at least the first access point over a radio interface upon obtaining the video frame, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the UE has obtained the video frame, wherein the uplink broadcast message prompts the first access point to drop remaining fountain encoded packets corresponding to the video frame from a buffer of the first access point without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming, the programming including instructions to:

• receive, at a first access point, fountain encoded packets from a gateway, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• store the first set of fountain encoded packets in a buffer of the first access point;
• transmitting, by the first access point, at least some fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets over a radio interface extending from the first access point to a user equipment (UE);
• receive an uplink broadcast message from the UE, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE;
• and
• drop remaining fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets from the buffer without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface upon receiving the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE.

A first access point comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive fountain encoded packets from a gateway, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• at least one processor configured to store the first set of fountain encoded packets in a buffer of the first access point;
• and
• a transmitter configured to transmit at least some fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets over a radio interface extending from the first access point to a user equipment (UE),
• wherein the receiver is further configured to receive an uplink broadcast message from the UE, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE, and
• wherein the at least one processor is configured to drop remaining fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets from the buffer without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface upon receiving the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE.

A first access point comprising:

• a means for receiving fountain encoded packets from a gateway, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• a means for storing the first set of fountain encoded packets in a buffer of the first access point;
• a means for transmitting at least some fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets over a radio interface extending from the first access point to a user equipment (UE);
• a means for receiving an uplink broadcast message from the UE, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE;
• and
• a means for dropping remaining fountain encoded packets in the first set of fountain encoded packets from the buffer without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface upon receiving the uplink broadcast message indicating that the video frame has been successfully decoded by the UE.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming, the programming including instructions to:

• receive, at a user equipment (UE), fountain encoded packets corresponding to a sequence of video frames from a first access point, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first sub-set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in the sequence of video frames;
• decode the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets to obtain the video frame;
• and
• transmit an uplink broadcast message to at least the first access point over a radio interface upon obtaining the video frame, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the UE has obtained the video frame, wherein the uplink broadcast message prompts the first access point to drop remaining fountain encoded packets corresponding to the video frame from a buffer of the first access point without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface.

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive fountain encoded packets corresponding to a sequence of video frames from a first access point, the fountain encoded packets including at least a first sub-set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in the sequence of video frames;
• at least one processor configured to decode the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets to obtain the video frame;
• and
• a transmitter configured to transmit an uplink broadcast message to at least the first access point over a radio interface upon obtaining the video frame, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the UE has obtained the video frame, wherein the uplink broadcast message prompts the first access point to drop remaining fountain encoded packets corresponding to the video frame from a buffer of the first access point without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface.

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

• a means for receiving a first sub-set of fountain encoded packets from a first access point, the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets corresponding to a video frame in a sequence of video frames;
• a means for decoding the first sub-set of fountain encoded packets to obtain the video frame;
• and
• a means for transmitting an uplink broadcast message to at least the first access point over a radio interface upon obtaining the video frame, the uplink broadcast message indicating that the UE has obtained the video frame, wherein the uplink broadcast message prompts the first access point to drop remaining fountain encoded packets corresponding to the video frame from a buffer of the first access point without sending the remaining fountain encoded packets over the radio interface.