Demo: WiChoose – Practical Network Selection for Wi-Fi Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication

Opportunistic Wi-Fi access can be a useful complement to other Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies. We focus on the problem of choosing between available Wi-Fi networks, to maximize the amount of transferable data. Our solution, WiChoose, uses passively observable variables such as signal strength to estimate throughput for each network. It then uses mobility information such as position and heading to forecast how throughput will evolve. Finally, these forecasts are used to determine the optimal network switching schedule. WiChoose was experimentally evaluated in a realistic scenario featuring IEEE 802.11n (long range, low throughput) and ad (short range, high throughput) networks. As the mobile client moved, WiChoose successfully alternated between the networks, transferring 95% of what an oracle scheme with perfect knowledge of the future would have. We propose to demonstrate WiChoose’s operation using the same two contrasting networks. The mobile client will be placed on a wheeled cart. Moving it back and forth will affect connectivity, leading WiChoose to alternate between the two networks to maximize data transfer.